How Do I Use...
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Book of Mary
- Give copies of the Book of Mary to the homebound.
- Pray one prayer each week from the Book of Mary during morning announcements.
- 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 the prayer on page 19 of the Book of Mary as a way to pray for the welfare of the children in your school.
- Teach students prayers and devotions to Mary during the month of May and Advent using the Book of Mary.
- Plan how to implement the rites all year round including during the seasons of Advent/Christmas and Lent/Easter and especially regarding the use of art in the worship space.
Called and Gifted for the Third Millennium
- Gather with the neophytes during the weeks of Easter and reflect on discipleship and the four calls of the laity using the text and questions in Called and Gifted for the Third Millennium.
Called to Faithful Citizenship
- 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.
Disciples in Prayer
- Provide the neophytes with copies of the Disciples in Prayer books and CD as a way to further explore Christian discipleship during the period of mystagogy.
Easter at the University of Notre Dame (Videotape)
- Invite your liturgy planning team to view Easter at the University of Notre Dame as they begin to prepare the Vigil and Sunday services.
Everyday Christianity
- 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.
Excerpts from Sharing Catholic Social Teaching (Cards or Poster)
- Put a copy of the poster Excerpts from "Sharing Catholic Social Teaching" in the youth room of your parish.
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 and faculty 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 parents, and encourage them to read one principle each day of the week.
- 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.
Faith-Sharing Booklets
Sharing the Tradition, Shaping the Future (Book I)
The Call to Family, Community, and Participation (Book II)
Dignity of the Human Person (Book III)
Preferential Option for and with the Poor (Book IV)
Solidarity with the Poor (Book V)
- Recommend any of the faith-sharing booklets as a resource for continuing prayer and action in the post-mystagogical period.
- 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 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.
Go and Make Disciples/10th Anniversary Edition
- Effectively welcome visitors during the Advent/Christmas and Lent/Easter seasons.
Good Friday Appeal to End the Death Penalty, A
- Distribute copies of A Good Friday Appeal to End the Death Penalty in the parish bulletin or outside the worship space on Good Friday.
Harvest of Justice Is Sown with Peace, The
- Create a quilt of pictures based on the themes of The Harvest of Justice Is Sown with Peace.
- 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.
- 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 parish.
- 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.
Hearing Christ's Call
- 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.
In All Things Charity
- Review the U.S. bishops' statement In All Things Charity and identify one social concern that will become the focus of your group's attention and efforts.
Journey to the Fullness of Life
- Assess your current RCIA program using the recommendation from Journey to the Fullness of Life.
Justice Prayer Book, A
- Select a scripture passage from Scripture Guide and a reflection from A Justice Prayer Book as part of prayer before dinner or bedtime.
Litany of the Way, A
- Use the Christ-centered prayer A Litany of the Way as a closing prayer to your catechumenate sessions.
- Distribute A Litany of the Way prayer cards after Sunday liturgies during Lent.
Living the Gospel of Life
- 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.
Night Prayer
- Teach the catechumens and candidates how to pray the Church's Liturgy of the Hours using Night Prayer.
- Schedule Night Prayer throughout Lent in your church or chapel.
- Give copies of Night Prayer to your confirmation candidates.
On the Most Holy Rosary (Rosarium Virginis Mariae)
- 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.
Penitential Practices for Today's Catholics
- Include copies of Penitential Practices for Today's Catholics in the parish bulletin for the first Sunday of Lent.
- Distribute copies of Penitential Practices for Today's Catholics to parents of the children in religious education classes.
- Distribute copies of Penitential Practices for Today's Catholics to the catechumens and candidates as a basic resource on Catholic teaching.
- Discuss the reflections on the meaning of fasting and other spiritual disciplines in Penitential Practices for Today's Catholics with at a faculty or school board meeting at the beginning of Lent.
- Create a link on your parish or school Internet site to Penitential Practices for Today's Catholics at www.usccb.org/dpp/penitential.htm to educate others on the Catholic practice of fasting.
People of Life, A
- 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.
Prayer for Life, A
- 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 or young person.
Prayer for Peace
- 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.
- Start or end the school day with the Prayer for Peace whenever there is an outbreak of violence in the local community.
- Use the Prayer for Peace as a starting point for discussion about ways to work for peace in your school, parish, and community.
- Recite Prayer for Peace each morning at the end of announcements.
- Give copies of Prayer for Peace to every child or young person.
- Pray the Prayer for Peace at the beginning of class or a youth group meeting.
Prayers for the Lenten and Easter Seasons
- Use Prayers for the Lenten and Easter Seasons to teach various prayers of Lent and Easter to elementary and middle school children.
- For teachers, principals, and school administrator, use Prayers of the Lenten and Easter Season for personal prayer as well as a resource in the classroom and for faculty meetings.
Principles, Prophecy, and a Pastoral Response
- Read the principle and practice sections of Principles, Prophecy, and a Pastoral Response at the beginning of each class session. Lead a discussion using the questions in the back of the book or use the questions for journaling.
Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, The
- Distribute copies of The Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of the Eucharist to the catechumens and candidates as a basic resource on Catholic teaching.
- 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 during the weeks immediately following Easter.
Rejoicing in the Asian and Pacific Presence
- 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.
Scriptural Rosary for Justice and Peace, A
- 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.
Scripture Guide
- Select a scripture passage from Scripture Guide and a reflection from A Justice Prayer Book as part of prayer before dinner or bedtime.
Seeking Forgiveness, Rebuilding Community
- Use Seeking Forgiveness, Rebuilding Community as a starting point for an adult education session, a Friday reflection series, or a liturgy committee meeting.
Stewardship: A Disciple's Response
- Challenge students to make a single change in their lifestyles that will reduce the waste of natural resources.
- 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?
- Encourage students to transform their Lenten fasting practices into Easter "feasting" ones. How can they share their gifts and resources more generously?
Time to Listen . . . A Time to Heal, A
- Revitalize your outreach ministry to inactive Catholics.
Unity in Diversity: A Scriptural Rosary
- 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.
Way of the Cross
- 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.
Welcoming the Stranger Among Us
- Read "The Special Needs of Youth" (pages 47-49). How is your school an "instrument of evangelization for others"?
- What kind of work is needed to support immigrants, migrants, and refugees throughout the country and 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 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 school, and discuss the challenges of Welcoming the Stranger Among Us, especially when the "stranger" is our neighbor, friend, or colleague.