Posted on 08/23/2007 3:59:58 PM PDT by NYer
Lesson 39 of 43 ... winding down.
It’s been a wonderful series. Only a few needed some updates.
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 6: Angels and Devils
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 7: Human Beings and the Purpose of Life
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 8: Sanctifying Grace
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 9: Heaven
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 10: Mortal and Venial Sin
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 11: Hell
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 12: Purgatory
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 13: Original Sin
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 14: Jesus Christ, Our Savior
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 15: Jesus Christ, True God and True Man
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 16: The Catholic Church is the Only True Church
A Brieft Catechism for Adults - Lesson 17: Qualities of the Catholic Church
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 18: The Pope, the Vicar of Christ
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 19: The Seven Sacraments
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 20: The Sacrament of Baptism
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 21: The Sacrament of Confirmation
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 22: The Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist (Holy Communion)
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 23: The Sacrifice of the Mass
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 24: The Sacrament of Penance (Confession)
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 25: How to go to Confession
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 26: Indulgences
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 27: The Sacrament of Extreme Unction
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 28: The Sacrament of Holy Orders (Priesthood)
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 29: The Nature of Marriage
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 30: The Sins Against Marriage
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 31: The Sacrament of Matrimony
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 32: How to have a Happy Marriage
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 33: Duties of Parents Toward Their Children
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 34: The First Commandment
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 35: The Second Commandment
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 36: The Third Commandment
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 37: The Fourth Commandment
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 38: The Fifth Commandment (w / special prayer request)
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 39: The Sixth and Ninth Commandments
Do you have all of the lessons compiled together or do I need to download each of them separately. I would like to save these in case my kids aren’t getting a proper education at CCD.
This is one very orthodox priest's approach to the catechism .... for adults! When it comes to the kids, I would recommend the Baltimore Catechism. In fact, regardless of what they are teaching in CCD, spend some time with your children using the BC. It is timeless!
One of my favorite tv sitcoms is 'Everybody Loves Raymond'. In one episode, Allie, the daughter, asks the mother 'Where did we come from?'. Debra, the mom, interprets this question to mean that Allie is ready for the 'birds and bees' lesson. She chooses her husband to deliver it and preps him with books, charts and the proper pronunciation of the anatomically correct words. When Ray sits down with Allie, she tells him she already knows about sex because they taught that in school. What she wants to know is this: "If we are all going to Heaven, why are we here?"
After breathing a huge sigh of relief, Ray attempts to begin an answer but realizes he has no clue. Making some lame excuse to go downstairs, he gathers his wife and parents together and asks them. No one has an immediate response. The grandmother suggests they pull out the Bible but they can't find the answer there either. In utter desperation, Ray picks up the phone and calls the Catholic pastor. He gets the answering machine and leaves a cryptic message that ends with "please call asap".
Having been educated with the Baltimore Catechism, I laughed my head off. Chapter 1, Question 1 is: Why did God make us? Answer: A. God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in the next.
You can share this precious teaching with your children at this link .
I’m going through the Baltimore Catechism again with my 2nd and 1st graders this year. I think it’s a wonderful thing to have the basics memorized. It’s not complete knowledge of the Catholic Faith, of course, but everything there is correct. We get religion books from the Seton School, and these are very informative. Also, their English and Spelling books have Bible or Catholic history themes.
One of my sons was evicted from 4th grade R.E. because he knew everything already (not as bad as it sounds - the teacher has become a good friend of ours, but she realized he was bored except when she talked about her life in Spain.) At our catechist training last week, the director said, “You don’t need to worry about your students’ knowing more than you do ...” and then she looked over at me and said, “Unless you have one of the Tax-chickadees, and then you can call their mother and she’ll tell them to shut up.”
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 40: The Seventh and Tenth Commandments
A Brief Catechism for Adulst - Lesson 41: The Eighth Commandment
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 42: Charity
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 43: Fast and Abstinence
Why am I not surprised :-)
When the pastor asked me to head the Religious Ed program of the parish, he began by citing complaints about the textbooks currently used. You may recall my posted plea a few weeks ago for feedback from other freepers. I finally settled on ordering some sample textbooks from Ignatius Press. There are only 17 children in the rel ed program but they span grades pre-K through HS. When the IP textbooks arrived, I brought them home, along with the ones currently used, so as to compare the texts.
Limiting myself to 2nd and 8th grades for review, I was absolutely blown away by the Maronite text books. They are brimming with authentic catholicism! They made the IP books look like Catholic lite. To cite an example ..
In 2nd grade, the text introduces children to the seven Holy Mysteries and how they can find Jesus in each one. The students will discover they can also meet Jesus through personal prayer, the Bible, and Maronite Church celebrations throughout the year.The second unit focuses specifically on welcoming the Lord through the seasons of the Glorious Birth of Our Lord and Epiphany.
From there, the focus shifts to the Season of Great Lent and the Holy Mystery of Pentecost. Students will define sin as disobeying the Ten Commandments. They will learn about God’s great mercy and forgiveness. They will also explore the steps in the Holy Mystery of Penance.
Next, the students learn about the Holy Mystery of Eucharist. They are introduced to the Divine Service of the Holy Mysteries.
Second graders will learn how the Holy Mysteries help us follow Jesus. They will learn how Maronites celebrate Jesus’ unselfish love, especially on Lazarus Saturday and the days of the Passion Week.
In the last unit, students will learn more about our Maronite prayers and traditions. The children will discover why Mary holds a special place in the Maronite Church and see that the Holy Spirit is always with us to help us meet Jesus in the Holy Mysteries.
And that is just 2nd grade! No wonder the parents disliked these books. They're too Catholic! ;-)
Those sound like great books! Who’s the publisher?
That does seem like a lot of material for a parish second grade program, though. Is it possible that the book was intended for school use, with daily classes?
No. There is only one Maronite Catholic Church in the US that runs a school and it is attended by only a handful of youngsters. The materials were developed for Sunday CCD classes.
What is truly needed here are adult religious education classes. So many parents are truly ignorant of the Catholic faith! And that frightens - no - 'alarms' me. So much so, that I have now made that my next goal. During the winter months, our pastor offers what is referred to as a 'gospel soiree' where he dissects Scripture in a relaxed setting, and gives us the keys to understanding it. My RC friends always attend but not the parishioners. One parent recently inquired about doing 'Bible Study' before Sunday Mass. This is quite impractical in our Church setting but it gave me some insight into the need and desire to understand more. This same parishioner is always impressed by how much 'knowledge' I seem to possess. I have explained over and over again that it comes from the accrued knowledge from being in this forum and a sincere desire to learn more. She is a young and impetuous mother of 3 small children, whose cares are forcused more on wordly knowledge than on spiritural. However, I am seriously looking into something for the parents themselves - more on a catechetical basis.
Here is a link to the publications from St. Maron Publications. You will have to scroll down a bit to see the curriculuum for the children. Take for example, these:
Throughout the fourth grade, students study about Christian morality. Specifically, they will study about right and wrong and the gift of conscience.In the fourth unit, students focus on the challenge of family love, as found in the fourth, sixth, and ninth commandments. They will learn that the fifth commandment calls us to treat all people with respect. They will also study the seventh and tenth commandments in terms of the call to be stewards of earthly goods. Finally, students will explore what the eighth commandment means, using modern day examples.
or
Holy Scripture is the focus of the sixth grade. The text begins by giving the students an overview of the Bible as the inspired Word of God.
or the 2nd unit in the HS series
In order to prepare for the Theology section, the section on Religion asks the students to consider the broader issues of a definition of religion, the value of religious symbols, the distinction between the secular and the sacred, and the role of religion in America. In an attempt to diminish any interest in religious cults, the final lesson describes cults in general, and using three of these, contrasts their beliefs with Catholicism.
For my HS students, who have not been educated in any of these texts, we will be focusing our attention on the 8th grade book which delves into the heresies and schisms that have plagued the Catholic Church from the very 1st century. We will take a break mid year to prepare 2 of these 4 students for the Sacrament of Confirmation. Normally this Sacrament is administered in the Maronite Church at the time of Baptism. For whatever reason, these 2 were only Baptized. Ironically, it is these 2 young adults who are the most active in the parish. Having a father who contemplated the priesthood and an uncle who is now a Chorbishop, helps .. a lot! They have family support for their religious education.
Please remember me, Father Elie and these 17 youngsters in your prayers! It is an enormous task to elevate their faith and provide meaningful experiences to them when their families are so ignorant and truly believe that their children do not need any religious education. I have a few tricks up my sleeve to persuade them otherwise ;-)
I have you in my prayers any time nothing else comes to mind immediately :-). You’re doing a (demographically) small work with great love, and that’s what Our Lord looks for!
And I sigh over your pastor from time to time, not that our ditzy old Father Hawker isn’t a fine priest, in his way ...
I’ll take a longer look at the RE materials when I have time. The Seton School prints some Byzantine Catholic educational resources, but we might benefit from some of the Maronite texts, especially coloring books. I try to take every opportunity to expose my children and my parish students to something beyond their everyday lives.
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