April 21, 2008 - Volume 1, Number 8

 

 

Resources Featured on the Catholic Faith Education Blog

 

§ Larry Broding, a Director of Religious Education in San Diego, has recently renewed his Web site: word-sunday.com. This is one of the best resource available online for background information on the Sunday readings. Larry presents the readings in separate sections for adults and children and does so in an engaging way for both. He has suggestions for family activities and a weekly podcast. Also of interest to catechists is his section called Index of Children's Catechism Links in which he has notes for catechesis on various themes under the following headings: Creed, Sacrament, Morality, Prayer. The site map makes it easy to locate specific scripture passages used in the lectionary over the three year liturgical cycle and is therefore a useful tools. This is a beautifully conceived Web site and an extremely rich resource. Highly recommended!

§ Carmelite.com is the Web site of the Discalced Carmelited in the Australian region. It not only provides much information on the Carmelites, but also a number of other excellent resources on Carmelite saints and prayer. Read More...

§ Several new resources have sprung up on the Internet in recent weeks focusing on the papal visit. Several of these resources are useful for teaching about the papacy. Read more...

§ Holy Spirit Interactive - The Kids Zone - The Kids Zone of Holy Spirit Interactive offers Bible and inspirational stories, Psalms for kids, a quiz and a game on the 12 apostles, crossword puzzlers, and coloring pages, and more.

Follow the instructions of the “Try This” at the bottom of the page: ingenious little touch!

§ The Ten Commandments - Joe Paprocki, in his blog Catechist’s Journey, outline a lesson plan on the Ten Commandments and provides handouts for this lesson. The approach he uses is creative and, I have no doubt, makes the ten commandments meaningful to students.

§ The Wonders Of His Love – An original Catholic musical written by David Burke. The complete musical with lyrics can be downloaded from this Web site. I was quite impressed by the quality of the music and the content of the lyrics. I can see how this musical would be very appealing to teens. It was originally performed by teens at Saint Brigid Church in Alpharetta, Georgia.

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Resources on the Sunday Readings

 

June 1
9th Sunday OT


Cerezo Clipart
Living Space
Bible Study

Resources for the Sunday readings from June 22 to the end of August will be posted on the Resources for Catholic Educators Web site.

Scripture Posters


How precious is your steadfast love, O God! All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings. -- Psalms 36:7

How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
All people may take refuge in the shadow
of your wings. -- Psalms 36:7

O send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling. --Psalm 43.3

O send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling. --Psalm 43.3

See more scripture cards

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Other Useful Resources Online

The Resources for Catholic Educators Web site offers extensive resources on the following topics:

Back to School Resources for Teachers
Lesson Plans Links
Lesson Plans
Worksheets
Coloring Pages
Activities
Crosswords and Puzzles
Evaluation
Catechetics
Religious Education
RCIA
Youth Ministry
Software for Religious Education
Storytelling
Publishers and Suppliers

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Articles Online


§ Calming the Inner Storm: St. Thérèse’s Path to Peace by Joseph F. Schmidt, FSC, An article from The Word Among Us Catholic Magazine,

“Essentially, Thérèse’s way of working with her feelings was to bring them to God, who might or might not give her the grace to overcome a fault. Getting rid of her faults was God’s business; willingly surrendering to God was her business. In her own experiences from childhood to maturity, Thérèse made a significant discovery. She learned that her troubling, distressing feelings—especially feelings of harshness or violence toward herself or others—would block her ability to love. By praying patiently, by bearing her emotional weakness serenely, and by refusing to cultivate any such feelings, she helps us glimpse what a contemporary understanding of love might look like.”

§ Thinking Faith - the online journal of the British Jesuits - Articles published in the last two months and currently available on this Web site include the following:

  • Reasonable Catholicism: Interpreting the Whole Text by John Moffatt SJ
    If the Christian faith is a ‘religion of the book’, a tradition handed down through the centuries, how are we to make sense of that book and that tradition when we speak today in a very different language?  John Moffatt SJ explores the place of reason and reasonableness in interpreting, understanding and deepening our faith.

  • Astronomy, God and the Search for Elegance and God and the Mystery of the Universe by Guy Consolmagno SJ

  • The Secret of Happiness by Julie Clague
    For thousands of years, spiritual leaders – including Christ himself – have spoken of the limitations of materialism and warned that the path to happiness and fulfilment lies elsewhere.  Now there is even economic research to back up this view.  Julie Clague explains the findings, and draws some conclusions about the way we live our lives today.

  • Thinking about Resurrection by Gerard J Hughes SJ
    There are many questions which the Gospel accounts of the risen Jesus leave unanswered. When we consider them, however, we realise they are not so much questions about Jesus as questions about human life itself, argues Jesuit philosopher, Gerard J Hughes.

  • The Continuing Presence of Archbishop Romero by Rodolfo Cardenal SJ

  • Faith and the Just War: Time to Think Again? by George R. Wilkes
    In the last five years since the invasion of Iraq, the argument about its justification has never stopped. But George Wilkes argues here that a debate drawing only on the Christian ethical tradition has neglected the principles of justice in war that are to be found in the traditions of other faiths, which might help in opening dialogue and building understanding.

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