I was up bright and early on Wednesday morning to watch the announcement live myself. Here's John Allen's take on the new cardinals.

By the way, I made my cardinal countdown a couple weeks ago and posted it on the wall and it worked... when Cardinal Lara died last Tuesday, they asked why the number went down one. Then, when I told them about the consistory on Wednesday, they asked why I hadn't adjusted the number yet. Of course, they can't say I was boring them with trivial church matters because they were the ones who were asking!

Have you made yours yet?

Labels: Catholic education, international, Vatican

Ever notice that students couldn't care less about Church happenings?

How many of our students know what a cardinal does and other attributes about one of the most exclusive clubs on the planet? Here's something to get them interested.

With the current rumors that Pope Benedict will be naming new cardinals soon, make a cardinal display for the classroom. I suggest using dry erase paper so that you can add or subtract numbers easily. I haven't made mine yet, but I'm planning on using a long sheet of red construction paper with two squares of dry erase paper. On two strips of white paper I will print the following (probably from the computer so it's neat): Number of Cardinals Eligible to Vote in a Papal Conclave; Total Number of Cardinals. Then I'll write in the current numbers (104; 184) on the dry erase paper and change them as necessary.

I plan to just put it up and wait for the kids to ask about it. When I change the numbers, I plan to write them in a different color, that way they're more likely to notice there's been a change. This leads to a discussion (student-initiated) on the cardinal who just passed away or the one who just turned 80. When the rumored consistory happens next month, the kids will actually be interested in it and we can discuss it, show clips, and look at the new guys. Since Archbishop Wuerl is likely to get a red hat, they'll look forward to seeing him at the Youth Mass before the March for Life in January.

If Catholic identity is a concern among educators, and to me it should be, here's one way to bring them in on a uniquely Catholic phenomenon. Perhaps extra credit projects can include research on the new cardinals, the history of cardinals, or of the U.S. cardinals.

Labels: Catholic education, international, Pope Benedict, school, U.S. Bishops

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

From CNA:

Archbishop Adrian Doyle of Hobart has confirmed plans for a new $12-million Catholic high school in Kingston that would introduce a new policy requiring at least 75 percent of the students be Catholic.

St. Aloysius Catholic College, set to open in 2009, would be the first school to operate with the new 75-percent policy, which he said, would ensure a "very strong Catholic ethos and vision" in the schools.

The archbishop said about 40 percent of the current student population in Tasmanian Catholic schools is not Catholic.

The new policy will require an exemption under Tasmania's Anti-Discrimination Act, which the State Government will consider later this year. It would be slowly rolled out across the state.

The new school will also meet the growing demand for Catholic education in the region. Other Catholic high schools have either had to turn students away or squeeze them in, taking in students beyond their usual capacity.

"The establishment of this new Catholic College, which will be an extension of the existing St Aloysius Primary School, will be a wonderful opportunity to provide Catholic Education at the secondary level to the growing number of students who live in the Kingborough area," Archbishop Doyle said in a statement.

The new co-ed school will be a “green building” built on church-owned vacant land. It will operate with solar power and have efficient water use.

St. Aloysius Catholic College will be able to accommodate 360 students and have a strong emphasis on performing arts.

Labels: Catholic education, international

Rocco has a piece on the Baltimore Catechism today and I was reading along with no particular interest in it, until I got to this gem:

"The book is often reprinted by parents who are disturbed by the liberal bent of the catechizing of their children and are upset by the nontraditional approach that flighty religious educators have taken since the 1960s," said the Rev. Michael Roach, pastor of St. Bartholomew Roman Catholic Church in Manchester.

One of my old professors of Church history, Papa Roach has a way with words. As I read the quote, I have no doubt that he actually said it word for word, but I can't help thinking just in case, "If it ain't true, it ought to be."

By the way, at the end, Rocco has this to say:

I was on the phone the other day with friend whose education coincided with the sea change in catechesis and, as a result, got to experience the old and the new of the religious education coin.

When the subject of the Baltimore came up, he had this memorable quote to offer: "Look, it wasn't perfect, it had its flaws, but it fulfilled its purpose.... And it was surely more useful than making dioramas."

I think lots of people are starting to feel this way.

Labels: Catholic education, personal

From the Providence College paper, The Cowl: (h/t Domini Sumus)

As the mild weather cooled off at sunset yesterday, more than 100 students with red shirts and balloons gathered at the front gates of Providence College, armed with signs saying "We will not stop fighting for an end to sexual assault," and "Vaginas are not vulgar, rape is vulgar." For the second year in a row, PC students protested the decision of Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P., president of Providence College, to ban the production of The Vagina Monologues on campus.

Many who saw a similar protest one year ago are asking, is this déjà vu? Perhaps, but the cast and crew of The Vagina Monologues and many other supporters said they will not stop protesting just because the production was banned last year.

"We want the entire administration to know that we're not going to go away," said Francis Ford '07, president of Women Will. She added that educating students about sexual assault is "too important an issue" to give up on.

Father Shanley said he has not changed his position on the Monologues but has come to see why the play is such a passionate issue for the students. He added that the protest does not bother him.

"As an educator, controversies like this are great because they force people to talk about issues," he said. "I admire the passion and determination of the students."

Father Shanley's rejection of the play's performance on campus is due to its incongruity with the Roman Catholic values of the College.

"Roman Catholic teaching sees female sexuality as ordered toward a loving giving of self to another in a union of body, mind, and soul that is ordered to the procreation of new life," said Father Shanley in a statement posted on the Providence College Web site. ". . . Any depiction of female sexuality that neglects its unitive and procreative dimensions diminishes its complexity, its mystery, and its dignity."

In the few dealings I've had with Fr. Shanley, he seems to be a very nice man and extremely personable. What I want to know is this: why is the performance of this play required in order to talk about and discuss female sexuality and sexual abuse? Why is this mandatory? Surely a discussion of Mulieris Dignitatem would work too? Why are these students so focused on just this particular work? Instead of wasting time protesting (let's be honest, their protest made little impact), they could have held a school-sanctioned forum.

Here's a life lesson: very few people in this world do what they want. We all have bosses. Your boss (President Shanley, OP) has given you the parameters. Are they to your liking? Well, no, join the rest of the real world. Instead of whining like little kids, work within the system. Once you're out of the system (that you have freely put yourself in and pay inordinate amounts of money to be in, by the way), then do what you want.

Welcome to grown-up life. Any questions?

Labels: Catholic education, moral issues

Saint John's is getting a new rector:

Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley appointed Father Arthur L. Kennedy as the 19th rector of St. John’s Seminary in Brighton, effective July 1, 2007. Father John A. Farren, OP, the current rector, will conclude his term on June 30, according to a statement dated Jan. 31.

...

Father Kennedy was ordained for the Archdiocese of Boston in 1966 and served at parishes in Methuen and East Boston for eight years. With the permission of Cardinal Humberto S. Medeiros, he accepted a position as a member of the theology faculty at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn. in 1974. He later served as a faculty member in the newly established Catholic Studies program and was director of St. Paul Seminary’s Master of Arts in theology program. Recently he has served as chair of the theology department at St. Thomas and executive director of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs.

Labels: Catholic education, U.S. Church

As promised... From today's issue of the school's newspaper:

On an average day last week, I walked into Mr. Lepage’s Theology class. He introduced a topic, which, at first, completely threw me off. “Pimp My Classroom” were involved in his choice of words. I took a moment to screw my jaw back in only to listen to what he had to say next.

His ideas are focused on the preparations for Christmas, also known as the time of Advent. He prattled off his ideas, obviously excited and eager to tell us just how thrilled he is come this time each year. His first idea was the Advent Wreath. This wreath is composed of paper hands, all green, to symbolize the evergreen commonly found in the season of Christmas, for it’s the only thing that can survive. The four candles inside represent the four Sundays leading up to Christmas.

This massive wreath is hung directly behind the students’ heads in class. Surrounding this wreath is what Mr. Lepage calls the “O Prayers”. These all begin with ‘O’ and are titles of Jesus that are all in Latin, which allows students to get a real feel for the tradition.

Along with this, Mr. Lepage, with his intense ideas, wants all students to learn and remember the importance of St. Nicholas Day. So, following the tradition, all students brought in a pair of shoes to leave overnight in his classroom only to come in the following day to find them filled with treats.

The final commemorating celebration of the Lepage ingénue is creating the Jesse Tree. It is a large, green paper tree that reminds everybody where Jesus came from. Each ornament hanging from the tree is a story of the Bible that the students made themselves. In class he went over the ornaments to allow the students to expand their knowledge on stories important to know. To make sure we remember them, he will challenge us on which story is depicted by which decorative item.

Ignoring what Mr. Lepage dubbed this Advent extravaganza, these activities allow each and every student to have the opportunity to feel like a part of a collaboration of the Christmas season and spirit. Touching upon as many traditions as would allow him, the students now feel a sense of understanding that we haven’t felt before.

Labels: Advent, Catholic education, personal

I'm not sure I'm jumping on this bandwagon just yet:

The Internet has a patron saint - St. Isidore of Seville - and on sunny days, a stained-glass window of his likeness now radiates its multi-colored glow onto Boston College's newly renovated data information systems.

...
According to Butler's Lives of the Saints, Isidore insisted that "freemen and bondmen" were equal in the eyes of God, a radical idea in 620 A.D. A prolific teacher, the pious pedagogue was sometimes called "The Schoolmaster of the Middle Ages."

Indeed, such is the sweep of one of his scholarly works, the Etymologies, that it's sometimes esteemed as a pioneering prototype of the modern-day database.

Partly for that reason, an advisory group to the Vatican concluded that the learned bishop was the ideal choice to be the patron saint of the Internet, BC said.

And now in St. Clement's Hall, a stained-glass window of St. Isidore sheds its light on BC's relocated data center.

"It's absolutely beautiful," BC spokesman Jack Dunn said of the window. "And it's charm is that the old is illuminating the new."

More...

Labels: Catholic education, saints

Article in today's Boston Globe on the identity and mission of Catholic colleges and universities:

It's 8:30 on a rainy Tuesday night on the Boston College campus, and the big news of the evening is that Massachusetts has elected its first African-American governor and a major Democratic sweep of Congress is underway.

But in the campus's new Hillside Cafe, with Starbucks coffee and track lighting and Pink Martini playing through a laptop, 150 students have gathered to discuss an unlikely subject: the Catholic Mass.

In a new effort at the Jesuit university to engage students in conversations about faith, the college has launched a monthly series of discussions about Catholicism.

The program, intentionally scheduled late at night, over food, and outside of a church, is also deliberately irreverent: organizers wear espresso-colored T-shirts reading "What Would Jesus Brew?"; promotional posters feature a philosophy professor with a latte foam mustache; and the first topic of discussion was "Who needs religion?"

In last week's discussion, "Mass Appeal: Why do we go?", the speaker, adjunct philosophy professor Kerry M. Cronin, lists the best Masses she has attended, acknowledges that in some cases she attended Mass to look for boys, and then oversees a discussion on issues such as the merits of contemporary music at Mass and how to find a decent liturgy away from a college campus.

In its entirety, it's not as bad as it sounds.

Labels: Catholic education