Attendance (5 min) Video lesson #8 The Early Church and the Church Today Open with Prayer (5 min) Use the prayer from page 26 from the Leader s Guide. Read the Sunday Gospel and talk about it or do a spontaneous prayer. Take some time to connect with the students (5 mins) Share a God moment that you had this past week or have them share a God moment of their own. Watch Video #8 (30 min) Have them take notes in their journals Don t be afraid to stop the video and discuss what is said. This can be useful to keep them engaged in the video. See below some of the points to focus on from the video. Notes from video: (30 min) Do you think that Jesus is really the messiah? Do you really think that He did everything that is in the Bible? Or was He just a nice guy that had a good message? What if Jesus really didn t rise from the dead? Then the Bible would be a myth, salvation would be a joke there would be no Heaven and when you die, that s it. You are worm food! What a miserable thought! The early church had to deal with a lot of myths, the church today still does! In the video, he talked about how ridiculous it sounds for the 12 apostles to concoct this as a lie. They had to give up everything, their family, home, income, safety, security of knowing when and where they would eat. Then go to unknown lands to people that didn t want them, where they were made fun of, thrown out of towns, beaten, jailed, stoned, and beheaded. This wasn t a glamour job! You would not go through this without definite knowledge that this is true. That Jesus is who He said He was that He rose from the dead, ascended into Heaven and sent the Holy Spirit. Jesus was either, the Lord, a liar or a lunatic. A liar and a lunatic could not accomplish what Jesus did. If Jesus is not who He said He is, then the Catholic Church would not be here. It would have been a passing fad because let s face it; it is hard to be a Christian. Journal question: (5 min) Are you on God s path and God is placing people on it with you? Or are you the one that God is trying to place on someone else s path? If you are on God s path, others will know, they will see it in you. You will be challenged in your life, at school, work, with your friends and even possibly your family. Are you ready to defend or explain your faith? Do you know it well enough? Can you set the world ablaze? (Luke 12:49) Many don t believe God even exists, but yet there are miracles every day. Some are big and some are small, but they are all miracles. Examples of miracles in the church: Eucharistic miracles Although there are many Eucharistic Miracles here are a few examples: 1. Eucharistic fasts St. Lidwina of Schiedam (Holland) Last 19 yrs of her life lived entirely on the Eucharist alone for nourishment. Whenever reception of the Eucharist was delayed her strength failed,
but after receiving the sacrament her strength as restored and she experience great joy and consolation. St. Catherine of Siena She had a vision of Our Lord where he told her that food was no longer necessary for her. When forced to eat normal food she suffered the most terrible pains and her whole body appeared to be swollen, her body rejected whatever was taken into it except the Eucharist. Blessed Luisa Piccarreta She would lie rigid, unable to move until receiving the Blessed Sacrament. They often tested her by leaving her there in that state for days, closely watched by others. Other saints are: St Rita of Cascia, St. Catherine Fieschi of Genoa, St. Ita (or Ida) of Ireland, St. Nicholas of Flue (Switzlerland), St. Joseph of Cupertino, St. Mary Francis of the Five Wounds, and many others. 2. The Real Presence - In about the 700 th year of Our Lord, in a monastery, a priest of the order of St. Basil was celebrating the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. He had been suffering from recurring doubts concerning the mystery of transubstantiation (The changing of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ.) After he spoke the solemn words of consecration the host was suddenly changed into a circle of flesh and the wine transformed into blood. Many verifications of this miracle have been performed over the past 1,200 years, but the most convincing was made in November of 1970. This miracle underwent scientific scrutiny and the conclusions were presented on March 4 th 1971 in detailed medical and scientific terminology. The microscopic studies ascertained and documented these facts: The flesh was identified as striated muscular tissue of the myocardium (heart wall) having no trace whatsoever of materials or agents used to preserve the flesh from decay. Both the flesh and blood were found to be of human origin. The flesh and blood were found to belong to the same blood type, AB. The relics may be seen today in the Church of St. Francis, Lanciano Italy. Incorruptibles There are many saints that their bodies are found incorrupt long after their deaths, many of which remained fresh and flexible for years, or even centuries. Many endured abnormally adverse conditions in remaining intact, example damp graves or such as St. Francis Xavier s, which was buried in lime for quick decomposition. There are more than 102 known saints that have had this phenomenon, some are St. Cecila, St. Rita, St. Bernadette. This should reinforce ones faith in the Catholic Church the only religion that possesses the phenomenon of bodily incorruption. Apparitions Refer back to portrait #14 (Mary) You will never know if God is real until you take a leap of faith and pray and spend time with Him. Another Journal idea: (5 mins) Look over the first part of the Thinking It Through section. What are you willing to change in your life? What are you not willing to change?
Go through the Breaking It Down questions from page 26 in the Leader s Guide. Review for test *Go over the foldout Timeline for review Handout review sheet Things to do if there is time: Take your class to Adoration Together in class go over the worksheet or break into groups Activity - (5-10 min) o Do question #3 in Talking It Out on page 27 of the Leader s Guide Lectio Divina is explained on page 83-84 in Leader s Guide. o Discussion: Break up into groups and go through the Talking It Out questions. Close in prayer: (3 min)
Teen Timeline Worksheet # 8 Name 1. Disciple 2. The Resurrection 3. Apostle 4. Paul 5. Martyr 6. Pentecost 7. Saul s Conversion 8. The Church a) One who is sent b) Undoes the confusion of Babel c) The Twelfth Time Period of the Bible d) Portrait of Surrender e) Jesus rose from the dead f) Acts 9 g) A witness h) One who sits at the feet of