MADE FOR ALL A LIFE NIGHT ON HOW THE CHURCH IS CATHOLIC

Transcription

1 LIFE NIGHT OVERVIEW MADE FOR ALL A LIFE NIGHT ON HOW THE CHURCH IS CATHOLIC GOAL The goal of this Life Night is to give the teens a deeper appreciation and understanding of what it means for the Church to be catholic, or universal, and how it calls each of us to action. KEY CONCEPTS Precisely because we are catholic, we are called to go out and spread the Good News to all of the nations. Our motivation to spread the Good News comes from the love of God that we have received, and thus we desire to share it with all those we encounter. It is the Holy Spirit who gives us the strength, courage, and wisdom to be missionaries to those around us. ABOUT THIS LIFE NIGHT This Life Night begins with a small group competition to name flags from around the world. The Proclaim explains what it means for the Church to be catholic, or universal, and the call to be missionaries in our everyday lives. The Break offers a special witness from someone who has experienced the Catholic Church in a different language and country. It also gives teens an opportunity to brainstorm ways they can be missionaries every day. The Life Night ends with a prayer to the Holy Spirit. ENVIRONMENT The environment for this Life Night is multicultural. It has bright colors and an international flare. The decorations can include flags, clothes, the word hello or welcome in different languages, and souvenirs from around the world. Have a mix of different music from around the world playing. Serve international foods. If you have Core Members from different countries, have them dress in their country s traditional clothing, or have Core Members pick a particular country, wear a traditional outfit from that country, and share interesting facts with the teens about the country. KEY TERMS: Catholic Mission SCRIPTURE: Matthew 24:14 Matthew 28:18-19 Colossians 1:15-18 CATECHISM: MEDIA SUGGESTIONS Konrad Krolczyk: World Youth Day in Krakow 2016 Aftermovie SDM (youtube.com) KevinWilsonLo: World Youth Day 2016 Theme Song in 23 Languages (youtube.com) SOCIAL MEDIA HASHTAGS: #LT_MadeForAll #catholic 40 MADE SERIES 41

2 AS YOU GET STARTED... To go deeper if the Life Night falls around Holy Week, schedule a pilgrimage to multiple churches and pray in front of the Blessed Sacrament during the Holy Thursday vigil. Purposefully try to go to churches with a multi-cultural community like Vietnamese, Filipino, Korean, or Hispanic. For the Proclaim, if your parish is outside of the United States, adapt by including facts about your nation and surrounding nations. To challenge the teens during the Send, instruct them to be a missionaries on their social media by posting about Jesus or their faith everyday this week. Start the next Life Night by sharing the some of those posts. HISPANIC INCULTURATION By Enrique Luis Perez In the Proclaim or Send, incorporate the well known song, Alma Misionera. Consider inviting the music minister to close the Life Night with it or playing a recorded version over the audio system. Create an prayerful environment with dim lights and candles. Notes: 42 MADE SERIES 43

3 GATHER LIFE NIGHT: MADE FOR ALL Welcome and Prayer (5 min) The youth minister gathers the teens into the main meeting space, welcomes them to the Life Night, and begins in prayer. Whose Flag Is It Anyway? (10 min) Have a slideshow prepared ahead of time with flags from different countries. The youth minister or a Core Member hosts this game and begins by inviting the teens to divide into their small groups. Then he or she instructs the teens to discuss and write down what country they think the flag is from. After all the flags have been shown, a Core Member collects the sheets from the groups and figures out which small group has the most correct flags. While that is being done, the host shows the slide show again, but this time reveals the correct country and one Catholic fact about that country. Consider giving the small group that wins a small international treat like Mexican candy or Italian cannoli. Here are a few examples of Catholic countries and facts. Mexico: An estimated 10 million people visit the Our Lady of Guadalupe Basilica in Mexico every year. (CNA) Kenya: The Basilica of the Holy Family in Kenya can hold 3,000-4,000 people. (Holy Family Basilica) Italy: Italy has one of the largest numbers of dioceses of any other country with 222 dioceses. (CNA) Poland: 87% of the population of Poland is Catholic. (CIA World Factbook) DR Congo: The largest social network of schools, hospitals, and churches in DR Congo is run by the Catholic Church. (Every Culture) Brazil: Has more than 100 million Catholics. (PEW) East Timor: 96.9% of it s population is Catholic. East Timor declared three days of national mourning upon the death of St. John Paul II in (PEW ) Philippines: Very few countries are home to more Catholics per capita than the Philippines. As of 2010, there were about 76 million Catholics living in the Philippines roughly the same as the number living in the United States. (PEW) PROCLAIM Made For All Teaching (15 min) The Proclaim Outline and Details can be found on pages 48 to 53. BREAK International Witness (5 min) The youth minister invites a missionary or world traveler to share a short talk about their experience of the Catholic Church in a different language and culture. Have them share pictures and emphasize that the Mass and the Catholic faith is the same around the world. Small Group Brainstorming Session (30 min) The youth minister instructs the teens to get into their small groups and the Core Members lead a small group brainstorming session using the following: 44 MADE SERIES 45

4 Often times we picture the missionary as someone helping a poor village in Africa dig a well or helping care for orphans in a third world country. This is an important part of our Church; however, it is not the only way we can be missionaries. We can be missionaries here and now. Do we have a friend who is struggling? Do we have a brother or sister who is in need of our understanding, patience, and love? Do we have a cousin who always asks questions about our Church, but no one really responds? This is our calling. This is our mission field. The Core Members instruct the teens to brainstorm different ideas and commitments they can make to be missionaries on a daily basis. Then, he or she instructs the teens to come up with ways to hold each other accountable. Have pen and poster board available for the teens to use as they brainstorm. SEND Come Holy Spirit (10 min) The Core Members pass out pen, paper, and the Come Holy Spirit Prayer Card, found in the Life Teen January 2017 USB or online at LifeTeen.com under Life Support: January 2017, while the youth minister introduces this prayer activity using the following: Now that we aware of our missionary calling and have ideas about how we can be missionaries in our everyday lives, let s ask for help from the Holy Spirit to fulfill our call. The youth minister instructs the teens to use their pen and paper to write a prayer to the Holy Spirit asking for help in accomplishing the specific tasks they have previously brainstormed. Then, the group prays the Come Holy Spirit together. Notes: 46 MADE SERIES 47

5 KEY TERMS MADE FOR ALL PROCLAIM OUTLINE Catholic: One of the four marks of the Church meaning universal because the Church possesses the fullness of Christ s presence and the means of salvation and because she has been sent to the entire human race. Mission: The Church is missionary by her very nature as she continues the work of Christ through the Holy Spirit according to the plan of God. TEACHING POINTS UNIVERSAL Paint a picture for the teens of how many Catholic Churches there are in their city, diocese, state, country, and the world. The same Jesus that is present in their local church is also present in all the Catholic Churches throughout the world. Catholic means universal. The Church is catholic in that she is present in throughout the world and because Jesus Christ dwells in her, and in Him all things are held together. Every human heart yearns for God - young and old, rich and poor, people from different countries and cultures. It is a universal yearning and a universal answer, Jesus. Jesus dwells in the Church. MISSIONARY MANDATE Even though the Church is present in all the countries, Jesus is not present in everyone s hearts. Thus, we must continue our missionary efforts. In Matthew 28:19, Jesus commissioned the apostles: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. ORIGIN AND PURPOSE OF MISSION IS LOVE It is crucial for us to remember that the origin and purpose of our mission is love. We are not doing it to be right or get cool Instagram photos or anything else other than to spread the love of God because He has loved us first. The Church is the means by which we can come to know God s love and bring people back into communion with Love. FUELED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT Our missionary efforts are inspired and empowered by the Holy Spirit. We cannot give what we do not have. We have to be filled with the Holy Spirit before we can go out. Remember to offer up a prayer to the Holy Spirit before you go out on mission. Notes: 48 MADE SERIES 49

6 TEACHING UNIVERSAL MADE FOR ALL PROCLAIM DETAILS Instruct the teens to close their eyes and invite them to imagine their parish on a Sunday. Imagine the building, the people, the inside of the church, the pastor, the choir, the Eucharistic ministers, ushers, and lectors. Now, instruct them to imagine a nearby parish, one that they have been to, and how they celebrate Mass. Next, ask them to think about the many other parishes in their city and how they celebrate Mass. Then, tell them the number of parishes in your diocese, followed by the number of parishes in your state, and then that there are over 17,000 parishes that celebrate Mass every Sunday in the United States. Now imagine Canada and all the Catholic parishes there. Imagine Central America, and South America, and all the parishes there. Now, imagine all the way across the Atlantic in Europe, Africa, on to Asia, and Australia and all the parishes and Masses in those countries. The same readings will be read in the respective languages, and the same Jesus -- Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity -- will be present in each of these parishes throughout the entire world. Our Church is catholic. Catholic means universal. Our Church is catholic in that she is present throughout the whole world and that she is on mission to bring Christ to the entire human race. CCC Additionally, our Church is catholic because Jesus Christ dwells in her. Jesus Christ is all-encompassing. Everything was created through Him and in Him all things hold together. Thus Christ s presence in the Church makes her truly universal. Colossians 1:15-18, CCC One of the first recorded times that the word, catholic, was used to describe the Church was by St. Ignatius of Antioch in a letter he wrote to the Smyraeans. In this letter he said, Where there is Christ Jesus, there is the Catholic Church. CCC 830 Every human heart yearns for God - young and old, rich and poor, American, Brazilian, Mexican, Canadian, Polish, Swiss, Ugandan, etc. It is a universal yearning and a universal answer, Jesus. Jesus dwells in the Church. MISSIONARY MANDATE Even though the Church is present in all countries, Jesus is not present in the hearts of all people. Therefore, the Church s missionary efforts continue. When Jesus ascended into heaven, He knew His mission was not yet finished, so He commissioned His disciples to continue His mission by commanding them to Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. Matthew 28:19 Part of following Christ is to be missionary. This does not mean that we have to drop everything and go to a foreign country and bring the Good News to the poor there. However, we do have to respond to this command in a real way. This can be through praying for those in need, or serving in our local soup kitchen, or studying the faith so we can answer challenging questions about it. 50 MADE SERIES 51

7 ORIGIN AND PURPOSE OF MISSION IS LOVE It is important to remember that the origin and purpose of our mission is love. We aren t trying to be right, we aren t trying to win holiness, and we aren t trying to get cool photos on our Instagram accounts. We are trying to love because we have first been loved. Matthew 24:14, CCC 850 God is a communion of life-giving love, Father, Son, and Spirit. Out of love, God sends His Son on a joint-mission with the Holy Spirit to bring His people back into communion with Him, into communion with Love. The Church, the people of God, is the vessel in which we, ourselves, come to know God s love and likewise bring people back to into communion with Love. CCC 850 Think about a great TV show or YouTube channel you just discovered. What was one of the first things you did after discovering it? You probably told your friends about it so they could share in it. Mission is similar. We have an encounter with God s love that is so great that we want to share Him with our friends. FUELED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT Our missionary efforts are inspired and empowered by the Holy Spirit. In John 20:21, Jesus is talking to His disciples, and He sends them into the world as missionaries: As the Father sent me, so I send you. Then, He empowers them by breathing the Holy Spirit on them saying, Receive the Holy Spirit. Then again, in Acts 2, the Holy Spirit fills the disciples and they go forth proclaiming the Good News and converting thousands. CCC 852, Acts 2:41 We cannot forget that we cannot give what we do not have. We must first dive into the Good News and be filled with the Holy Spirit before we go out to share Him with all those around us. Remember to offer up a prayer before you have a conversation with someone or before you go to serve. Ask the Holy Spirit for the grace to help you proclaim Christ with both your words and actions. Let s strive to live out the words of St. Josemaria Escriva, Don t have a small town outlook. Enlarge your heart until it becomes universal catholic. Don t fly like a barnyard hen when you can soar like an eagle. St. Josemaria Escriva, The Way, 7 Notes: 52 MADE SERIES 53

8 CORE TEAM OVERVIEW MADE FOR ALL: A Life Night on How the Church is Catholic GOAL: The goal of this Life Night is to give the teens a deeper appreciation and understanding of what it means for the Church to be catholic, or universal, and how it calls each of us to action. GATHER (15 MIN): Welcome and Prayer: Whose Flag Is It Anyway?: PROCLAIM (15 MIN): Made For All Teaching: BREAK (35 MIN): International Witness: Small Group Brainstorming Session: Instruct the teens to brainstorm different ideas and commitments they can make to be missionaries on a daily basis. Often times we picture the missionary as someone helping a poor village in Africa dig a well or helping care for orphans in a third world country. This is an important part of our Church; however, it is not the only way we can be missionaries. We can be missionaries here and now. Do we have a friend who is struggling? Do we have a brother or sister who is in need of our understanding, patience, and love? Do we have a cousin who always asks questions about our Church, but no one really responds? This is our calling. This is our mission field. SEND (10 MIN): Come Holy Spirit: Notes: 54 MADE SERIES 55