2023-24 Grade 8 Religious Education

Easter Greetings once again! At the 1964 Oscars ceremony, 60 years ago this month, Sidney Poitier became the first African-American to win an Oscar, which was for his role in the movie Lilies of the Field.  During that movie, he played the character Homer Smith, who sang a song about Christ's life. That song, " Amen ", was our opening prayer for class. Pope Benedict XVI was born on April 16, 1927, in Germany.  The end of the first episode of the Catholicism series, hosted by Bishop Barron and Word on Fire, tells a story about Cardinal George at Pope Benedict's election. You can watch it here and go to the 40:00 mark. We are part of a Church that has stood the test of time because God has made us to be His Holy people, and His Holy Spirit continues to guide us in upholding the Truth as we answer the call to live faithfully as His people. Mrs. Monaco stopped by class to encourage everyone to keep practicing their faith as part of Bishop Casey's challenge at Mass to...

Easter Greetings! We're now in the Easter Season.  While the principal day to celebrate teh Resurrection of Christ was on Easter Sunday, March 31, we have a full 50-day season to continue rejoicing in the most important event in human history. For our opening prayer to start our class, we watched the music video of the song " Alive " which looks at the Resurrection from the perspective of St. Mary Magdalene.  (You may remember I played this song last year in class.) After considering what Easter means to us, we looked at the four Gospel accounts of the Resurrection: Matthew 28:1-10 Mark 16:1-7 Luke 24:1-12 John 20:1-10 After Jesus rose from the dead, made several appearances, and then ascended to Heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit, the sign of His Risen Presence continuing with us, as St. Peter says in Acts 2:29-32, on the day of Pentecost after the Holy Spirit descended. At the end of class, our closing prayer was this Taize song, " Be Not Afraid ". As usual, plea...

Greetings everyone! During our class on March 19, in celebration of the Feast of St. Joseph, we started with the prayer at the end of the Litany of St. Joseph . God communicated important messages to him in dreams, and St. Joseph quietly obeyed--in fact, the Bible doesn't record a single word spoken by St. Joseph. St. Joseph side altar inside Ascension We also celebrated the Vernal Equinox and Cardinal Cupich's birthday, who turned 75 on March 19, just three days after my birthday. Cardinal Cupich attended St. Peter and Paul Church, shown here, when he was growing up in southern Omaha. Then we focused on the Triduum, the three-day period at the heart of the liturgical calendar in which we commemorate the central events of our faith, the saving Death and Resurrection of Christ. Here is a video I made a few years ago showcasing symbolism of Maundy Thursday, which is during Holy Week and at the start of the Triduum. On Good Friday of Holy Week, during the liturgy of that day, we ...

Greetings everyone! During class, everyone had the opportunity for the sacrament of reconciliation with Father Rex. To set the tone, we prayed Psalm 32 at the start of class. And after going to confession, you all had the chance to pray the Stations of the Cross. Then we considered what Church authority means with an audio clip from The Patrick Madrid Show on Relevant Radio as he talks about a time he used a napkin in apologetics.  Afterward, I summarized some pages in our class book that described what happened in the Protestant Reformation when certain people objected to Church teachings, and the Church's response, both by the bishops and those who established religious orders, including St. Ignatius of Loyola. As Roman Catholics, we believe God started the Church when Jesus Christ was on Earth and He has handed His authority to the leaders, guided by the Holy Spirit, to interpret Christ's teachings, including those in the Bible. Toward the end of class, we watched short tw...

Lenten Greetings everyone! During our most recent class, we started with the song " Purified " by Michael W. Smith. I connected it with my experience in a Native American Sweat Lodge ceremony during a service trip to northeastern Nebraska 11 years ago this month. St. Augustine Mission in Winnebago, NE Lent is a time when God seeks to purify us so that we can turn away from sin and enter more deeply into relationship with God. The sacraments are also an important part of our relationship with God, bringing us in contact with the life of God.  We nourish that life through the Eucharist. Adoration chapel in the Immaculata Monastery in Norfolk, NE I shared three Relevant Radio Eucharistic Encounter videos. This video focuses on how highways are built around churches in major cities. This video tells a story of a priest who was so intent on making the sacraments available to the people, even when he was aging and his health was declining. This video tells about how poor people ...

Greetings everyone! During our most recent class, we spent our time watching the documentary God is Alive , produced by the Diocese of Springfield, IL.  It has many great stories about how God is at work in the lives of people, is available to watch for free on YouTube, with some ads embedded. The activity for this week is to look at the Litany of the Passion. It contains many statements about the Passion of Christ. Please go to this website to view it. Then, at this link , submit a reflection on one of those statements. This activity is due by class time on March 5. Looking ahead, we'll continue to explore Lenten themes and the meaning of Confirmation, since the retreat will be the following weekend on March 9. Thanks to those of you who submitted your money for the collection.  If you haven't yet, please bring it to class on March 5.  You must use money from allowance or helping with household tasks, not asking your parents directly. As usual, please feel free to conta...

Greetings everyone! In our most recent class, we started with the song " Lift Every Voice and Sing " as our opening prayer.  It's the Black national anthem, written by James Weldon Johnson. Then we took time to consider what it means to be in a relationship with God, which is a significant part of what Lent is about.  We focus on growing in our relationship with God by turning from things that keep us away from Him and taking up practices that lead us closer, most especially prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. At the start of class, everyone had the chance to fill out a sheet to start thinking about how to observe Lent.  It will not be collected, but please keep it in a spot where you'll see it frequently and remind yourself of your plan.  You can make adjustments as needed. Ultimately, when we get to Easter Sunday, we celebrate the New Life of Christ, and the Life we have in Him through baptism, and we will renew our baptismal promises. In baptism, we receive an anoint...