Vocations HEROES WHO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

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1 8th Grade: Religious Education OVERVIEW OBJECTIVES: To recognize the movement of the Holy Spirit in your own life through Saint Ignatius rule for discernment of spirits. To trust in God s plan of complementarity in marriage. To be grateful for my own gender attributes. To appreciate the way the priesthood makes a difference in people s lives. To be inspired by people in the religious life to foster the interior call of God to become holy. MAIN CONCEPTS: Being able to recognize the quiet voice of God in one s life helps people to discover not only their future vocation but also the good paths God is leading them on right now. Sin clouds discernment. The Holy Spirit works through consolation and conviction, while the enemy works through desolation and pleasure. The unity of the differences in marriage (man and woman) is what brings forth life through conception and continues to be necessary to the nurturing of that life (the child). In marriage, the spouses image God s love more fully together than apart. God is sovereign and is the one who is truly active in the ministry of a priest or anyone doing good work. A priest makes a deep difference in the lives of many people, often times unknowingly. The religious life is ordered to foster an awareness of the interior call and one s own life in God. PLANNING DIRECTIONS: Choose the components you wish to use given the time you have and the needs of your students. Do you not know that the runners in the stadium all run in the race, but only one wins the prize? Run so as to win. Every athlete exercises discipline in every way. They do it to win a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one. Thus I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing. No, I drive my body and train it, for fear that, after having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified. -1 Corinthians 9:24-27 OPENING ACTIVITY HEROES WHO MAKE A DIFFERENCE Brainstorm names of people who make a difference in the world, and think about how they ve made a difference. The people can be living or dead, famous, or family members. Now think about the priests you know. What difference have these priests made in your lives, at the school, or in the parish? INTRODUCTION DISCERNMENT INTRODUCTION TO DISCERNMENT OF SPIRITS Rules for Discernment In Spiritual Exercises, St. Ignatius provides various rules for the discernment of spirits (Spiritual Exercises, ). Good and evil spirits operate according to the spiritual condition of the individual. For people who have closed themselves off from God s grace, the good spirit disturbs and shakes up. It stirs feelings of remorse and discontent. The purpose is to make the person unhappy with a sinful way of life. On the other hand, the evil spirit wants such people to continue in their confusion and darkness. So the evil spirit tries to make them complacent, content, and satisfied with St. Ignatius was a spiritual their distractions and master whose Spiritual pleasures. Exercises have been used by famous saints for almost For people who are trying five centuries. to live a life pleasing to God, the good spirit strengthens, encourages, consoles, removes obstacles, and gives peace. The evil spirit tries to derail them by stirring up anxiety, false sadness, needless confusion, frustration, and other obstacles. Vocation Lessons 8th Grade: 1 2 min Summarize today s theme. Through this lesson we hope to become familiar with the vocations to which God calls people so that you will be able to follow his call always. Right now, you are in the single state of life, but someday God may call you to a particular vocation married life, priesthood, or religious life. 1

2 OPENING PRAYER 2 min Let us draw near to God during today s lesson. Read aloud 1 Corinthians 9: Do you not know that the runners in the stadium all run in the race, but only one wins the prize? Run so as to win. Every athlete exercises discipline in every way. They do it to win a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one. Thus I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing. No, I drive my body and train it, for fear that, after having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified. -1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Pray a simple prayer from the heart or: Lord, we want to live life as if we were running toward you as a prize. Help us to see our life in perspective of heaven and be earnest in our pursuit of holiness here and now. Amen. OPENING ACTIVITY HEROES WHO MAKE A DIFFERENCE 5 min Have students brainstorm names of people who make a difference in the world. The people can be living or dead, famous or family members. Students can volunteer information about what kind of a difference their heroes have made. Now ask the students about priests they know. Ask what difference these priests have made in their lives, at the school, or in the parish. Do you not know that the runners in the stadium all run in the race, but only one wins the prize? Run so as to win. Every athlete exercises discipline in every way. They do it to win a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one. Thus I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing. No, I drive my body and train it, for fear that, after having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified. -1 Corinthians 9:24-27 OPENING ACTIVITY HEROES WHO MAKE A DIFFERENCE Brainstorm names of people who make a difference in the world, and think about how they ve made a difference. The people can be living or dead, famous, or family members. Now think about the priests you know. What difference have these priests made in your lives, at the school, or in the parish? ESTABLISHING THE CONCEPTS DISCERNMENT INTRODUCTION TO DISCERNMENT OF SPIRITS Rules for Discernment In Spiritual Exercises, St. Ignatius provides various rules for the discernment of spirits (Spiritual Exercises, ). Good and evil spirits operate according to the spiritual condition of the individual. For people who have closed themselves off from God s grace, the good spirit disturbs and shakes up. It stirs feelings of remorse and discontent. The purpose is to make the person unhappy with a sinful way of life. On the other hand, the evil spirit wants such people to continue in their confusion and darkness. So the evil spirit tries to make them complacent, content, and satisfied with St. Ignatius was a spiritual their distractions and master whose Spiritual pleasures. Exercises have been used by famous saints for almost For people who are trying five centuries. to live a life pleasing to God, the good spirit strengthens, encourages, consoles, removes obstacles, and gives peace. The evil spirit tries to derail them by stirring up anxiety, false sadness, needless confusion, frustration, and other obstacles. Vocation Lessons 8th Grade: 1 DISCERNMENT, MARRIAGE, PRIESTHOOD, AND RELIGIOUS LIFE 1. Read through the reading pages individually, in small groups, or as a class. 2. Use the questions to spark class discussion, or assign students to write answers to the questions. 3. Quiz the students a bit to see if they grasp the concepts. If it is helpful, refer to the Vocation Glossary found at DISCERNMENT 10 min 2

3 MARRIAGE 5 min DISCERNMENT continued It is just this way with the differences between women and men. God has created each one of us, every human being, for greater things to love and to be loved. But why did God make some of us men and others women? Because a woman s love is one image of the love of God, and a man s love is another image of God s love. Both are created to love, but each in a different way. Woman and man complete each other, and together show forth God s love more fully than either can do it alone. Discernment means carefully listening to God so we can choose our path in life. Discernment of spirits is a challenging task. It requires maturity, inner quiet, and an ability to reflect on one s interior life. Discernment takes practice. It is something of an art. Ignatius Loyola s rules for discernment provide a framework, not a program. We must be ready to improvise and adjust because God works in each of us so uniquely. That is why most counselors recommend undertaking discernment of spirits with the assistance of a spiritual director. Be Curious: What are the rules of discernment for a person in a state of grace? For a person in mortal sin? Why do you think that God works through these ways? Where have you noticed these rules in effect? How can you use the discernment of spirits as you think about your vocation? MARRIAGE We know that the best place for children to learn how to love and to pray is in the family, by seeing the love and prayer of their mother and father. When families are broken or disunited, many children grow up not knowing how to love and pray. I have often seen, especially in the rich countries, how children turn to drugs or other things to escape feeling unloved and rejected. But when families are strong and united, children can see God s special love in the love of their father and mother and can grow to make their country a loving and prayerful place. The child is God s best gift to the family and needs both mother and father because each one shows God s love in a special way. Blessed Teresa of Calcutta NEW DELHI, INDIA: (FILES) This undated photo shows Mother Teresa. Mother Teresa will be beatified, 19 October 2003, in a ceremony in St Peter s Square, Vatican. The beatification ceremony is the penultimate step to being canonised a saint and has been the shortest in modern history. Following the beatification, a second miracle has to be verified by the Vatican before Mother Teresa can be proclaimed a saint. AFP PHOTO (Photo credit should read RAVEEN- DRAN/AFP/Getty Images) From Mother Teresa s address to the World Conference on Women in Beijing, 1995 I do not understand why some people are saying that women and men are exactly the same, and are denying the beautiful differences between men and women. All God s gifts are good, but they are not all the same. As I often say to people who tell me that they would like to serve the poor as I do, What I can do, you cannot. What you can do, I cannot. But together we can do something beautiful for God. Vocation Lessons 8th Grade: 2 3

4 PRIESTHOOD 10 min PRIESTHOOD MAKING A DIFFERENCE By Fr. Gerard Francik I want to share with you two stories that show why I am a priest and how God continues to confirm his calling to me. Just a few months ago, I received a phone call from a young woman who now lives on the West Coast. She was going to be in town for a few days and wanted to stop by and visit with me. I had no idea why. I didn t even recognize her name, but there I was, a few days later, greeting her and her mother at the door. She came into my office, and with tears in her eyes recounted the story of the death of her stepfather. Neither she nor her mother had been Catholic, but they remembered my taking care of her father when he was hospitalized and later as he was dying. She said that I had included them so much in the funeral, even though they did not understand all of the rituals. She wanted me to know how grateful she was. I thought that was the end of the conversation. after she checked with the front office, I appeared and was able to sit and talk with her. She said it took no more than five minutes, but that conversation changed her life. She left there feeling God presence and peace. That young woman came back to thank me. She said she thought that priests too frequently are not told how they have helped another in need. I honestly don t remember the conversation that she said changed her life. Five years ago a couple I married called with great news. I knew that they had wanted children and that, for years, they were unable to conceive. This time the news was different: They were going to have a baby. They had heard from an adoption agency, and they were flying to China to meet their new little girl. They would be there two weeks but wanted to arrange for her baptism when they returned. Would you be willing to baptize our baby? the husband asked. Of course, I replied. I would be honored. I then asked how his parents must feel, since he was an only child and this would be their first grandchild. He said, Oh, we haven t told them yet. We wanted to tell you first! I was speechless. One of the most poignant and important moments of life, and they wanted me to be part of it first. That is why I am still a priest. I am able to walk into the most profound moments in people s lives and make a difference. God confirms his call to me every day by using me to bring his blessings and grace to others in so many ways. Most of the time, I m not even aware that he is using me, because it is God giving the blessings and grace, not me. And people like these, who cross my path every day, are such a blessing to me personally. Is life as a priest lonely? Not with wonderful people like these! But then she described how, days later, she and her boyfriend were driving in a car together and had a terrible accident. He was killed. Others blamed her for his death, and in fact, she found herself feeling terribly guilty (even though she was not) and blaming herself. One desperate day, driving through some country roads at very high speeds, she decided to try to find me. I had been transferred to our youth retreat house. Luckily, Discuss How did Fr. Francik make a difference? Why does Fr. Francik think that he is able to be part of profound things happening in other people s lives even though he is unaware of it? How and why is the vocation of a priest oriented toward being able to be there and make a difference in many people s lives? Vocation Lessons 8th Grade: 3 4

5 RELIGIOUS LIFE 15 min RELIGIOUS LIFE I NEED TO AT LEAST GIVE IT A TRY Excerpts from a real letter by a young woman to her brother explaining her attraction to Religious Life. Dear Steve, I know that this whole idea of me becoming a cloistered contemplative Passionist Nun may seem like some crazy idea that I just dreamt up one night. Instead, this is something that I have been praying about for almost a year. At least three years prior to that, I began praying that God would reveal His will for my life and give me the grace and courage I would need in order to follow it. After attending three or four youth retreats over a course of several years, I could no longer deny that religious life was something that I definitely needed to look into as a possibility... Mom and Dad took me to a Come & See Retreat at this community s monastery [The Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration]. While I was there, I had fun and met some wonderful active sisters, but it just didn t attract me or seem like something I would want to spend the rest of my life doing. I continued to ask our Lord for direction... I had no idea where God was leading me, but I still wanted to follow Him. After one retreat I attended, I gave my contact information to the Passionist Nuns. About a month later, I received an from Sr. John Mary... Sr. John Mary invited me to their monastery for a Come & See Retreat. So at the end of January 2003, a friend and I went to the Passionist Monastery in Whitesville, Kentucky to attend this retreat. Mostly, I had wanted to go because I wanted to see Sr. John Mary, but also because I wanted to learn more about where God was leading me. No thoughts of possibly joining their community had entered my mind. During this retreat... we were able to experience some of what life is like for the nuns, including their life of prayer and silence. I know many people might think of this like someone standing over them ready to slap them with a ruler if they so much as cough, but it isn t like that at all. Yes, it is quiet, but it is quiet because the nuns choose to be quiet... because it helps them to stay focused on their relationship with our Savior. Since this first visit to St. Joseph s Monastery almost a year ago, I have been back numerous times I have been inside their cloister living their life of prayer, study, work, play, and silence with them, in addition to receiving spiritual direction from their vocation directress... As I look at the decision I have made to give the Passionist life a try... I can understand that a decision like this is very foreign to what you can understand and relate to. I wish I could explain to you exactly how I feel, but the only way I know how to even begin to explain to you how and why I feel the way I do is to compare it to marriage, specifically to yours. When you first met Susan, you had to be introduced to her just Sr. Maria Johanna, a young Passionist nun like I had to be introduced to the Passionist Nuns. After being introduced, you and Susan each had to make the decision whether or not you wanted to foster some type of a relationship with the other. The Nuns and I, too, had to make this same decision. Just as your relationship with Susan would not have grown had the two of you not agreed to work at it, neither would my relationship with Jesus through the Nuns have grown. Your decision to work at building your relationship was, I m sure, greatly affected by your attraction to the way Susan looked, dressed, and acted. My relationship with the Passionist Nuns also was greatly affected by my attraction to the way they live, dress, and act. During your years of dating, your relationship with Susan took stronger and deeper roots and blossomed more and more each day you spent time with Susan The same has been, and continues to be, the case with my relationship with Christ as I, along with the Passionist Nuns, discern His will for my life. Vocation Lessons 8th Grade: 4 5

6 EXPLORATION 10 min Choose one of the options below to further explore today s themes. TO BE A PRIEST 1. Play the clip To Be a Priest. The video is 20 minutes long, but watching even the first 5-10 minutes is beneficial. The video can be views online at watch?v=kfnhawki7de. 2. Discuss the questions together as a class or in small groups. Alternatively, you may assign the students to answer in writing. COMMON MOVEMENTS OF THE SPIRITS 1. Through discussion with students, identify some common ways that God wants a middle school student to succeed. What does a middle school student s enemy want? What might some common consolations be? What might some common desolations be? 2. Have students write a dialogue between themselves, God, and the devil. 3. Optional: choose one of the best dialogues and have students act it out. RELIGIOUS LIFE continued When you first saw Susan in your History class less than ten years ago, I doubt you thought you would be married to her with two beautiful children before you turned 24. When I got that first from Sr. John Mary, I can tell you for certain that my thoughts were nothing along the lines of even considering joining her community. However, as with any good relationship, time moved on... I began to feel more comfortable moving about their monastery, as if I were at a very close friend s house. I felt as if I were a part of their community while I was there. An overwhelming sense of peace and security, happiness and joy comes upon me each time I go to visit. After spending several days at their monastery in early June, I even felt homesick when I returned to mom and dad s house! These feelings were all such a mystery to me, as I m sure were your feelings toward Susan as you continued to spend increasingly more time together. Your feelings and love for Susan have been stretched, twisted, tried, and strengthened in many ways over the years. You are still unable to express in words exactly how you feel about her or why you feel the way you do because love is a mystery that can only be fully understood through experience. You could explain as much as you want, but I will never fully understand the depth of your relationship with Susan. The same is true for me to expect you to fully understand my relationship with Jesus and my desire to love and praise Him all the days of my life. Right now, I am in the midst of a very long and thorough discernment process, and am unsure whether or not God truly is calling me to live the rest of my life at St. Joseph s Monastery in Whitesville, Kentucky, but I believe that is where He is leading me at this point. I know that if I do not follow Him when and where He leads me I will never be happy and always wonder if I really was called or not. Even if I am not called to be a Passionist Nun, I will be a better person for having followed Him and giving Him the chance. Love, Your sister Read more vocation stories at Be Curious How do you think the brother felt after reading his sister s letter? Summarize how the author compares marriage and religious life. Take a close look at the photo of the young nun. How do you think she is feeling? EXPLORATION VIDEO: TO BE A PRIEST 1. What are some of the ways that these people discerned (figured out) that God was calling them to the priesthood? 2. How is being a priest fulfilling to them? 3. In what way is prayer important to a priest? 4. How does the scandal of priests affect these priests? 5. What role does sacrifice play in the life of a priest? This video can be views online at Vocation Lessons 8th Grade: 5 6

7 VOCAL PRAYER 3 min MAGNIFICAT 1. If you have not already introduced the Magnificat, explain it to them. Priests and consecrated religious pray the Liturgy of the Hours throughout the day. Besides many psalms, the Liturgy of the Hours also has prayers and other scripture readings. Canticles are prayers within Scripture. The prayer we have here, called the Canticle of Mary, is prayed every evening. When Mary went to visit her cousin Elizabeth and both women were pregnant, it became very obvious that God was powerfully at work; Mary quoted a poem of Hannah s from the Old Testament, giving thanks to God for her son. This Canticle reminds those who pray the Divine Office of Our Lady and is a beloved transition from the work of the day into night. It is always followed by the Glory Be. 2. Students pray the vocation prayer: Magnificat. EXPLORATION continued DIALOGUE WITH GOOD SPIRIT AND BAD SPIRIT Have you ever seen the cartoons in which a little angel is sitting on a character s shoulder, and a devil on the other shoulder? The angel offers good advice, and the devil offers bad advice or temptation. Often this is a silly part of a cartoon, but it is not too far from the truth. St. Paul writes in Ephesians 6: 12. For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world ruler os this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens. Write a dialogue between yourself, a good spirit, and a bad spirit. Make it serious, not cartoonish. Choose from these scenarios: 1. An unpopular girl is crying near her locker. What would God want you to do? What are you tempted to do? Or not do? 2. You feel called to the priesthood or religious life. What does the devil tell you about that call? What does God tell you? 3. You receive an unusual amount of money for your birthday. What would God want you to do? What are you tempted to do? Or not do? Write the dialogue as it takes place in your mind. For example: Me: Geez, that girl is crying again. I wonder what s wrong with her? Bad spirit: Mock her by saying boo-hoo and laugh as you walk by. Good spirit: Ask her what s wrong. Bad spirit: Just ignore her. Me: Yeah, maybe I should just ignore her. Good spirit: Put yourself in her shoes. Wouldn t you want someone to be kind to you? Etc. End the dialogue by describing the actions you end up taking. VOCAL PRAYER The Magnificat My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name. He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation. He has shown the strength of his arm, he has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has come to the help of his servant Israel for he remembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children forever. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Vocation Lessons 8th Grade: 6 7