TRUST OR FEAR A LIFE NIGHT ON SUFFERING

Transcription

1 LIFE NIGHT OVERVIEW TRUST OR FEAR A LIFE NIGHT ON SUFFERING GOAL The goal of Trust or Fear is to address the cause of suffering in the world and encourage teens to turn to Jesus, who suffers with us and can transform our suffering into something beneficial. KEY CONCEPTS The many forms of suffering we experience and witness are a result of the disorder caused by original sin. Although the world tries to eradicate or numb suffering, Christ unites our suffering to His and makes it redemptive. In the Eucharist, we encounter the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus and, at the same time, receive strength and a disposition of gratitude and thanksgiving. KEY TERMS: Hope Redemptive Suffering Trust SCRIPTURE: Psalm 27:1 Sirach 2:1-6 John 16:33 CATECHISM:

2 ABOUT THIS LIFE NIGHT This Life Night begins with small groups discussing the driving question: Why do people suffer? The Proclaim focuses on the types of suffering we experience, the cause of suffering, and the ability to unite our suffering to Christ s suffering. During the Break, teens create prayer bracelets as well as a small personal prayer they can pray during times of trials. The Send consists of the teens exchanging the bracelets as a reminder to pray for their peers. ENVIRONMENT Throughout this series, have a giant question box at the front of the main meeting space. At each Life Night, pull a staged question out of the box and discuss it in small groups for the Gather. For Trust or Fear, have the question Why do people suffer? written on a scroll and in the box. Create a prayerful space in the front of the room by placing a larger crucifix or cross. Below the cross, place several baskets with the following labels on them: personal, family, health, and other. The baskets are used during the Send portion of the Life Night. MEDIA SUGGESTIONS Broken Things, Matthew West (All In, Capitol Records, 2017) Hope in Front of Me, Danny Gokey (Hope in Front of Me, BMG Rights Management, 2014) SOCIAL MEDIA HASHTAGS: #LT_TrustOrFear AS YOU GET STARTED... For an alternate prayer during the Break, consider teaching the teens the Morning Offering instead of having them write a prayer as a group. Challenge them to say it each morning as they wake up. For a more powerful Send, consider asking your parish priest to say a blessing over the prayer bracelets and teens, requesting strength during times of trials and suffering. Conclude with the Litany of Trust from God or Unicorn. Handouts are found on the May 2018 Life Teen USB and online at lifeteen.com under Life Support: May HISPANIC INCULTURATION By Stephanie Espinoza Contributors: Juan Aznaran, Jessica Maciel Hernandez, Angie Marino Important Notes for Pastoral Care: Suffering in a Hispanic family can be intense. Teens might be experiencing anything from fear of deportation of themselves or a loved one, to domestic violence, to family members battling substance addiction. Furthermore, these situations come with heavy emotional and psychological burdens. If a teen reveals this kind of suffering in their lives, make an effort to talk about it with them outside of the Life Night and hear his or her story in a more in-depth way. Depending on the severity of the circumstances, consider involving the youth minister or parish priest to offer spiritual support and accompaniment. Notes: 58 QUESTION EVERYTHING 59

3 GATHER LIFE NIGHT: TRUST OR FEAR Welcome and Opening Prayer (5 min) Gather teens in the main meeting space. Welcome them to the Life Night, introduce any teens or Core Members who are attending for the first time, and begin in prayer. Why Do People Suffer? (10 min) Have a Core Member dramatically open the big question box, reveal the scroll, and read the driving question for the Life Night: Why do people suffer? Once the question is read, split the teens into small groups of six to eight, and have a Core Member lead a conversation about suffering in their lives and the lives of others. Remind Core Members that they are not trying to prove anything to the teens. They are there to facilitate a discussion that allows teens to express their thoughts, doubts, and questions. The Proclaim answers the driving question for the Life Night. Use the Tips for Navigating Conversations handout found on the May 2018 Life Teen USB and online at lifeteen.com under Life Support: May PROCLAIM Trust or Fear Teaching (15 min) The Proclaim Outline and Proclaim Details can be found on pages 64 to 72. BREAK Testimony on Suffering (10 min) Invite a Core Member or parishioner who is a witness of suffering well to share about the experience of suffering. Encourage him or her to focus on how he or she was able to unite his or her suffering to that of Christ s and the hope that came from it. The testimony should avoid a generic conclusion such as I united my suffering to Christ and now everything is mostly better. Instead, the conclusion should offer concrete actions for teens to take in the midst of suffering. For example, When I encounter lengthy suffering, I re-read hope-filled moments in my journal and, each day, pick a different person in need of prayers. Be sure to meet with him or her previous to the Life Night to discuss the testimony, which should be five to seven minutes. Prayer Bracelets (15 min) After the testimony, break the teens into their small groups again. Prior to the Life Night, purchase various colors of embroidery floss (you can find it at any local craft store or online). Pass out string and scissors to each group. Have each teen and Core Member make a small prayer bracelet that is representative of some sort of suffering in their lives or that they are witnessing in someone else s life. To make the bracelets, instruct the teens to tie a knot in one end and braid the strands together in a creative or simple way. Encourage them to make it unique. Suggest for them to tie knots within the bracelet for specific intentions. As they make the bracelets, discuss the following questions: What are some kinds of suffering that you have experienced before? How can you offer up the suffering you experience? What are some ways you can impact the suffering of others? Instruct the Core Member leading the group to use the remainder of the time to share what their bracelet represents and encourage the group to share with each other what their bracelets mean/represent. 60 QUESTION EVERYTHING 61

4 Personal Prayer (5 min) After the bracelets have been made, create a short prayer, together as a group, to pray when experiencing suffering. It should be short and memorable in order to help them remember to unite their pain and discomfort to that of Christ. Conclude your small group time with the prayer. SEND Offer It Up (15 min) As teens gather in the main meeting space, have prayerful instrumental music playing in the background. Invite the teens, one at a time, to place their bracelets at the foot of the cross. Use the following to transition into the prayer: At the base of the cross, there are baskets indicating different areas of our life in which we experience suffering: personal, health, family, and other (for any intention that doesn t fit into the first three categories). Please come up, one at a time, and place your bracelet in a basket that best fits the intention you thought of when creating your bracelet. If you have multiple intentions on your bracelet, pick the one you thought of first. As you lay your bracelet down, ask Jesus to help you unite your suffering and intention to His own suffering. Then, please return to your seat. Once every teen has placed their bracelet in a basket, have the Core Team pass the baskets around and invite the teens to quietly take someone else s bracelet from the basket given to them. Once every bracelet is taken, instruct the teens to hold it in front of them on their open palm and read the following prayer together as a group: Merciful Father, we know and trust that you can transform all things for our good. In times of trial, help us to remember that you are with us and we are not alone. Just as suffering can often leave a physical scar, let this bracelet be a physical reminder that we are not suffering alone. Give us the strength to endure our tribulations and unite our suffering to that of your Son. Sanctify our hardships, grant us grace to see the goodness in your divine plan. There is no suffering that is too small to be offered up for your glory. Show us how to pray for our brothers and sisters. Encourage us to reach out a hand to those who feel alone. We ask that you bless these bracelets and the suffering they represent. May our prayers bring comfort and peace. May our prayers be multiplied by the intercession of the saints and angels in heaven. Mother Mary, whose own heart was pierced, pray for us. We ask all this through your Son s most precious blood. Amen. Notes: 62 QUESTION EVERYTHING 63

5 KEY TERMS TRUST OR FEAR PROCLAIM OUTLINE Hope: One of the three theological virtues; it is a combination of the desire of something and the expectation of receiving it, specifically union with God and eternal happiness (no more suffering and pain). Redemptive Suffering: The belief that our suffering, when offered up as unitive to Christ s suffering in His Passion and death, can act as a small compensation for our sins or those of others. Trust: Belief in the reliability and truth of something or someone. TEACHING POINTS CONFLICT OF INTEREST God s role in suffering is one of the biggest objections to faith. In a world that cries for equality, tolerance, and fairness, suffering just doesn t seem to fit the narrative of pursuing and attaining happiness. God created us with a natural desire for happiness. Yet, there is still misery, unrest, evil, and suffering in the world. THE FALL Pain and suffering are a direct result of sin entering the world. When Adam and Eve chose to turn from God and His commands, their disobedience left a void in which sin was able to enter and take root. Some types of suffering can be a direct result of sin. However, suffering caused by natural disasters, sickness, and death are a ripple effect of original sin, which caused discord between all creation. HOW DO WE HANDLE SUFFERING? The world encourages us to ignore or minimize our suffering. If we find a way to numb it, then we have won and can move on. Ask the teens to think about ways they or others attempt to numb anxiety and fear. God encourages us to embrace our suffering and trust in Him and His divine plan. While respecting our free will, our all-powerful God can take any situation and allow it to work for our good. In becoming fully man, He experienced all that it means to be human, including pain and suffering. Christ suffered among us so that we would always know He was suffering with us. REDEMPTIVE SUFFERING In Baptism, we become part of the Mystical Body of Christ. Everything we experience is united our joys and sufferings. Redemptive suffering is the concept that we can offer our suffering up for the redemption of ourselves or others when we choose to unite it to the suffering of Christ on the cross. In those moments, we can choose to participate in the saving work of Jesus. Jesus not only accepted His suffering but embraced it. It doesn t mean inflicting suffering on ourselves or refusing healing when it s possible. It means that when suffering comes our way, it can have meaning and purpose. In order to give us an accessible and constant reminder of His sacrifice, Jesus instituted the Mass and gave us the Eucharist. When we receive Communion, we are literally uniting ourselves with Christ s sacrifice. 64 QUESTION EVERYTHING 65

6 HOW TO DEAL In our own lives, we can embrace our suffering by not minimizing it, seeking the guidance and aid of others, keeping an eternal perspective, offering it up, and reaching out to others when we notice their suffering. In the end, we have two choices when faced with difficulties and suffering in our life: We can live in fear of the pain and the uncertainty or we can trust that the God of the universe is working all things for our good. Notes: TEACHING CONFLICT OF INTEREST TRUST OR FEAR PROCLAIM DETAILS Why do bad things happen to good people? How can a good God allow suffering in the world? Have you ever asked these questions? Have you wrestled with the answers? Whether or not you have experienced suffering in your life or seen it in someone else s, God s role in suffering is one of the biggest objections to faith. In a world that cries for equality, tolerance, and fairness, suffering doesn t seem to fit the narrative of pursuing and attaining happiness. However, in God s greater plan, in light of eternity, struggling is OK. Even more than that, it is an opportunity to find beauty and purpose in pain. From the earliest moments, many of us are taught that God loves us and wants us to be happy. In fact, God created us with a natural desire for happiness. Yet, there is still misery, unrest, evil, and suffering in the world. Doesn t that seem like a conflict of interest? CCC 1718 THE FALL If we were created to seek happiness, and God ultimately wants us to be happy and united with Him, then where does suffering come from? The answer to that question lies within the stain of Adam s sin. Man, tempted by the devil, let his trust in his Creator die in his heart and, abusing his freedom, disobeyed God s command. When Adam and Eve chose to turn from God and His commands, their disobedience left a void in which sin was able to enter and 66 QUESTION EVERYTHING 67

7 take root. Because this darkness gained a foothold, the consequences are death and suffering. CCC 397 You may have studied Newton s Third Law in school; it teaches that every action has a reaction. As such, sin is not just an action in a vacuum. It causes ripple effects reactions. One of those reactions is suffering. For example, if someone takes your lunch or lunch money out of your backpack, you don t have anything to eat for lunch that day and become hungry, tired, and possibly annoyed. In your annoyance, you snap at your mom when you get home. Because of their selfishness, you suffer, react, and cause more suffering. Although this is an extremely simple example, it s reflective of how sin can cause a snowball effect. There is also suffering in the world that is not always directly related to our actions and the actions of others sickness, depression, death. Suffering of this type can often be the hardest to handle, as it seems to lack a logical origin. It is caused by the discord between all of creation after the Fall. In general, it is hard for us to deal with something we cannot explain or make sense of. HOW DO WE HANDLE SUFFERING? What solution does the world offer? Society says to ignore it, fix it, get rid of it as fast as possible, or just get over it. When we think about it, there are so many things designed to numb our feelings, especially negative ones. Ask the teens to think about ways they or others numb anxiety and fear. Drugs, alcohol abuse, or other types of addictive distractions such as our phones or gaming devices are all forms of numbing anxiety and fear. Bullying and manipulation are especially popular methods of trying to control personal suffering. Some people think that if they cause enough pain to others, then maybe for a moment, they can gain some respite from the negativity in their own lives. But, what solution does God offer? Our infinite God, whose knowledge and understanding far surpasses our own, can do anything. While still respecting our free will, He can take any situation and allow it to work for our good. He can make beauty from ashes. We have to keep in mind that there is a greater plan in motion, one that we cannot fully see or comprehend. In nature, sometimes it takes a fire in a wooded area to clean out that which keeps smaller, but important, foliage from getting enough sunlight to grow. While still tragic, the fire gives the environment an opportunity to grow back in a more balanced way. God can use suffering to clear out bad things and draw us deeper into His mercy. Most importantly, God sent His only Son, His most precious gift, to Earth. In becoming fully man, He experienced all that it means to be human, including pain and suffering. While He experienced great suffering related to His death, Christ also experienced anguish when His friend Lazarus died. He had extreme anxiety in the Garden of Gethsemane. Christ suffered among us so that we would always know He was suffering with us. Look at the good that came from those moments conversion and the salvation of the world. REDEMPTIVE SUFFERING Isaiah 61:1-3, John 11:35, Matthew 26:36-42 Have you ever considered that the struggles you go through, when united with the cross, can actually assist in saving souls? Beyond just enduring and accepting the suffering that occurs in our life, we are offered the chance to make it something greater. In Baptism, we become part of the Mystical Body of Christ. Everything we experience is united our joys and sufferings. If we are intentional about it, suffering can not only transform our life but the lives of others as well. In other words, your suffering, offered up, 68 QUESTION EVERYTHING 69

8 can assist in the redemption of souls. With hope, a person suffering can bring others to the faith. It all depends on what we choose to do with it. When you choose to unite your suffering with that of Christ s Passion, which can be as simple as asking for God to do so, your suffering acquires a new meaning; it becomes a participation in the saving work of Jesus. Something as simple as the sharp pain after you stub your toe, when surrendered to God in that moment, can share in the salvific work of Christ. It doesn t mean that we need to seek out suffering or refuse treatment for ailments that can be healed or remedied; we will all encounter plenty of suffering in life without inflicting it upon ourselves. It simply means that when suffering comes our way, it can have meaning and purpose. CCC 1521 It is not easy; it is scary to embrace all that this life can throw at us. It requires an infinite amount of trust in God and His plan for our life. Think about how Christ suffered. Did He shy away from it or try to get over it? No, He embraced it so much so that His suffering became a part of His very self when He was resurrected. After He died and rose again, He still bore the wounds as a visible sign of the greatest suffering offered in love for us. He could have removed them and had a perfect corporeal body as He used to. Instead, the wounds in His hands and side were His identifying feature when He appeared to His disciples. John 20:20 In order to give us an accessible and constant reminder of His sacrifice, Jesus instituted the Mass and gave us the Eucharist. In each encounter with the Eucharist, we are reminded of Christ s suffering and sacrifice how He gave Himself up for us and we have a chance to unite our own bodies with His. In that moment, we can draw strength and courage from the body of Christ, literally. HOW TO DEAL So, what now? What can we do in our own lives when faced with suffering? First, don t minimize it or think you are an inconvenience. It is OK for it to be hard. God can t promise that life will be painless, but He promises to give us the grace to live in and through the pain, while He uses it to draw us closer to Him. Acknowledge the struggle and seek guidance and advice from trusted adults and friends. John 16:33 Second, keep an eternal perspective. It is easy to get stuck in the present, especially when you are experiencing suffering. However, we need to remember the big picture. Every trouble, no matter how small or how short, is producing an eternal glory for you. These small struggles are not in vain but have an eternal impact on your soul. Just like working out can cause suffering (soreness), it is working toward a longer goal: health and strength. In the grand scheme of our short lives, we can use these opportunities to grow in holiness and draw nearer to the heart of Christ and His ultimate goal: our salvation. 2 Corinthians 4:17 Third, remember whose you are. You are God s child, and He is active in every part of your life. Trust in that knowledge even when you don t feel it. Sometimes life is not about feelings but about truth, and the truth is God will never abandon you or turn His back on you. Psalm 94:14 Fourth, offer it up. It sounds cliché, but it is true. If you make a concerted effort to offer your suffering up to God or dedicate it to a friend in need, it makes a difference. Attaching an intention to something that seems random or meaningless gives it a tangible purpose and makes the burden easier to bear. If you need help uniting your 70 QUESTION EVERYTHING 71

9 suffering to Christ, go to Mass, receive the Eucharist, and literally unite yourself to Christ. Finally, if you see someone else suffering, reach out, even if it is a simple gesture to let them know that you see them and recognize their struggle. That small moment for you can make all the difference to someone else. As members of the Body of Christ, it is our duty to lift up those that cannot lift up themselves. You never know when you might need it in return. In the end, when faced with difficulties and suffering in your life, and they will come, you have two choices: You can live in fear of the pain and the uncertainty, or you can trust in the God of the universe and believe that He is working all things for your good. Romans 8:28 Notes: TRUST OR FEAR: Suffering CORE TEAM OVERVIEW GOAL: The goal of Trust or Fear is to address the cause of suffering in the world and encourage teens to turn to Jesus, who suffers with us and can transform our suffering into something beneficial. GATHER (15 MIN): Welcome and Opening Prayer: Why Do People Suffer?: PROCLAIM (15 MIN): Trust or Fear Teaching: BREAK (30 MIN): Testimony on Suffering: Prayer Bracelets: Personal Prayer: SEND (15 MIN): Offer It Up: Notes: 72 QUESTION EVERYTHING 73

10 75 74 QUESTION EVERYTHING Notes: Notes: