THE GREAT TRILOGY PASCHAL MYSTERY LIFE NIGHT OUTLINE CATECHISM # 1067 # 1076 # 515-517 # 608 # 612 # 618 # 651-655 YOUCAT # 104-108 # 171 SCRIPTURE Ephesians 3:9 Romans 4:25 John 10:18 Matthew 26:39 1 Corinthians 15:14 2 Corinthians 5:15 Matthew 28:1-10 KEY CONCEPTS
GOAL OF THIS NIGHT The goal of this Edge Night is to help the middle school youth understand and apply the Paschal Mystery to their lives. ABOUT THIS NIGHT This Edge Night will break down the three parts of the Paschal Mystery: Jesus Passion, His Death, and Resurrection (Jesus Ascension will be addressed in a separate Edge night). The Paschal Mystery is the central mystery of our redemption; it is here where God s plan to save His people is accomplished through Jesus suffering and death on the cross. It is completed in Jesus Glorious Resurrection. We encounter the saving effects of the Paschal Mystery through the sacramental life of the Church. The night will begin with the a game called Find Your Trilogy, which will give the middle school youth an opportunity to meet two new people. Then we will move into the Proclaim, which will focus on the trilogy of the Paschal Mystery. Following the Proclaim, the middle school youth will have some time for discussion in their small groups. Each small group will have the opportunity to write a reflection and prayer for the Stations of the Cross, which will be used during the Send. In the Send, the whole group will gather together to pray the Stations of the Cross and walk through the events of Jesus Passion and death. The night will end with a celebration at the empty tomb to commemorate Jesus Glorious Resurrection! You will need to make the tomb for the environment and Send. This will need to be prepared ahead time. The handouts for the Stations of the Cross will also need to be printed out in advance. Also make sure that the Core Team is ready to go with their reflections for the Stations of the Cross (see the Break for more information). PARENTAL NOTICE This night will introduce the most sacred events of our faith Jesus Passion, Death, and Resurrection, which is known as the Paschal Mystery. We address these three saving events with the theme of trilogy. The Proclaim will break open what each of these events mean for our faith and for our lives. The basic challenge to each of us is to apply the Paschal Mystery to our lives by daily dying to our sin and rising into new life with Christ. Here are some questions to discuss with your child: What did you learn about the Paschal Mystery tonight? What are the three events that are included? What was significant about the suffering and death of Jesus? How does that impact our lives? Why is the Resurrection central in our faith as Christians? ENVIRONMENT The night will start with a game called Find Your Trilogy, using examples from well-known movie trilogies. You may post names of those movies on poster boards around the room (for example: The Godfather, Lord of the Rings, Spider Man, Toy Story, etc.). The following may change depending on where you are going to do your Send; if you are planning on doing the Stations of the Cross in a church or chapel, then this will not apply to you. If you are using a youth room or another space without Stations of the Cross, then you will need to hang posters to designate the 14 Stations of the Cross. Lastly, wherever you are planning on having your Send, you will need to make a tomb. This will be where the final Station of the Cross (Jesus Is Laid in the Tomb) will end; this will also be where you celebrate the Resurrection and the Empty Tomb. How to make a tomb: Get a large appliance or refrigerator box. Lay it on its side and cut the flaps off (you could use two boxes to make it even larger and piece them together).
Once it is the desired size, you can begin using marker or paint to make the outside look like stone; you can paint or cover the inside with black. You can make the stone out of another piece of large cardboard and paint it to look like stone, or you could also use fabric to drape the front and sides. At the end of the night the stone will be rolled away to reveal the empty tomb.
GATHER WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS (10 min) As the youth enter, have fun upbeat music playing in the background. The youth minister should gather all the youth together, welcome them to Edge Night, and lead an opening prayer. He or she should introduce any youth at Edge Night for the first time and present a brief overview of the session. FIND YOUR TRILOGY (15 min) Have the Core Members go around and hand each youth a card with a movie title from a famous trilogy (some examples are below). Without saying a word, only using gestures, the middle school youth need to find the other two people that complete their trilogy. If they have not seen the movie then they can act out the movie title. This is similar to charades but everyone is playing at the same time! The goal is to see who can find their trilogy the quickest without using words. (Trilogy examples: Toy Story, Lord of the Rings, Spider Man, Terminator, Pirates of the Caribbean, Matrix, Shrek, etc.)
PROCLAIM "THE GREAT TRILOGY" TEACHING (25 min) Scripture Proclamation 2 Corinthians 5:15 THE GREAT TRILOGY: PASCHAL MYSTERY Every great story has three parts a beginning, middle, and an end. And many stories are so great that they are divided into three books or three movies. At the end of each movie or book there is a cliff-hanger that leaves you in suspense until the next movie is released! The same is true with the story of Christ; the story of how Jesus saves us is the greatest story ever told! There are three parts and we need all three parts of this trilogy in order for it to be complete. The trilogy I am referring to is the Paschal Mystery. This trilogy is a little different from others we might know; we not only get to read about it, we also get to live it! The Paschal Mystery is defined as Christ s work of Redemption, which is accomplished through His Passion, Death, and Resurrection. Each part is important; together, not only does it make a great story, it can also change our lives! PART 1: PASSION The word passion means to suffer or to endure. We use the word Passion when we speak of Christ s suffering that lead to His death. Jesus suffering marks the beginning of our trilogy (not a fun way to begin a movie, but this is a drama). The Passion of Christ begins when Jesus takes His disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. It is there that He prays with great anguish to His Father. In fact, He asks His father to spare Him from death. He prays, Father if it possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will (Luke 22:42). Jesus knew that He would have to suffer and we see that He was not thrilled about it! Have you ever been afraid of suffering? Have you ever doubted in times of trial? In the Garden, Jesus was betrayed by one of His close Apostles, Judas. We call Judas the Betrayer because he is the one that led the Roman soldiers to Jesus to be arrested. Have you ever been betrayed by someone you love? Imagine the hurt that Christ felt, imagine His passion. Jesus was sentenced to death because He claimed to be King; but, like He said, my kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). Before they gave Jesus His cross to carry, they scourged Him. We don t use this term often anymore; scourging someone was the most brutal form of torture. Their instructions were to beat Jesus to the point of death but keep Him alive. These are the events of Christ s Passion. Did you notice that He didn t run away? He freely accepted the pain. He did not shy away from the suffering that would eventually lead to His death. Christ says, No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down of my own accord (John 10:18). We believe that Jesus is fully man and fully God, which means that He experienced suffering just like any other man. His suffering was real. Jesus knew He would have to die, and in His darkest hour the people closest to Him abandoned, denied, and betrayed Him. Jesus suffering was so real that He cried tears of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane. But even though His passion was great and His suffering was tremendous, He remained faithful to His Father s will. Jesus stayed the course because He knew that He would have to die; this brings us to the second part of our epic story. PART 2: DEATH
Jesus was given His cross and He was to carry His own cross to the place of His death, Calvary. While Jesus hung on the cross ready to die, the people still mocked Him. Think of His 12 Apostles; where were they? Think about all the people He healed; where were they? At the foot of the cross were Jesus mother, Mary Magdalene, and His beloved disciple, John. And even though almost everyone had left Him in His darkest hour, Jesus knew this sacrifice would save each of them. Above Jesus head was a sign, and this sign read Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. This sign was accurate Jesus was a king, but He would be everyone s king. This is our king! Jesus died on the cross. The death of Christ is unique. It is the perfect sacrifice the perfect, sinless One dies on the cross for sinners. It is through this perfect sacrifice that our sin is conquered. You and I have the opportunity to be forgiven because of Christ s death. Jesus was obedient to the point of death to make up for our disobedience. In the Garden of Eden, Adam was disobedient to God s will. Adam was weak and blinded by his selfish desires. Christ undid the sin of Adam and, through His death, He undoes our sin. We can imitate Christ s death in our own lives. We can actually participate in the Paschal Mystery when we take up our cross and follow him (Matthew 16:24). Are we willing to die to our sin, die to our former way of life? His death not only conquered our sin, but it also gave us an example to follow. We know all of this now, but imagine standing at the foot of the cross and watching the one who you believed was God die. There was despair, there was fear, there was panic, and there was doubt. His lifeless body was taken from the cross and He was buried in the tomb. Everything that Jesus disciples knew had been taken from them, so they hid. At this point in the story we are left empty and feeling like we could never recover. But the story does not end PART 3: RESURRECTION The final part of this trilogy is truly an ending that everyone will be talking about. In fact, everyone has been talking about it for over 2000 years. We conclude our trilogy with the Resurrection! On the morning of the first day of the week, the stone of the tomb was found rolled back and the tomb was empty! Everything we do as Christians and as Catholics is because of the Resurrection. Imagine, what if Jesus stayed in the tomb? It says in Scripture that If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain (1 Corinthians 15:14). If Christ had not been raised, there would be no churches, there would be no Christmas and Easter, and we would still be dead in our sin. But He has been raised, Alleluia! The Resurrection is not only central to our faith but it is also the strongest evidence that Jesus was who He said He was. Jesus was truly God. The Resurrection confirms all that Christ did and taught while on earth. Jesus Resurrection is the fulfillment of every promise made in the Old Testament. The Resurrection is the greatest miracle in history, and people have been trying to disprove it for years because the enemies of Christianity know that if you disprove the Resurrection then you disprove everything about Christianity! This is reason to rejoice; we have reached the climax of our trilogy and we can be confident that the story ends happily ever after. CONCLUSION The Paschal Mystery really has two aspects: by His death, Christ frees us from sin; and by His Resurrection, He opens for us the way to new life. We celebrate the Paschal Mystery of Christ every year during Holy Week Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. These are the three parts of our trilogy: the Passion, the Death, and the Resurrection. We don t just celebrate it once a year, we commemorate the Paschal Mystery every time we go to Mass. That is why we pray the Proclamation of the Faith just before we receive Communion: Dying He destroyed our death; rising He restored our life. This is really the pattern of our Christian life; first, we must die to ourselves so we can rise with Christ. We are challenged to put to death our sin so we can rise with new life. This is the Good News that has saved us, and this has the ability to change us if we let it. Saint Paul encourages us to live no longer for [ourselves] but for Him who for [our] sake died and was raised (2 Corinthians 5:15).
BREAK SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION (20 min) As your small group begins, say a prayer for the group and the activities for that session. Discuss the following questions: Before tonight, when you heard the words Paschal Mystery, what did you think it meant? The word passion means to suffer. Like Christ, have you ever experienced suffering in your life? Describe a time in your life that was particularly difficult. In Jesus darkest hour He was abandoned by the people He loved the most. Have you ever experienced something similar? Jesus did not run away from His suffering and death. How can we apply that same truth to our lives? The Gospel calls us to take up our cross and follow Christ. How can you, a middle school youth, take up your cross? What does that mean for your life? How has the Resurrection impacted your life? Think of examples of how the Resurrection has changed the world and even changed your life. Can we apply the Paschal Mystery, which took place over 2000 years ago, to our lives today? If so, how? Write Your Reflections For the Core Member: As a whole group, we are going to pray the Stations of the Cross. Offer a brief explanation of the Stations of the Cross (see below). As a small group, we will lead one of the Stations (assign these ahead of time if you have seven small groups, they will each have two stations). We are responsible for writing a short reflection and prayer for this particular Station. Stations of the Cross Explanation: From the earliest of days, followers of Jesus told the story of His Passion, Death, and Resurrection. When pilgrims came to see Jerusalem, they were anxious to see the sites where Jesus was. These sites become important holy connections with Jesus. Eventually, following in the footsteps of the Lord along the way of the cross became a part of the pilgrimage visit. The stations, as we know them today, came about when it was no longer easy or even possible to visit the holy sites. In the 1500 s, villages all over Europe started creating replicas of the Way of the Cross, with small shrines commemorating the places along the route in Jerusalem. Eventually, these shrines became the set of 14 stations we now know and were placed in almost every Catholic Church in the world. Here are the 14 Stations: 1. Jesus Is Condemned to Death 2. Jesus Carries His Cross 3. Jesus Falls for the First Time 4. Jesus Meets His Mother 5. Simon of Cyrene Helps Jesus Carry His Cross 6. Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus 7. Jesus Falls for the Second Time 8. Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem
9. Jesus Falls for the Third Time 10. Jesus Is Stripped of His Clothes 11. Jesus Is Nailed to the Cross 12. Jesus Dies on the Cross 13. Jesus Is Taken Down from the Cross 14. Jesus Is Laid in the Tomb Stations of the Cross As a group, read through the Stations of the Cross. The entire group will be praying the Stations of the Cross together and using the reflections they wrote.
SEND STATIONS OF THE CROSS (30 min) Have all the small groups stand and move to the First Station. At this time you may move to the church or chapel for the Stations of the Cross. If not, you may just want to post around the room fourteen poster boards with the number and name of the station (example: Station 1 Jesus is Sentenced to Death). This should begin a prayerful time; you may want to dim the lights and play soft background music. The idea is that you are going to move as a group and walk through the Stations together. Each middle school youth and Core Member can use the Stations of the Cross handout to guide them. Each small group will be assigned to at least one Station (depending on the number of small groups), and they will lead their assigned station. At the 14th Station, Jesus Is Laid in the Tomb, the group will be in front of a tomb (see Environment for ideas on how to create a tomb). At the conclusion, everyone will kneel for a few moments of silence before the tomb where Jesus body lay. The Empty Tomb After the group has completed the Stations of the Cross, allow for a few moments of silence and then remove the stone or curtain to unveil the empty tomb. Read the Resurrection account from Matthew 28:1-10. Invite everyone to stand and pray in thanksgiving for the Resurrection. You may want to turn on the lights (or a spot light) to highlight the empty tomb. Sing Christ is Risen from the Dead (see Media Suggestions); you may play a few other songs, depending on your time.
CONCLUSION ADAPTING THIS NIGHT If you do not have a church or chapel in which to pray the Stations of the Cross, make your own Stations in the space that you have. You can simply do this by writing on poster board and hanging them throughout your room. Depending on the size of your group, you may need a wireless microphone for the Proclaim and the Stations of the Cross. If you have a musician you can use him/her during the final time of praise and worship at the Empty Tomb. If not, have music cued up on a an ipod or CD. GOING DEEPER