Tag: virtues

Be Hopeful

Theme 1: What keeps us going?

Outcomes
Students will

  • define hope and its role in Christian living
  • explore the ways prayer nourishes hope
  • identify people who model Christian hope
  • find hope for their own lives in the death and resurrection of Jesus

Key Concepts

  • “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5.11-12).
  • Jesus’ death and resurrection are the foundation of Christian hope.
  • Hope is the virtue which keeps us searching for true happiness which is found in being true to oneself and faithful to God.
  • Hope sustains us during times of abandonment. Hope also protects us during times of struggle.
  • Hope is nourished in prayer.
  • When we presume that we don’t need God or when we deliberately presume that God will forgive and save us regardless of our attitudes, we sin against hope.
  • The first commandment is not only a call to avoid idolatry; it is also a call to place all our hope in God.

Theme 2: Where have we been and where will that take us?

Outcomes
Students will

  • review the virtues and Beatitudes, which underlie the Christian attitude toward being in the world
  • share their faith with others in the context of a year-end class celebration

Key Concepts

  • Review of Christian virtues and the Beatitudes.

Be Alive

Theme 1: How do I look?

Outcomes
Students will

  • value the sacredness of the human body, regardless of appearance
  • identify ways that we can co-operate with God in car- ing for our bodies
  • express ways in which the Incarnation shows the sacredness of the human body
  • respect physical change as integral to God’s creation of us
  • understand the ways we use our bodies in prayer

Key Concepts

  • The Incarnation shows us the sacredness of the human body.
  • Jesus affirms the dignity of every person.
  • We are made in the image and likeness of God.
  • The fifth commandment underlines the sacredness of human life.
  • We are called to co-operate with God in the care of our bodies.
  • God’s creation of us does not end: we constantly change physically; we are called to respect that change in ourselves and others.

Theme 2: How do I know what I know?

Outcomes
Students will

  • identify their own preferred ways of learning
  • name a variety of ways of learning and of growing intellectually
  • respect the unique intellect of each person
  • consider how intellect shapes faith
  • realize God’s desire to be known through Jesus Christ

Key Concepts

  • Each person has a unique way of learning.
  • The fifth commandment underlines the value of all people, regardless of their abilities.
  • God desires all to come to know the truth – especially religious truth, which enables us to know and love God.
  • Searching, questioning and doubt may be avenues to intellectual growth.
  • We change intellectually throughout life; this is part of God’s plan.

Theme 3: Is it okay to feel this way?

Outcomes
Students will

  • identify emotions and their functions in their lives
  • demonstratehowfaith guides how we act in response to our emotions
  • respect the right of all people to experience their own feelings
  • understand that there are morally acceptable and morally unacceptable ways to express any emotion

Key Concepts

  • “Blessedarethosewho mourn, for they will be com- forted” (Matthew 5.4).
  • God created us to experience a wide range of emotions.
  • Everyhumanlife,fromthe moment of conception until death, is sacred because the human person has been willed for its own sake in the image and likeness of the living and holy God (CCC #2319). The way we express our emotions must respect the sacredness of all human life.
  • ThroughouremotionsGod calls us to decision and action.
  • Ouremotionsareagiftthat helps us to relate to others and to God.
  • Emotions are not “good” or “bad” in themselves. “Passions are morally good when they contribute to a good action, evil in the opposite case…. Emotions and feelings can be taken up into the virtues or perverted by the vices.” (CCC #1768)
  • Our faith guides our expression of emotions so that we, and those with whom we relate, become more loving.

Theme 4: How do I get along with others?

Outcomes
Students will

  • explain how they are social beings responsible for the care of one another in accordance with God’s plan
  • summarize stories where Jesus models how to live in and challenge society
  • interpret the model of table fellowship, as used by Jesus Christ, for their own lives
  • explain how the Christian concept of society is inclusive

Key Concepts

  • “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5.9).
  • God created us as social beings, called to love and serve one another.
  • Jesusmodelshowtolivein and challenge society.
  • The Christian concept of society is inclusive.
  • Faith shapes our criteria for healthy relationships.
  • Through table fellowship, Jesus changed the stan- dard for how people relate socially.

Be With Me

Theme
Who do I want to be with?

Outcomes
Students will

  • explore and express the qualities of relationships they want to have
  • name how they want others to “be with them”
  • know that each person has been created with the freedom to shape his or her own relationships
  • repeat and explain the Beatitudes
  • identify ways that the Beatitudes help us understand the Christian attitude toward being with others
  • articulate the Christian call to take on the attitude of Christ

Key Concepts

  • We are created with the freedom to shape our own relationships and to determine what kind of persons we will be with others.
  • We are called to make God manifest by acting in conformity with our creation “in the image and likeness of God.” (CCC #2085)
  • Our relationship with Jesus calls us to be of the “same mind” with Jesus, looking out for the interests and well-being of others with compassion and love. (Philippians 2.1-11)
  • The Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes describe for us the paths that lead to the kingdom of heaven. The grace of the Holy Spirit helps us to travel these paths. (CCC #1724)
  • The Beatitudes outline a distinctly Christian attitude toward being with others

Key Terms

  • beatitude
  • The Beatitudes
  • virtues
  • kingdom of heaven
  • the Ten Commandments

Community

The fundamental task of Catholic schools is the integration of faith and culture and the integration of faith and life. The task is reached by integrating all the different aspects of human knowledge and in the growth of the virtues characteristic of Christians. Through this integration, the Catholic school models the kind of community that forms students to be citizens who care for the common good and and people of faith committed to the reign of God in the world. Catholic schools contribute to the common good of society.

Strategies to develop the Community Dimension of Catholic Schools:

  • Invite reflection on the mission statement of the school and/or school jurisdiction
  • Encourage committees that will animate the life of the school
  • Celebrate the unity within the diversity of the school population
  • Celebrate and participate in societal and community events and church sponsored initiatives such as Family Day, United Nations Day, Ecumenism
  • Foster social consciousness by addressing social ills through events such as Share Lent, Elimination of Racism Day
  • Integrate community service programs and projects into the life of the school
  • Hold induction ceremonies for new staff, students, parents, welcoming them into the community
  • Communicate to school community members about the life of the school

What does the community dimension mean for a Catholic school community?