How do you get students to understand the beauty of our design by the ultimate Designer? I've thought of a few ways.

1. Have the students design a teacher remote control. What would they put on it? Expect answers like mute buttons, off button, fast-forward, and others (as if the teachers wouldn't put the same things on a student remote!). Like all inventions, a brand name of some sort would appear somewhere on the product. Basically, the young inventors have a certain purpose in mind when they create and getting rich and famous over it would be OK too, because let's be honest, every student in America would be in line to buy this!

After a discussion (and even a literal invention creation session when they actually make the remote) use this as an analogy for God's creation. He designed us to work a certain way and with a certain purpose just like they did as inventors of the remote. He even put his brand name upon our hearts so we could find him and respond to him. This is what Saint Augustine meant when he wrote his arguably most famous quote: our hearts are restless until they rest in you. If you tear off the label, there's an empty spot.

2. Another hands-on illustration of this same point is a neat classroom activity that any teacher or catechist can try. Give each student a sheet of red construction paper and ask them to cut out a heart. Make jokes about this not being Valentine's Day, and with an older group, make a joke about this not being kindergarten. If you don't beat them to it, they'll be sure to make a crack.

After cutting out a paper heart (they might fold the paper in half and cut out half a heart and unfold for better symmetry), have them write their names on them. Then they should take their scissors, poke a hole in the middle of the heart and cut out any random shape of any size. Then pass out a pre-made shape to each student. These shapes should be in a color other than red and be made of card stock or anything other than construction paper. Have the students fit the shape into the hole they cut out. Of course, they will be either too big or too small and usually not even of the same shape and certainly of a different color and stock.

Then tell them the point: God made our hearts with a desire for him. When we cut him out, our hearts are incomplete. We try to fill up the "God-shaped hole" with all sorts of things: people, alcohol, work, drugs, or sex, but they never fit. All those things wear out or disappoint us at some point. We'll only be complete again when we allow God back in. Help them to see the utter foolishness of even trying to fit another object in that space.

I do this with high school seniors and at first they wonder where I'm going. Once they see the point, it sticks. We did this a few weeks ago and when students open their folders in class I can still see their hearts. They actually kept them as a reminder of the lesson.

3. Finally, an illustration they can all understand. Remember those shape blocks we all played with when we were little? You had to take the shape and try to put in the correct hole of a plastic box. It helps little kids learn to visually match the block to the hole of the same shape. When a little kid first does it, he or she has no clue and tries to shove the triangle block in the square hole. This doesn't work, so the kid learns to recognize the shapes. When we try to fit people or things other than God into the "God-shaped hole" in our hearts, it just doesn't work. Like little kids, we just have to learn what fits where so we can move on.


I hope these ideas help. Do let me know if you try them and feel free to leave some comments on them. I have used all of them effectively in the classroom.

Labels: Catholic education

For those who don't know, I'm using the new U.S. Catholic Catechism for Adults with my senior theology classes this year. This course is sort of my "baby" since I'm writing a lot of the lessons from scratch without help from outside resources. It's been great so far.

Chapter One is on the heart's desire for God. I did several effective activities (I'll post more on those later), but the culmination of them was a short paper. Students had several choices, but they were basically asked to reflect on their own heart's desire for God and the journey of discovering this. They also had the option to do a creative writing piece in which a character (fictional or otherwise) would go about the same thing.

When I read them, they were by far and away the best work I've ever seen from my students (I had these same kids as juniors last year). Students who are not academically inclined really showed me that they were more than capable of doing quality work... I just had to find their strengths.

I'm planning on posting quotes from their papers in my room next week, so today I passed the papers back and asked them to pick out their favorite quote from the paper. I compiled these and tomorrow they will write them on large paper so that they can be displayed (they will write a different student's quote to preserve their anonymity... we know each other's handwriting).

Here are some of their quotes. No doubt context plays a role in understanding some of them, but even still, many are quite profound all on their own.

I started by stopping.

I had been force-fed so many helpings of this God of mine that I just accepted him without really understanding.

Something God had created, and even through awful weather had been thrown at it, it still stood tall with scars from the journey as a reminder of the road traveled to get to the place it was today.

She was never afraid of dying because she had such a great life and was going to a better place.

I realized that God is truly with me in all steps of my life.

I understand that I am part of the universe and that someone or something (God) must have created it all.

I believe that one day there will be a better life than this.

There must be a place where all good deeds don’t go unnoticed.

I experienced God more when I received my Confirmation last year because I received the grace that he offered.

I want my children to realize that God created them in their own special way.

We are able to come to know God through creation because he put a little bit of himself in us and I decided that I want that part of my being to shine and be most prominent.

I see the beauty in life but I see so much bad that the good is just erased.

Why have faith in God if you’re still a fallible human who can choose to do anything?

I think God has a plan for everyone but sometimes it’s a little blurry. You just have to wait for the fog to go away and you will be able to see your path.

But I realized that for things to turn around and good things to happen, you just have to wait and everything will work out.

But where is the future of this religion?

I feel if you are going to love someone, you need to have God there to help you through the relationship and get you to love him.

If I had to put all my trust in someone, God would be the only one I know who wouldn’t let me down because he wouldn’t build my heart to break it down… that is like an architect building the Eiffel Tower and then knocking it over.

I’ve realized not to hold a grudge against God.

I naturally believe some things about God, but I need a full explanation in order to be satisfied.

Every time I try to understand God there are ten more things I don’t understand.

The Church says that brains should tell you God created the universe.

God is always there to listen to your problems and no one can take his place in your heart.

Some people are always searching for something better, they’re never completely satisfied, and no matter what they say, everyone is on a quest for happiness.

You can have anything in the world but if you don’t have a connection with God, you have nothing.

I always thought that it was wrong to question the faith or to doubt the faith, but I’ve realized that it is something we must all do if we are to grow in our faith.

It is an amazing feeling to feel closer to the one who designed and made us who we are.

The happiness where you’re constantly smiling for no reason because you have Someone on your mind who you know is thinking about you too.

It’s not that you have to be taught, it’s more common sense.

People use God as an excuse to do what they want, they abuse the name to the fullest extent and never look back.

She started to rethink God and believe that he must really be there and must do everything he does for a reason.

One can never profitably replace God with other objects.

By rejecting God, it can hinder me in the future.

He told her all about the Catholic Church and its activity in the world: homeless shelters, schools, colleges, and so on.

This whole time I was sad, but all I had to do was look in my heart for happiness. I would have found God. He was there the whole time.

I don’t know if there is a God. I had happiness, had love.

Believe in something you must, but religions just separate people.

We are indeed here for God. He created us so that we could know his love and that we could love and serve him in return.

I have learned if there is a God, there is a devil.

He didn’t want to make this easy for us, but he wants us to struggle a little, to prove to ourselves that we are strong and capable of living in a world like we do today.

Heaven is only attainable because of Jesus and God’s love, and we must be in God’s grace and friendship in order to achieve eternal happiness.

He sees, but does nothing; hopes, but knows fate.

Labels: Catholic education, school

A rather lengthy article from CNA:

Beth Burwell wrestled with the question of whether she could forego having a husband or children.

The answer came to her while visiting a Bronx, N.Y., convent where nuns help single mothers with unwanted pregnancies.

"I held a little girl who had been born at the convent, and I welled up with tears recognizing this little girl might not have been," the 22-year-old from Satellite Beach said in an e-mail. "But God called a group of wonderful women to sacrifice their own marriages and children so that they could help this little girl's mother to say 'yes' to life, 'yes' to motherhood, 'yes' to this precious gift."

Burwell, a University of Central Florida graduate, left a week ago to join the convent of the Sisters of Life and dedicate her life to the Roman Catholic religious order. She was one of five parishioners of Holy Name of Jesus Church in Indialantic, ranging in age from 18 to 34, to enter religious life in recent months, defying a national trend that has seen the ranks of the Catholic Church in the United States grow thinner and grayer.

Labels: U.S. Church, vocations

Courtesy of Ironic Catholic:

Hugo Rahner had an audience with the Pope. After a great deal of discussion, the Pope asked Hugo Rahner his opinion of the world’s greatest theologian.

Rahner squirmed a little bit, breaking eye contact with the Pope while he sought the proper and most humble way to answer the question. Finally, he looked up, shrugged, and said, “I suppose, Your Grace, I would have to say the world’s greatest theologian is my brother, Karl.”

The Pope’s eyes widened. He sat straight up in his chair in astonishment and exclaimed: “Your brother is KARL BARTH?!”

Labels: Church humor

The Vatican Information Service began publishing again today after their summer hiatus. What a way to start:

Holy See Press Office Director Fr. Federico Lombardi S.J. released the following declaration at midday today:

"At around 7.30 a.m. today Alessandro Benedetti, aged 26 and a member of the Corps of the Gendarmerie of Vatican City State, was found in a bathroom of the Gendarmerie's barracks in a very grave condition with a gunshot wound. The young man was taken immediately to Santo Spirito Hospital where he died at around 9 a.m.

"Initial evidence would seem to suggest that the young man committed suicide. A note found on the scene is currently being studied by Vatican magistrates who are following the case and who will examine the information that emerges from the autopsy which has been requested by the Italian coroner.

"Alessandro Benedetti was recruited into the Corps of the Gendarmerie last April as a 'gendarme cadet' following the usual psychological aptitude selection process, also concerning the handling of weapons

"His behavior had not, until now, given cause for concern.

"The Holy Father learnt the news with great sadness. He entrusts young Alessandro to the mercy of God, and remains spiritually close to the Benedetti family and to the members of the Gendarmerie."

In other news:

- Accepted the resignation from the office of president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, presented by Cardinal Paul Poupard, upon having reached the age limit.

- Appointed Msgr. Gianfranco Ravasi, prefect of the Ambrosian Library of Milan, Italy, as president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, of the Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Patrimony of the Church, and of the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archeology, at the same time elevating him to the dignity of archbishop. The archbishop-elect was born in Merate, Italy, in 1942 and was ordained a priest in 1966.

No doubt other more savvy bloggers will pick this up throughout the day and offer learned commentary.

Labels: Vatican