Tag: challenges

Be Honest

Theme 1: When is it stealing?

Outcomes
Students will

  • express and apply the seventh commandment
  • identify how the seventh commandment challenges actions that are commonly deemed acceptable
  • define stewardship and discuss it in terms of the demands of the seventh commandment
  • identify the balance between the right to own and the requirement to share in specific situations
  • evaluate their own behaviour in light of the seventh commandment
  • understand tithing as an offering to God and a form of prayer

Key Concepts

  • seventh commandment – “You shall not steal” – forbids unjustly taking or keeping the goods of one’s neighbours or wronging them in any way with respect to their goods.
  • We believe in the right to property; however, it must always be held in check by the common good.
  • All people have a right to what is necessary to fulfill their basic human needs.
  • When we own something we are merely stewards. Each of us must use the things we own in such a way that they benefit not only ourselves, but also the common good.

Theme 2: Why tell the truth when a lie will do?

Outcomes
Students will

  • express and apply the eighth commandment
  • recognize that there is an absolute truth, and God is its source
  • explain the role of truthfulness in relationships
  • identify the balance between charity and respect for the truth in specific situations
  • evaluate their own behaviour in light of the eighth commandment
  • explore the meaning of the prayer and gesture that immediately precedes the proclamation of the Gospel

Key Concepts

  • The eighth commandment states: “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.”
  • Truthfulness is foundational for trusting relationships.
  • God is the source of all truth.
  • Human beings tend by nature toward the truth.
  • Both charity and respect for the truth should dictate the response to every request for information.

Be Faithful

Theme 1: What do I really believe?

Outcomes
Students will

  • articulate ways that relationships based on faith are reasonable
  • express what it means to have a relationship with God through Jesus
  • describe how faith in Jesus Christ challenges them to love and respect others

Key Concepts

  • “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord…” (Deuteronomy 6.4).
  • Jesus is the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega.
  • Faith cannot be fully explained, but it is reasonable. Faith admits mystery.
  • Our moral life has its source in faith in God, who reveals his love to us. (CCC #2087) Faith in God’s love encom- passes the call and the obligation to respond with love and respect – the first and second command- ments call us to love and respect God above everything, and to respect all creatures for and because of God.
  • Being faithful means being open to develop- ing our relationship with God.

Theme 2: What’s the point of prayer?

Outcomes
Students will

  • define Christian prayer
  • locate in Scripture, describe and demonstrate five forms of prayer:
    • Adoration and Blessing
    • Petition
    • Intercession
    • Thanksgiving
    • Praise
  • express different ways that God responds to prayer
  • demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between human freedom, divine prerogative and prayer

Key Concepts

  • “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heav- en” (Matthew 5.3).
  • Prayer is our living relationship with God.
  • The third commandment calls us to stop and pray. The Sunday celebration of the Lord’s Day and his Eucharist is at the heart of the Church’s life.
  • Jesus teaches us how to pray.
  • God always answers our prayers.
  • God answers our prayers in ways that are not limited by our own perspectives. God’s view is infinitely bigger than our view.
  • In answering our prayers, God does not take away human free- dom.

Personal Writing Prompts

Write a personal essay in response to one of the following:

  1. Most of us have been in a situation where we made a promise that for one reason or another we were unable to keep. When were you disappointed because someone made you a promise that they failed to keep? Or when did you break a promise that you made to someone else?
  2. All of us are works in progress with a long way to go before we reach our full potential. In what skill or area are you still working to make progress?
  3. Our society uses the word hero in many different ways? How do you define hero, and who is a hero in your life?
  4. We all tend to judge people by their appearances, even though looks can be deceiving. Have you ever prejudged someone incorrectly based on their appearance or has someone ever prejudged you unfairly based on how you look?
  5. Everyone has problems or challenges to overcome. What obstacles are you proud to have faced and conquered?
  6. There is a famous adage: “To err is human, to forgive divine.” When did you feel divine because you were able to forgive someone for their mistake? When did someone act divine by forgiving you when you were wrong?