Organized by Age Level

"How Do I Use..." By Age By Title By Ministry By Topic

Children (Elementary School) Young People (Middle/High School) Adults Families

Children (Elementary School)

Catholic Social Teaching/Social Justice

• Hang a copy of the poster Excerpts from "Sharing Catholic Social Teaching" in your school or classrooms during Lent and highlight one of the seven themes of Catholic social teaching during each of Lent.
  
• Distribute the cards Excerpts from "Sharing Catholic Social Teaching" to students as reminders of the seven themes of Catholic social teaching.
  
• Send copies of the Excerpts from "Sharing Catholic Social Teaching" cards home with students and encourage them to read one principle each day of the week.
  
• Create a quilt of pictures based on the themes of The Harvest of Justice Is Sown with Peace.
  
• Develop a song or skit that presents the main themes of The Harvest of Justice Is Sown with Peace and present it to your youth group or younger children in your school.
  
• Use the Prayer for Peace as a starting point for discussion about ways to work for peace in your school, parish, and community.

• Teach children the prayers and devotions to Mary during the month of May and in Advent using the Book of Mary.
  
• Start or end the school day with the Prayer for Peace whenever there is an outbreak of violence in the local community.
  
• Pray one prayer each week from the Book of Mary during morning announcements
  
• Use the prayer on page 19 of the Book of Mary as a way to pray for the welfare of the children or young people in your school.
  
• Invite the entire school to pray the Prayer for Peace on the first class day after January 1, the Feast of Mary, the Mother of God.
  
• Recite Prayer for Peace each morning at the end of announcements.
  
• Give copies of Prayer for Peace to every child or young person.
  
• Give copies of Night Prayer to your confirmation candidates.
  
• Use Prayers for the Lenten and Easter Seasons to teach various prayers of Lent and Easter to elementary school children.
  
• Hand out A Prayer for Life prayer cards as a part of a spring "Gift of Life" Mass or prayer service for the school.
  
• Recite A Prayer for Life each morning at the end of announcements.
  
• Give copies of A Prayer for Life to every child.

• Lead the class in one decade of the rosary each morning during the third week of Advent from A Scriptural Rosary for Justice and Peace.
  
• Pray the joyful mysteries from A Scriptural Rosary for Justice and Peace and use it as a basis to discuss the most hopeful aspects of your school community. Submit an article about it to your local newspaper.
  
• Teach elementary school children the rosary using Unity in Diversity: A Scriptural Rosary.
  
• Use the joyful mysteries in Unity in Diversity: A Scriptural Rosary as a way to discuss how Mary and Joseph were treated as strangers on their journey.

Catholic Social Teaching/Social Justice

• Put a copy of the poster Excerpts from "Sharing Catholic Social Teaching" in the youth room of your parish.
  
• Select one theme from the poster Excerpts from "Sharing Catholic Social Teaching" which highlights the seven themes of Catholic social teaching and do a simple service project during the season of Advent or Lent.
  
• Read the principle and practice sections of Principles, Prophecy, and a Pastoral Response at the start of a youth group meeting. Lead a discussion using the questions in the back of the book or use the questions for journaling.
  
• Use the questions in Called to Faithful Citizenship to identify the top ten behaviors that a faithful citizen must have in order to bear witness to the Gospel in your community.

• Study the brochure "Ideas for Schools, Religious Education, and Youth Programs" from the Welcoming the Stranger Kit. Pick out one activity to do with your class or youth group within the next month.
  
• Read in Genesis about Abraham, the common patriarch of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Invite leaders of the Muslim, Jewish, and other Christian communities to speak to your class or youth group, and discuss the challenges of Welcoming the Stranger Among Us, especially when the "stranger" is our neighbor, friend, or colleague.
  
• Lead a discussion using the brochure Rejoicing in the Asian and Pacific Presence to identify how to better welcome Asian and Pacific Catholics in your community.

• Pray Night Prayer throughout Lent in your class, church or chapel.
  
• Create a link on your parish or school Internet site to Penitential Practices for Today's Catholics at www.usccb.org/dpp/penitential.shtml to educate others on the Catholic practice of fasting.
  
• Give copies of the Book of Mary to the homebound.
  
• Invite middle or high school students to lead the Way of the Cross on one of the Fridays in Lent.
  
• Use Way of the Cross as a resource to plan a weekly Stations of the Cross during Lent for the entire school or individual classes.

• Discuss the Church's teaching on war and peace using The Harvest of Justice Is Sown with Peace as the starting point for the conversation.
  
• Review the principles on peacemaking in The Harvest of Justice Is Sown with Peace. Identify ways in which your school, parish, youth group, and local community can be a peacemaking community.
  
• Pray the Prayer for Peace at the beginning of a youth group meeting.

• Identify the ways in which you are called to build a culture of life as articulated in Living the Gospel of Life, especially in your local community.
  
• Go to the websites of the various organizations listed in the brochure A People of Life which highlights the U.S. bishops' teaching on the value of human life.

• Ask students to read To Be a Christian Steward, the summary that is included in Stewardship: A Disciple's Response. What does stewardship mean for someone their age? How can they live a life of good stewardship?
  
• Ask students to compose, as individuals or as a group, a sermon on stewardship. Which of Jesus' teachings would they use?

Adult Education Sessions

• Lead a discussion using the brochure Rejoicing in the Asian and Pacific Presence to identify how to better welcome Asian and Pacific Catholics in your community.
  
• Reflect on discipleship and the four calls of the laity using the text and questions in Called and Gifted for the Third Millennium.
  
• Use the fifteen questions in The Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of the Eucharist as a starting point to learn more about the Catholic understanding of the Eucharist.
  
• Discuss the reflections on the meaning of fasting and other spiritual disciplines in Penitential Practices for Today's Catholics with as part of an adult education session at the beginning of Lent.
  
• Start a men's ministry group using the format suggested in the final chapter of Hearing Christ's Call.
  
• Use the essays, "Men in Family Life," "Catholic Men as Disciples in the Workplace," and "Fathers, Sons, and Brothers: Catholic Men Transforming the World," from Hearing Christ's Call as sources of ongoing reflection on Christian discipleship during mystagogy.
  
• Use Seeking Forgiveness, Rebuilding Community as a starting point for an adult education session, a Friday reflection series, or liturgy committee meeting.
  
• Use On the Most Holy Rosary as a source of reflection for a women's or men's prayer group or a day of reflection.
  
• Host a discussion on what it means to act justly in our everyday lives in our families, at work, as consumers, and as citizens, based on the reflections of the U.S. bishops in Everyday Christianity.

• Start or end the May, October, or December faculty or school board meetings with one of the "Prayers in Honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary" or one of the litanies in the Book of Mary.
  
• Use one of the sessions from The Call to Family, Community, and Participation as the prayer starter for the Lenten faculty or school board meeting.
  
• Use Prayers of the Lenten and Easter Season for as a resource for faculty meetings.
  
• Use Week 3 from Preferential Option for and With the Poor as a vehicle for assessing how your school is carrying out the biblical models of a community of justice.

• Pray Night Prayer throughout Lent.
  
• Use Prayers of the Lenten and Easter Season for personal prayer.

• Read in Genesis about Abraham, the common patriarch of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Invite leaders of the Muslim, Jewish, and other Christian communities to speak to your small faith community, and discuss the challenges of Welcoming the Stranger Among Us, especially when the "stranger" is our neighbor, friend, or colleague.
  
• Use Disciples in Prayer books and CD as a way to further explore Christian discipleship during the weeks following Easter.
  
• Use the Christ-centered prayer A Litany of the Way as a closing prayer.
  
• Review the U.S. bishops' statement In All Things Charity and identify one social concern that will become the focus of your small faith community's attention and efforts.

• Select one theme from the poster Excerpts from "Sharing Catholic Social Teaching"which highlights the seven themes of Catholic social teaching and do a simple service project during the season of Advent or Lent.
  
• Use Disciples in Prayer books and CD as a way to further explore Christian discipleship during the weeks following Easter.
  
• Pray Night Prayer throughout Lent in your home as a family.
  
• Give copies of the Book of Mary to the homebound.
  
• Select a scripture passage from Scripture Guide and a reflection from A Justice Prayer Book as part of prayer before dinner or bedtime.

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