ONE DIRECTION AN EDGE NIGHT ON THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS. SCRIPTURE Malachi 3:3 John 14:6 Romans 6:8

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1 ONE DIRECTION AN EDGE NIGHT ON THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS SCRIPTURE Malachi 3:3 John 14:6 Romans 6:8 CCC YOUCAT KEY WORDS Communion of Saints Saint Purgatory Intercession SUPPLIES NEEDED Saint stories Skit props MEDIA SUGGESTIONS Video: You're Not Dead. Now What? by Outside Da Box (outsidedabox.com) Song: "Litany" by Matt Maher (The End and The Beginning, Nufy Music Productions) Edge Video: "Communion of Saints Teaching" (Edge Video Support 15) ONE DIRECTION OUTLINE EDGE NIGHT GOAL The goal of this Edge Night is to explain to the youth what is meant when we proclaim in the Apostles Creed that we believe in the Communion of Saints. The will come to a greater understanding of the role that they play in the Communion of Saints as well as how to call upon our brothers and sisters in heaven to intercede for them. EDGE NIGHT AT A GLANCE The Gather is a simple and fun game that will lead into the Proclaim, which covers the three levels of the Church community that is a part of this Communion of Saints. The Break gives the youth an opportunity to discuss the role they play in this communion and also to act out the story of a saint. The Edge Night will conclude with a time of prayer for those who are a part of the communion on earth, those in Purgatory, and the saints in heaven. ENVIRONMENT Set up the room like a concert for a popular new band. Have a few Core Members be the new band and have them playing a concert as the youth walk in. Get creative in coming up with this new band name and have a few other Core Members be all out fans and make specific T-shirts for this 84

2 band. You can either have the Core Team playing actual instruments, if they have those talents, or you can play music and they can mimic playing instruments. Put up posters of other bands and any other fan memorabilia around the room. CORE TEAM FORMATION The Communion of Saints includes all those who are baptized in the grace of Christ both living and dead (CCC 962). This is a communion of love and we are a part of a family that is much greater than simply the church community at our parishes. It is important that we are mindful of our brothers and sisters who have already died, both those who are in heaven and those who are in Purgatory. We should pray for the intercession of the saints for they have already accomplished what we are striving for and for all the souls suffering in the purification of Purgatory. If you are unclear about the Church teachings on Purgatory, read CCC Here are some questions to think about before this Edge Night: Who is your patron saint from your Confirmation? What is their story? Why did you choose them? How often do you ask for his or her intercession? Who are some other saints you look to for prayers and inspiration? What was your view on Purgatory before tonight? How has it changed from reading the CCC references? What can you do to play your part and participate in the Communion of Saints on a daily basis? How can you make this topic more relevant to our middle school youth? TO THE PARENTS Today we talked about the Communion of Saints and the three levels of the Church this encompasses: those who are saints in heaven, those who have died and are in Purgatory, and those who are still pilgrims on earth. It is important that we are mindful of how big this Catholic family is and to call upon the prayers of our brothers and sisters in Christ to help us on our journeys to heaven. Make it a point this week to pray for any of your deceased family members and for all the souls in Purgatory. Here are some questions to ask your child this week: What is the Communion of Saints? How are you a part of this communion and how can you participate in it? Who was the saint that you learned about in small groups? What is his or her story? What is one thing you learned that you didn t already know? How can you grow in holiness this week? What are some ways we as a family learn more about the saints? GATHER WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION (5 min) Welcome all the youth, and introduce any who are at Edge for the first time. Recognize any birthdays, give a brief introduction to the Edge Night, and begin in prayer. TWO DIRECTIONS (15 min) Instruct the youth to get into groups of four. Then have the youth form two circles, an outer circle and an inner circle, and have two youth from the group of four be in each circle. Start playing some fun music (or have your Core Team band continue to play their concert) and have the outer circle start moving clockwise, and the inner circle start moving counter clockwise. ONE DIRECTION OUTLINE 85

3 When the music stops the youth will have five seconds to reform their groups of four and have them strike their best rock band pose, have the youth minister or a Core Member do a count down. Any group that is not formed in five seconds is out. Continue playing until there is one team that wins who formed their group the fastest. Have a camera ready to get some pictures of all the funny poses the youth come up with. What are three things that you can ask the saints to intercede for you for? What are three things that you can do to help your brothers and sisters here on earth in their journey to heaven? SAINT SKITS (15 min) ONE DIRECTION OUTLINE PROCLAIM ONE DIRECTION TEACHING (10 min) The teaching for this night can be found on pages 88 to 90. Here are the main points of the teaching: The Communion of Saints is made up of three parts: the pilgrims on earth, the souls in Purgatory, and the blessed in heaven. The saints can intercede for us on earth and we can pray for those in Purgatory. The Communion of Saints is a family that works together to help one another achieve heaven through prayers, works, and most especially the Holy Eucharist. BREAK SMALL GROUP DISCUSSIONS (15 min) Break the youth into their small groups and discuss the following questions. What is the Communion of Saints? What is a saint? What is intercession? Had you heard of Purgatory before tonight? Have your thoughts about it changed after this teaching? What can you do in your daily life to remind yourself to pray for the souls in Purgatory? Supplies Saint stories Skit props Assign each small group a saint and have the Core Member give the youth a brief explanation of the saint s life (see below for some examples). Then allow the youth some time to come up with a one to two minute skit of their saint s life. Once all the youth have their skit ready, come back to the large group and have them share the skits with the rest of the group. St. Patrick: St. Patrick was born in 387 A.D. and spent the first 14 years of his life in Scotland. When he was 14 he was captured and taken to Ireland. While he was there, he was forced into shepherding for six years during this time he grew more in his belief in God through daily prayer and learned the language and customs of the people. When he was 20 he fled his captors and went back to his family. After some time however, he felt the call to go back to Ireland to preach the Gospel. So he became a priest and went back to Ireland and evangelized the people and started up many churches there. St. Rose of Lima: St. Rose was an incredibly beautiful woman who was very in love with God. As she grew up, she became more and more beautiful to the point that when people saw her they could not take their eyes off of her. Even though she was so beautiful she never married because the only man she ever wanted to love was Jesus. Saint Rose was so humble that often times her beauty made her uncomfortable and she never wanted to lead others to sin or jealousy because of her beauty, so one day she took pepper and rubbed it all over her face until it was red and blistered. She lived a humble life serving and supporting her parents, she suffered many things but that never changed 86

4 her incredible love of Jesus. After her death there were many miracles attributed to her. How can you be an example to others in your faith and call them on to be holier? St. Joseph of Cupertino: St. Joseph of Cupertino was a very difficult and forgetful child, and as he grew up he was never able to get a proper education. At the age of 17 he decided that he wanted to become a friar, but none of the friaries would accept him because he did not have an education. Finally he was able to work with the friars and help with main tasks around the monastery, because of his actions of joy and love the friars accepted him into their order. Shortly after this, St. Joseph of Cupertino was preparing to become and priest and had to pass a test which was nerve-racking because he had never been particularly intelligent, but the bishop asked him one question from one of the few verses of the Bible he actually knew and he was ordained a priest. St. Joseph of Cupertino was also known for his intense visions during which he would hear heavenly music and actually levitate; he thus became known as the Flying Friar. St. Elizabeth of Hungary: St. Elizabeth was born into royalty and was never wanting for anything, yet in the midst of the riches, she had an incredible desire to do the will of God. She was betrothed at the age of four to another royal and married at the age of 14. She was a very faithful wife and mother and on top of that she dedicated her life to the poor. She built hospitals and shelters for the poor and visited them daily. Saint Elizabeth was also known to spend nights in prayer vigils and fasting, all the while not letting this interfere with her life in the royal court or her duties as a wife and mother. TAKING IT DEEPER: SMALL GROUP ADAPTATIONS FOR 8 TH GRADE: If your 8th graders need more time for discussion, continue to discuss the topic with them using these additional questions: What did you learn tonight about the Communion of Saints that you did not know before? Do you really believe that you are called to be a saint? If you want to give your 8th graders even more of a challenge, call them on to leadership and have them join small groups with the younger grades and help them with their skits. Make sure that they are in the skits too and give an example for the younger youth that it is okay to be silly and participate. SEND PRAYING FOR EACH OTHER (15 min) End the night with a simple prayer and then ask for any prayer intentions from the youth explaining that since we are a part of the Communion of Saints, as pilgrims here on earth we must pray for each other. Then include prayers for our brothers and sisters in Purgatory, pray this popular prayer of the Church for their souls: Eternal Father, I offer you the most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory. Amen. Finally, conclude the prayer time by asking for the intercession of our brothers and sisters who have made it to heaven and are now saints. Using the saints that each small group learned about, end the night praying for the intercession of each saint by saying their name and having the group respond together by saying, Pray for us. FURTHER ADAPTATION IDEAS Ask the Core Members ahead of time if there is a particular saint that they like and know a lot about, and allow them to use this saint for their small group skits rather than one of the ones listed in the Break section. During the Send do a Litany of the Saints or play the song Litany (See Media Suggestions) ONE DIRECTION OUTLINE 87

5 ONE DIRECTION TEACHING KEY WORD DEFINITIONS Communion of Saints The unity in Christ of all the redeemed, those on earth and those who have died. Saint The holy one who leads a life in union with God through the grace of Christ and receives the reward of eternal life. Purgatory A state of final purification after death before entrance into heaven for those who died in God s friendship but still need to be purified of the effects of sin. Intercession - A form of prayer on behalf of others. BLESSED IN HEAVEN Often times when we think about the Communion of Saints, the first thing we think about are the saints already in heaven. Saints are people who have died and we believe are already in heaven because of the lives of holiness that they led and the miracles that were performed through their intercession. Key Word CCC 956 Romans 6:8 ONE DIRECTION TEACHING Many of you know the names of saints such as St. Joseph, St. Patrick, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (allow the youth to participate and tell a few more names of saints they know). A lot of times we can ask these saints to pray for us when we need help. For example a lot of times when people lose things they pray for the intercession of St. Anthony to help them find the lost item(s). When we ask for the intercession of saints we are not praying to them but simply asking them to pray for us, much like we would ask our parents or our friends to pray for us. The only difference is that these saints are in heaven and stand before Jesus Christ Himself and have a greater power of intercession since they are already in heaven. YouCat 126 CCC

6 Key Word CCC 958 YouCat Malachi 3:3 It is important to remember our brothers and sisters in Christ who are in heaven and to ask for their help because we are all a part of this journey to heaven together. The Communion of Saints does include the saints who are already in heaven, but it also includes those who are on their way to heaven and are in Purgatory, and those of us still on earth. THOSE BEING PURIFIED All those who have been baptized in Christ are a part of this communion, both living and dead. One such category of people in this communion are the people who have died and are in Purgatory. Purgatory is not something like an in-between like we see in movies, or a place for the undead and zombies. But rather, Purgatory is a state of purification. Those who are in Purgatory are being cleansed of the last remnants of sin before they enter into heaven. Just think, if you were invited to have dinner at the house of the most important, most famous person on earth, wouldn t you want to take a shower, get clean, and look your best? This is what Purgatory is for our souls; it is a place where our souls are purified and cleaned up so that we are prepared. So that we look our best, so to speak, when we meet Christ for the first time in heaven. It is also important to know that if you are in Purgatory you are for sure going to go to heaven, it is just a matter of how much time it will take for you to be cleansed for heaven. Those who are in Purgatory can no longer pray for themselves or ask for prayers. That is why it is so important to pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ, in this communion our love extends past death. Our fasting, our prayers, our good works, and especially the celebration of the Holy Eucharist can bring graces upon those of our brothers and sisters who are in Purgatory. CCC 954 PILGRIMS ON EARTH This Communion of Saints includes those who have died, but also us who are still here on earth. By our baptism and the grace of Jesus Christ we are a part of this communion as well. John 14:6 On earth we participate in this Communion of Saints by partaking in the works of the Church. In receiving God s graces through the sacraments and sharing those graces with others so as to bring more and more people to Jesus. We also participate of this communion when we pray for the intercession of the saints, when we pray for the souls in Purgatory, and when we pray for our brothers and sisters on earth with us. Jesus tells us that He is the way, the truth, and the life, and as long as we live, we are called to follow Him through the Church which He has established. We are the pilgrims on earth who are striving towards heaven and it is our duty to do everything we can to participate in the blessed life of love and community that Christ is calling us to. ONE DIRECTION TEACHING 89

7 ONE COMMUNITY, ONE DIRECTION The Communion of Saints is all about love. We are one family in Christ and we are all called to walk with one another on our journeys to Christ. Some of us are closer to Him and have already won the prize of heaven, and some of us are still a long ways off from the end of our journeys. CCC 959 YouCat 126 The whole point is that you are not alone. You are not alone in your struggles and your hardships here on earth, and even when you die and are possibly in Purgatory being purified, you are still not alone. Christ loves us so much that not only does He walk with us every step of the way, but He gives us this incredible family to be a part of to bring us up and show us how to be better and to love better. We are all going in this one direction and we are all in this together because that is what community and the Communion of Saints is all about. ONE DIRECTION TEACHING 90

8 Notes ONE DIRECTION NOTES 91

9 ONE DIRECTION CHECKLIST EDGE NIGHT CHECKLIST EDGE NIGHT DATE: EDGE NIGHT TOPIC: CORE TEAM ASSIGNMENTS: Environment Opening Prayer Games Proclaim Closing Prayer WEEK PRIOR TO EDGE NIGHT: Hand out/ the Edge Night to the Core Members Assign duties to the Core Team Pick videos and/or songs Gather all the supplies Core Team the Edge Night Core Formation WEEK OF THE EDGE NIGHT: Prep for games and the environment Meet with the Core Member doing the Proclaim (if applicable) Videos: Songs: DAY OF THE EDGE NIGHT: parents the information about the Night and any announcements Gather and set-up for the night Pray! ONE DIRECTION CHECKLIST Notes 92

10 ONE DIRECTION EVALUATION EDGE NIGHT EVALUATION INSTRUCTIONS: Evaluation is a key to successful ministry. Use the following questions to discuss and evaluate your Edge Night. What is going well at our Edge Nights? What can we improve? Would you be interested in leading prayer, explaining games, or giving a Proclaim teaching? Was there one particular part of this Edge Night you did not think was necessary? What and Why? Are our Core meetings effective? How can I better serve you as a youth minister? What can we do to better serve our youth? ONE DIRECTION EVALUATION 93