World Religions

The month of June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The Sacred Heart represents Christ’s love for all mankind.

O most holy heart of Jesus, fountain of every blessing, I adore you, I love you, and with lively sorrow for my sins I offer you this poor heart of mine. Make me humble, patient, pure and wholly obedient to your will. Grant, Good Jesus, that I may live in you and for you. Protect me in the midst of danger. Comfort me in my afflictions. Give me health of body, assistance in my temporal needs, your blessings on all that I do, and the grace of a holy death. Amen.

Reflection Question
Think back on the times or a time when your heart was bursting of the power of God’s love, how did it make you feel?

Discussion Question
What can you do to help foster the “Sacred HEart” for others around you?

The liturgy of the Church, the celebration of the sacraments, and the seasons of Lent and Easter are particular times when we pay attention to what Jesus Christ has done for us through his passion, death, Resurrection, and Ascension. Yet these are not the only times when we experience the Paschal Mystery. It is part of our everyday life; it is the undercurrent of all that we do and all that we are. – Loyola Press

Reflection Question
Think about your own life. What is a dying or rising that you have experienced today, this week, this year? Reflect on that experience in light of the event of Jesus Christ’s passion, death, Resurrection, and Ascension.

Discussion Question
The Paschal Mystery illustrates to us how Jesus showed how new life can come from death. Can you think of a time where you found meaning/strength in tough times, where there was light in the darkness?

“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?

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?

Read Galatians 3:26-28

God loves me with an unconditional love. Name some of the ways I love who I am.

What can we do together to create a greater sense of unity and acceptance among us?

Imagine spending 5 minutes trying to complete a 200+ piece jigsaw puzzle WITHOUT looking at the picture.

Now imagine looking at the picture and seeing how many pieces you can add in the next 5 minutes.

In what ways is putting the puzzle together like or unlike putting your life together?

In what ways is the puzzle like or unlike answering the question, “Who Am I?”

Choose one of the following passages to study:

• read the passage
• write about what you think the passage says
• explain what you think the passage means in each of your lives today
• describe what the passage says we are in God’s eyes

Passages:

• Genesis 1:26-31
• Isaiah 43:1-3
• Colossians 3:5-17
• Luke 4:18-19
• Ephesians 5:15-16
• John 6:21-40
• 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5
• Ephesians 4:1-32
• Galatians 5:13-26
• Psalm 139:1-24
• John 14:12

Read 2Corinthians 5:17-18 and Jeremiah 1:4-8.

As we try to answer the question “Who Am I?” we need to know what God wants for us. What does he think about us?

We also need to look at ourselves – our interests, abilities, weaknesses.

As we go about answering this question we also need to talk with other people. Hearing about our strengths and weaknesses from others often tells us things about ourselves that we overlook.

Leave several comments on your classmates’ blogs. Write about the qualities you appreciate in that person. Everything you write should be positive – no jokes or putdowns.

Write a personal essay answering this question as best you can:

• What kind of person am I becoming, and what kind of person do I want to become?

The focus of this project is to explore the person of Chrst and what Scriptures reveal about His unique relationship to His Father.

Your task is to explore in detail one of the four Gospel accounts. Spend some part of your evenings and weekends working on the creative part of this assignment.

1. Read ONE gospel slowly. As you read, note passages that impressed you
2. After you have finished your reading and notetaking, choose one of the following activities:
3. Note how Jesus relates to the poor of His day. Draw a parallel between the times of Jesus and contemporary society
4. choose a story and rewrite it using images and a contemporary setting
5. podcast a paraphrase of a familiar parable

“If the thought comes to you that everything that you have thought about God is mistaken and that there is no God, do not be dismayed. It happens to many people. But do no think that the source of your disbelief is that there is no God. If you no longer believe in the God whom you believed before, …you must strive better to grasp that which you call God. When a savage ceases to believe in his wooden god, this does not mean that there is no God, but only that the true God is not made of wood.” Leo Tolstoy

Answer the following questions. For each question, identify at least one value from Values Discussion that played a role in this event.

• When did you first realize your family loves you?
• When did you learn that it is better to tell the truth?
• Who was the first person to make you feel invincible?
• When did you realize you could be anything you want to be?
• When did you learn that life isn’t always fair?
• Who taught you that sometimes things don’t work out the way you want them to?
• When did you learn that you can’t always get what you want?
• How did you learn about the Tooth Fairy, or other characters?
• Has anyone ever tested your faith?
• Have you ever done something that you regret? What did you learn from that moment?

These questions are not always easy to answer. Take enough time to think. If you are stuck, ask
your teacher, a friend, or someone at home to help you “unglue” your memories.

1. List beliefs you held when you were 5 or 10 years old.
2. After you have completed your list(s), identify those beliefs you still hold as passionately today. Second, highlight those you will still believe when you are 50 or 80 years old.
3. As you compile your beliefs, identify or classify them as social, political, religious, public, personal, etc.
4. Are any of these commitments diminished because you may look different in 10–20 years? Are some types of beliefs tied to age? What role do life experience or the beliefs of others play in refining values?

An important step in writing about belief is reading and reflecting on the beliefs of others. Most compositions involve some type of peer evaluation step in producing student essays. Students are often anxious when sharing any writing with readers, so some care should be given to framing peer feedback for an essay built on a personal belief. At this stage students are not being asked to weigh or evaluate the belief itself but to respond to its presentation.

Instructions. Consider these questions to help focus peer responses.

1. Clarity
   • Point out any confusing sentences or passages. Were you able to follow the general direction of key ideas or stories easily?
2. Persuasiveness
   • Are you persuaded to agree or at least to say, “OK, I can respect that”?
   • What types of evidence are included? Are there vivid details,
     memorable vignettes, or striking phrases?
   • Warn the writer of cliché thinking or of not grappling with key issues.

3. Strength of Introduction and Conclusion

• Does the introduction create interest?
• Does the conclusion punch home the main point?
3. Editing
   • Don’t do a complete editing job, but point out the most distracting
     slips in usage and mechanics.
4. Style
   • How will this sound when read aloud?
   • Long sentences are fine if they move well, but point out any parts that
     seem choppy or pretentious.
   • Point out any special successes with parallelism or climactic structure.
5. Most Successful Passage
   • Summarize a passage of one to four sentences, and add a note to
     explain why it’s successful.

The following songs reflect the personal creeds or philosophies of singers and songwriters for the past half-century. These songs represent beliefs that are at times inspirational and powerful, at others more sentimental and private. This exercise demonstrates how beliefs cover a wide spectrum of moods and attitudes.

Frank Sinatra
I believe for every drop of rain that falls, a flower grows.
I believe that somewhere in the darkest night, a candle glows.
I believe for everyone who goes astray, someone will come to show the way.
I believe, I believe.

Don Williams
But I believe in love.
I believe in babies.
I believe in Mom and Dad.
And I believe in you.

Whitney Houston
I believe the children are our future.
Teach them well and let them lead the way.
Show them all the beauty they possess inside.

R. Kelly
I believe I can fly, I believe I can touch the sky.
I think about it every night and day, spread my wings and fly away.
I believe I can soar. I see me running through that open door.
I believe I can fly.

Blessed Union of Souls
I believe that love is the answer.
I believe that love will find the way.

1. List more recent lyrics that communicate a personal philosophy, even if they don’t use the “I believe” formula.
2. What emotional weight do these lyrics communicate, or fail to communicate? Are some beliefs harder to express or personalize than others? Why?
3. Obviously love and family are not the only beliefs worth communicating. Take 5 minutes to list as many ideas people believe in as you can. When you are finished, compile a representative list in your blog.

You are invited to contribute by writing and submitting your own statement of personal belief. To guide you through this process, consider these suggestions:

Tell a story: Be specific. Take your belief out of the ether and ground it in the events of your life. Consider moments when belief was formed or tested or changed. Think of your own experience, work and family, and tell of the things you know that no one else does. Your story need not be heart-warming or gut-wrenching – it can even be funny – but it should be real. Make sure your story ties to the essence of your daily life philosophy and the shaping of your beliefs.

Be brief: Your statement should be between 350 and 500 words. That’s about three minutes when read aloud at your natural pace.

Name your belief: If you can’t name it in a sentence or two, your essay might not be about belief. Also, rather than writing a list, consider focusing on a core belief, because three minutes is a very short time.

Be positive: Please avoid preaching or editorializing. Tell us what you do believe, not what you don’t believe. Avoid speaking in the editorial “we.” Make your essay about you; speak in the first person – “I”.

Be personal: Write in words and phrases that are comfortable for you to speak. Read your essay aloud to yourself several times, and each time edit it and simplify it until you find the words, tone, and story that truly echo your belief and the way you speak.

“Never has the need for personal philosophies of this kind been so urgent.” – Edward R. Murrow

Extra credit: record your essay as an audio podcast and upload it to your blog.

Give, give, give – what is the point of having experience, knowledge or talent if I don’t give it away? Of having stories if I don’t tell them to others? Of having wealth if I don’t share it? I don’t intend to be cremated with any of it! It is in giving that I connect with others, with the world and with the divine. – Novelist Isabel Allende

There is such a thing as truth, but we often have a vested interest in ignoring it or outright denying it. Also, it’s not just thinking something that makes it true. Truth is not relative. It’s not subjective. It may be elusive or hidden. People may wish to disregard it. But there is such a thing as truth and the pursuit of truth. – Filmmaker Errol Morris

I seem most instinctively to believe in the human value of creative writing, whether in the form of verse or fiction, as a mode of truth-telling, self-expression and homage to the twin miracles of creation and consciousness. – Writer John Updike

This I believe: that it is intellectually easier to credit a divine intelligence than to submit dumbly to felicitous congeries about nature. – Commentator William F. Buckley, Jr.

When I was young, an honest and moral life seemed like a straightforward goal. I now know that it’s not always easy to see what should be done and even harder actually to do it. Nevertheless I’m grateful that I still have some time to keep trying to get it right, and to savor each remaining day in my life. – Elizabeth D. Earle

I believe in the journey, not the arrival, in conversation, not monologues, in multiple questions rather than a single answer. I believe in the struggle to remake ourselves and each other in the spirit of eternal forgiveness, in the awareness that none of us knows for sure what happiness truly is, but each of us knows the imperative to keep searching. – Commentator and blogger Andrew Sullivan

I came to believe in God because, over the many years, He time and time again made Himself manifest to me. To embrace the career of composer is tantamount to embracing a life of high adventure. There may be no atheists in foxholes, but there are none in the Green Room either, especially before the premiere of a difficult, intricate and, I hope always, courageous musical work. Also, one cannot long work in the composition of music without coming to realize that one doesn’t do it all by oneself. — Composer George Antheil

I do not believe in predestination, for I think we are given minds for development – and the greatest gift ever given is that of freedom to decide and act. But there comes a time in every person’s life – and generally many times – when things become greater than he and when he must turn to Some One bigger. If one does not have Some One to turn to, one is lost and unhappy. — Ward Wheelock, co-creator of This I Believe

I believe that I should behave with courageous dignity in the presence of fate and strive to be a worthy companion of the Beautiful, the Good and the True. But fate has its master in the faith of those who surmount it, and limitation has its limits for those who, though disillusioned, live greatly. True faith is not a fruit of security. It is the ability to blend mortal fragility with the inner strength of the Spirit. It does not shift with the changing shades of one’s thought. — Helen Keller

I feel no need for any other faith than my faith in human beings. Like Confucius of old, I am so absorbed in the wonder of earth and the life upon it that I cannot think of heaven and the angels. I have enough for this life. If there is no other life, then this one has been enough to make it worth being born. — Novelist Pearl S. Buck

In all honesty, what I believe is neither inspirational nor evangelical. I cannot say that I am even a sound Christian, though the code of conduct to which I subscribe was preached more eloquently by Jesus Christ than by any other. About God I simply do not know; I don’t think I can know. — Writer Wallace Stegner

Below is a list of some of the values that may be important to you. First, define the value in a few words (use a dictionary if you need to – Right Click in Safari). Then, choose 3-5 values that are the most important to you. Explain why you feel this way.

• Honesty
• Integrity
• Compassion
• Love
• Empathy
• Respect
• Faith
• Knowledge
• Wisdom
• Freedom
• Creativity
• Dedication
• Loyalty
• Success
• Cooperation
• Enthusiasm
• Self-Control
• Leadership
• Confidence
• Skill
• Sincerity
• Reliability
• Patience
• Flexibility
• Responsibility
• Hope
• Charity
• Prudence

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?

The following statements are just a few of the axioms people hold to be true in their lives. Do you agree or disagree with these statements? For those you agree with, how did you come to that position? For those you do not agree with, why? Please feel free to add other statements that sum up one or more of your most cherished beliefs.

What Do You Believe?

• Life’s fair.
• Words can hurt.
• What goes around comes around.
• How you act in a crisis shows who you really are.
• Love conquers all.
• An eye for an eye….
• People learn from their mistakes.
• You can’t depend on anyone else; you can only depend on yourself.
• If you smile long enough you become happy.
• Miracles do happen.
• There is one special person for everyone.
• Money can’t buy happiness.
• Killing is wrong.
• Doing what is right means obeying the law.