Vocations

“O Jesus, divine Shepherd of the spirit, you have called the Apostles in order to make them fishermen of men, you still attract to you burning spirits and generous young people, in order to render them your followers and ministers to us” (Pope Paul VI launching the 1st World Day of Prayer for Vocations)

Reflection Question:

Vocations are a calling to serve the Lord and share your talents that God has provided, some examples would be to answer the call to enter a community of Faith such as a priest or nun or for the lay person whether it is the profession you choose or one’s decision to marry or not, God has a role for you.

What calling does God have for you?

Discussion Question:

The call for vocations is primarily focused on our youth, generally prior to adulthood. Does the call stop once one has chosen his career and become an adult or do you think we could be called throughout our life?

Prayer to Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament

O Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament, the glory of Christians, the joy of the universal Church, and the hope of the world, pray for us. Kindle in all the faithful a lively devotion to the most Holy Eucharist, so that they may all be made worthy to receive Holy Communion every day.

Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament, pray for us!

Amen.

Reflection Question
May is the month of Mary; take this time to reflect on what tremendous hardships she must have endured as the mother of Jesus.

Discussion Question
Even through those tremendous hardships, we feel/experience the loving, serenity of Mary, just as one sees with a mother and her child. When you think of the Mother Mary, what feelings come to you?

Religious Studies 25: Little Buddha Reflection Question

Instructions: Answer the questions below. The page titled, Reflection Rubric, will be used to access this reflection. It can be found on the left side (third from top) under pages. When finished, print off your response and hand in or email it to Mr. S.

The movie involves two stories happening simultaneously. One is the story of Prince Siddhartha and the other is the story involving Jesse Conrad.

Jesse asks the Lama, “Was Buddha a God?” The Monk responds with, “No, a real person. Like Jesus. Yes, like Jesus.” Christians, on the other hand, believe that Jesus is the Son of God, both human and divine. 1) Do Buddhists believe the same thing, that is, Buddha (the enlightened Siddhartha) is both human and God? Explain (you may have review what you have learned about Buddhism in class), 2) How is the story of Siddhartha similar to that of Jesus? How is this story different to that of Jesus? Provide at least two specific examples. 3) What is the biggest difference between Buddhism and Christianity? Explain your thinking.

Religious Studies 25: Pay it Forward Reflection

Directions: Answer the following two questions. Print your response and hand it in or email it to me. The page on the left titled, Reflection Rubric, will be used to evaluate your response.

Introduction: A Los Angeles reporter, Chris Chandler, interviews Trevor McKinney. Trevor says the following:

“…I don’t know. I think some people are too scared or something. I think things can be different and I mean the world’s not exactly “shit”. I guess it’s hard for people who are used to things the way they are. Even when they’re bad to change. They kind of give up. When they do you kind of lose”.

1. Are people scared to change things? Can the world be a better place? What are your thoughts? Mahatma Gandhi gives 10 suggestions to change the world. Read the article, Gandhi’s Top 10 Fundamentals for Changing the World. Select one suggestion from Gandhi’s list and explain how you could use the suggestion to help you bring about changes for a better world.

Introduction: Trevor gets killed during a fight where he was trying to help his friend, Adam. John 15:13 says, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends”.

2. Explain how is this an act of Agape love? Are there people in this world who love selflessly (i.e that love agape style) that they would even lay down their life to save someone else? Explain your reasoning. Do you know of any non-fictional examples of this kind of love? If you do, explain the example.

RS World Religions Research Project

Religion 15: Western World Religions: Christianity, Islam & Judaism

Religion 25: Eastern World Religions: Hinduism or Buddhism

Religion 35: Eastern World Religions: Confucianism, Taoism & Sikhism

Objectives:

To explore the great world religions .
To produce a visual creation to relay information about a world religion.
To discover common elements between the world religions.

Part 1: RESEARCH Each pair will be assigned one of the world religions (RS 15: Christianity, Judaism, & Islam; RS 25: Buddhism & Hinduism, RS 35: Confucianism, Taoism & Sikhism) to research. Completing the Research Info Chart will do this. REMEMBER, the chart also includes a timeline. To download a digital version of this chart, use the following chart: research_info_chart

World Religions Information

Keep in mind that these sites contain general information about the world religions. For example, it discusses Christianity’s basics beliefs. There may be differences between the different traditions of Christians such as between the Catholic and Anglican Church.

Comparison Chart (Has a good comparision table. You need to input the names of the religions you wish to compare)

World Religions map

Major Religions of the World (Select the religion you are researching using the links on the left hand side of the web page)

For Grade 10s, here another site related to the Islam (Muslim) faithThe Muslim experience in Canada

There is also the textbook in the classroom.

Using “Google” will also locate many useful sites. Be sure to critique the site to determine if it contains credible information. There are also numerous resources in the library.

Be sure to keep a record of the sites (URLs) and books used for the research so it can be recorded in your bibliography. To site resources properly, go to How to site references.

Part II: VISUAL CREATION Create a poster or power point presentation, using no more than ten words or phrases, that shows others what is important within your assigned religion.

For looking up bible verse, this link might be helpful.

oremus Bible Browser (just put in your scripture request e.g. 1 John 3:6-8 and up pops the text)

The rubric used for this assignment:

World Religions Project Rubric

RS 25: Inherit the Wind Reflection #1

Directions: 1) First, click on the link Christian views on Hell and skim some of the information. This is to give you some concept of how Christians understand hell. Also read Pope Benedict XVI’s view on hell by clicking on the link, Hell Exists. The late Pope John Paul II at the General Audience of Wednesday, 28 July 1999, said that care should be taken to interpret correctly the images of hell in Sacred Scripture, and explained that “hell is the ultimate consequence of sin itself… Rather than a place, hell indicates the state of those who freely and definitively separate themselves from God, the source of all life and joy”. (Source)

2) Answer the question below. Your answer should indicate that you learned something from the readings above. The rubric used is called Reflection Rubric and is found in the pages on the right. Answer the question in a word document, save it, and either print it off and hand in or e-mail it to me.

Reflection Question:
Rachel Brown, the fiancée of Bertram Cates , while on the witness stand said, “At the funeral, Pa taught that Tommy didn’t die in a state of grace [a basic definition] because his father won’t allow him to be baptized.”

Mr. Cates then shouts to Rachel, “Tell him what your father really said. That he was dammed in hell fire.”

Does God throw people into hell? Explain your thinking on this question.

Note: It is not what you believe that is important. What is important is why you believe what you believe. I want to see some thinking.

RS 25 Inherit the Wind Reflection #2

Directions: Select ONE s of the two questions below and answer the question. Your answers must reflect what you have learned in class. The rubric used is called Reflection Rubric and is found in the pages on the right. Answer the question in a word document, save it, and either print it off and hand in or e-mail it to me.

1. While Matthew Harrison Brady is on the witness stand, Henry Drummond asks, “Now listen to this. This is Genesis 4:16, Then Cain went away…and Cain’s new wife… Now where the hell did she come from?”

Mr. Brady responds, “Who?”

Mr. Drummond, “Mrs. Cain. If in the beginning there was just Cain and Able, Adam and Eve. Where did this extra woman come from? Did you ever stop to think about it?”

Mr. Brady “I do not think about things I do not think about”.

Mr. Drummond,: “Do you ever think about things that you do think about?”

How would you answer Mr. Drummond’s question about Cain’s wife? What did Mr. Brady mean by, “I do not think about things I do not think about”?

2. The following dialogue occurs when Matthew Harrison Brady is on the witness stand.

Brady: “A well known biblical scholar, Bishop Usher determined the exact time of creation. It occurred 4004 B.C…In fact, he determined the Lord started creation on the 23^rd of October, 4004 B.C. at 9 A.M.”

Drummond: “Is that Eastern Standard time or Rocky Mountain Time? It wasn’t Daylight Savings Time, because the Lord didn’t make the sun until the 4^th day”.

Brady: “That is correct.”

Drummond: “That first day. Well, what do you think it was? 24 hours long?”

Brady: “The bible says it was a day”

Drummond: “There was no sun. How do you know how long it was?”

Brady: “The bible says it was a day”

Drummond: “Was it a literal day? A normal day? A 24 hour day?

Brady: “I do not know.”

Drummond: “What do you think?”

What is Mr. Drummond trying to tell the jury? What is he saying about scripture? Does he mean to say that scripture is incorrect? Explain.

Christian Unity

1 Corinthians 1:10

Prayer: God, indivisible Trinity of Love, you created us in your image. May husbands and wives unite and raise children in your loving way. We ask that all families find inspiration in the Holy Family of Nazareth and pass along to their children humane and Christian values, establishing a strong foundation for a more loving society. (Adapted from the prayer for the 6th World Meeting of Families).

Reflection Question: How can you work in unity with other Christians to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ?

Discussion Questions: Our Catholic schools are committed to many Social Justice causes, regardless of Faith, discuss past and perhaps a future project the school could undertake for others in need.