Lessons and Activities

In the fourth century, Augustine declared that Sacraments are sacred signs. Throughout the history of the Church, Sacraments have been connected to Christ as revelations of God and signs of grace. The histories of the various Sacraments are rich. For our purpose, we will reflect and build upon what the Second Vatican Council proclaimed about the Sacraments.

The theme of CATECHIST's January issue each year is the liturgical life of the Church and the Sacraments--what they mean to us as Catholics and the different ways we can teach about them in our classes. The United States Catholic Catechism for Adults emphasizes that that the Sacraments have a visible and invisible reality (see page 168).

One of the loveliest images of Joseph is of him leading a donkey that is carrying Mary who is pregnant with Jesus. They are traveling from their home in Nazareth to Bethlehem. The journey made by Joseph and Mary may hold more spiritual gold and meaning than the census that caused it.

by Cullen Schippe I was never any good at checkers. The stratagems of this simplest of board games elude me. My leaky defenses always leave a...

It started with a "noise like a gust of wind," explained the fourteen-year-old teen we now know as St. Bernadette Soubirous. Today, more than 150 years later, millions of pilgrims still travel to the once-small town in southern France where that gust of wind first heralded the presence of our Blessed Mother. The pilgrims come to pray for healing and reconciliation, to bathe in the waters, and to remember the 18 appearances, or apparitions, of the Virgin Mary to Bernadette at Lourdes.

Francis has been called the universal saint because almost every religious tradition recognizes and honors him. Of all the stories and legends that swirl around this great saint, one of my favorites is the story of St. Francis and the Wolf of Gubbio. It is particularly meaningful for me as a parable of true discipleship for our times.

This Complete-A-Project Bible Search activity is for teacher and students (grades 4-6) working together. It is based on Mark 10:46-52.

Teresa liked living in a convent, so in 1534, when she was 19, she became a Carmelite nun. Teresa loved God with all her heart. She called God her best friend. She was a person of prayer in all things. Her favorite prayer was the Our Father.

Those of us who serve as catechists, parish spiritual leaders, mentors, and guides need to pursue our own spiritual, catechetical, biblical, and theological formation to be able to address the questions, struggles, and ambiguities that our young people bring to us. This is not a time to waffle with weak responses that have not been tested within our own desert experiences. We are called to be salt and light for all those who seek to come out of the desert.

Most everything has a beginning an ending. In fact, the beginning of one thing often means the ending of another thing.