Confirmation Preparation

Session 12, December 12-17, 2018: Anointed by a Bishop

In This Post: Materials from the twelfth Confirmation class session of the year, held on:

• Track B (Q of A Elementary School): split among 8th Grade Religion Classes on Wednesday, December 12 and Thursday, December 13
• Track A (Religious Ed): Monday, December 17, from 6:45 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. 

Also included is Bonus Content for your enrichment and enjoyment.

Session Summary for Catechists

This class helps prepare us for the Confirmation liturgy and gives time for the writing of a personal letter to the bishop. It is also a time to celebrate Christmas with treats and prayers for peace in our world. 

Opening Prayer
Responsory for Late Advent (use for Dec. 16 or later, even if only Dec. 12), using slides 8-10 (PDF, 1 page) of the  Advent Prayer slideshow (PPS) - files may show 2016 dates still

sing "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" while lighting 2-3 candles of the Advent wreath

(Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzW_PmW-LzE)

Icebreaker: Helping Hands
For what do we use our hands to help others?  At each table, write as many uses as you can in 2 (timed) minutes. Share top 3 uses with the large group.   
Understanding what we do with our hands will help us understand what will happen at the Confirmation Mass through the Laying on of Hands and Anointing with Oil. 

"Who Am I?" Game
Candidates guess who is being described

Presentation: The Bishop and Confirmation

PowerPoint Presentation: PowerPoint online (PPS) | slides only (PDF, 12 pages)
Notes pages for leader (PDF, 23 pages)

Letters to the Bishop
Candidates will each write a letter to Bishop Rojas, personally requesting the sacrament of Confirmation.
Letter Outline with Key Vocabulary (web version formatted on a single page)

Bonus Content Advent: Waiting Why we wait.  (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcravEG2ATE)

Closing Prayer

(Source: http://youtu.be/u65m__-LLfs)
"He Came" video reflection and Christmas prayer:

Lord, in this holy season of prayer and song and laughter, we praise you for the great wonders you have sent us: for a shining star and the angels' song, for an infant's cry in a lowly manger. We praise you for the Word made flesh in a little Child, and we thank you for the Son you sent to us to be our Savior and King. We behold his glory, and we are bathed in his radiant light. Be with us through the contradictions of Christmas -- the incomprehensible comprehended, the poetry made hard fact, the helpless Babe who cracks the world apart. We kneel before you as humble shepherds, reluctant innkeepers, world-weary Magi. Help us to rise bigger than we are, with more hope and faith to help heal our world. Amen.

Homework for Candidates

Service forms are due at the first class in January! Get your 10+ hours done and documented before then.
Latest service brochure * Form for documenting hours

• Only Track B still has these opportunities in their future after this class session: 
  • Online sign-up for Thursday, December 13, Holiday for Hope Toy Wrapping: wrap gifts for children in need
  • Online sign-up Saturday, December 15, Holiday for Hope Christmas Party: volunteer at a Christmas party for children in need; experience with face-painting is especially helpful.
  • Sunday, December 16, Decorating the Church for Christmas, Part I: move items from storage and set up Christmas trees and Nativity scene in the church.  Meet in the Gathering Space at 3 p.m.  
• Add your name to the list for Sunday, December 23, Decorating the Church for Christmas, Part II: place poinsettia flowers and finish decorating for Christmas in the church.  Meet in the Gathering Space at 1:30 p.m.  
• Monday, December 25, Christmas Dinner at St. Benedict: volunteer at or cook for a Christmas Dinner for the homeless, seniors, and anyone who would otherwise eat alone
• Try serving with the youth of our neighbor parish at St. Benedict Youth Ministry

• Other searchable opportunities if you need to catch up: ChicagoCares.org
• Use the search tools to set dates available for service and age of youth who will be serving.  Remember that service hours are due at class on Monday, January 8. 
• We strongly recommend that a parent or Sponsor accompanies candidates, and adult accompaniment will be required at most sites accepting volunteers under 16.

Make sure your bishop letter is turned in at the first class in January (if you were given an extension to finish it at home)

Catch up on your journaling and textbook work if you have not been keeping up with it: 

• Journal pp. vi-xii, 2-4, 5-8, 22-25, 35-37, 44-47, 64

• Textbook pp. 6-7, 14-18, 39-40, 51-52, 53-56, 66-68
• "Living Examples" worksheet
• Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Bonus Content "Joy Story" video from Outside Da Box This video, a parody of "Toy Story," illustrates the purpose and meaning of the Nativity scene while explaining Catholic teachings on the Immaculate Conception and perpetual virginity of Mary. (Source: http://vcat.org/january-2013-joy-story/) or https://youtu.be/8nB407J-uEo

Questions? Contact the coordinator, rhohner@queenofangelschicago.org.

Session 11, December 5-10, 2018: Fruits of the Spirit

In This Post: Materials for the eleventh Confirmation class session of the year, held on:

• Track B (Q of A Elementary School): split among 8th Grade Religion Classes on Wednesday, December 5 and Thursday, December 6.
• Track A (Religious Ed): Monday, December 10, from 6:45 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. 

Also included is Bonus Content for your enrichment and enjoyment.

Session Summary for Catechists

Track A only, for Monday, evening December 10: Possible Candidate Interviews Schedule can't start interviews yet

Opening Prayer
sing "O Come O Come Emmanuel" (verses 1 and 7) and Responsory for Early Advent
lighting of Advent wreath:

• 1 purple candle on December 5-6 (recommend the one across the wreath from the pink candle)
• 2 purple candles on December 10

Confirmation Readings
Candidates vote for their choice of the readings to be proclaimed at the Confirmation Mass in Feburary, using the ballot. A reason for choosing the reading must be included in order to cast a valid vote.  The reason given must not be related to the length of the reading, which would invalidate the vote. 
All 6 potential readings

First Reading (Old Testament)

• Isaiah 11:1-4 -- Gifts of the Holy Spirit
• Isaiah 61:1-3, 6, 8-9 -- Anointed as Ministers of God
• Ezekiel 36:24-28 -- A New Spirit Within You

Second Reading (New Testament)

• Acts of the Apostles 1:3-8 -- Baptized with the Holy Spirit
• Romans 8:14-14 -- You Received a Spirit of Adoption
• Ephesians 4:1-6 -- Live in a Manner Worthy of the Call

The Fruits of the Spirit
The virtues and Gifts of the Spirit, which we have already studied in this class, nurture our life in God like the sun and water and nutrients nurture plant life.  But what are the results of this action in our lives?  The results that we see from the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives are called the Fruits of the Spirit, like the fruit is the result of all that nourishes a  tree.  The Catholic Church recognizes 12 Fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, modesty, chastity and self-control.  Like fruit that falls from the tree in order to grow a new plant (or in many case, to feed a hungry animal or person!), we must take the result of the work of the Holy Spirit and help it to grow something new or be nourishment for others.

Download show file from PowerPoint online

Read through the Fruits of the Spirit handout, which has several tools for understanding each Fruit of the Spirit:

• A reflection question to help you find this Fruit in your own life
• A graphic with a quotation about this Fruit of the Spirit
• A short biography of a saint whose life showed this Fruit of the Spirit
• A short story from the former website GivesMeHope.com (2009-2016), a microblog of "bite-size" inspirational stories submitted by readers about their real life experiences

You can also use pages 76-80 in your textbook to help define the Fruits of the Spirit and differentiate them from one another. 

Read through several of the Fruits and then, as a table, choose one Fruit to concentrate on. Write a prayer together that asks God to bring this Fruit into your life or thanking God for its presence in the world.  It is good to include reasons why this Fruit is important to you or what the world would be like without it.   [Tip sheet with mnemonic for writing prayers: YOU-WHO-DO-THROUGH]
As a bonus question, each group will also be asked to come up with how that Fruit of the Spirit is like a kind of fruit that one can eat (details to be given in class).

The Fruits of the Holy Spirit
Love (Charity) Love is not just a feeling, it's a selfless action.   It's pouring out yourself to help another person, like a parent who puts a child's welfare first. [image source]	Joy Joy is a lightness of being, a way of choosing to see/make the best in every situation, and approaching problems as challenges. [image source]
Peace Peace is not the absence of conflict in life,  because of life is never free of conflict. Peace is not allowing conflicts to bring you down.  [image source]	Patience Patience is not just waiting for something to happen, it's actively choosing to hold back responses of anger or fear. [image source]
Kindness Random acts of kindness are random acts of mercy. To welcome others as beloved friends, we treat them with kindness and justice. [image source]	Goodness To share goodness is to share the blessing of God. When we allow our goodness to shine through,  we share God's blessing and become blessings to others. [image source]
Faithfulness Being faithful in relationships: trying every day to remain close to God, to your family and friends, even when they have not done exactly as you might have expected or asked. [image source]	Gentleness Tenderness in relationship to those  under your protection, such as younger children or siblings.  Being conscious of your own power and privilege so that others' voices are heard. [image source]
Self-Control [image source]	Modesty [image source]
Chastity [image source]	Generosity [image source]

 

Bonus Content Fruits of the Spirit song Note: This song is based on the list of 9 fruits given in Galatians 5:22-23.  It therefore does not include the fruits of modesty, chastity or generosity, which are part of the 12 fruits in our Catholic tradition. (Source: http://youtu.be/DFumjSll68s)

Closing Prayer: Sharing of Prayers
Each table leads the whole class in prayer using the prayer they have written asking/thanking God for a fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Homework & Reminders

• Sign up for service opportunities!
  
  • Track B may still be able to sign up for Breakfast with Santa this Saturday 12/8: please contact Mrs. Galvin or Ms. Hohner
  • Online sign-up for Thursday, December 13, Holiday for Hope Toy Wrapping: wrap gifts for children in need
  • Online sign-up Saturday, December 15, Holiday for Hope Christmas Party: volunteer at a Christmas party for children in need; experience with face-painting is especially helpful.
  • Add your name to the list for Sunday, December 16, Decorating the Church for Christmas, Part I: move items from storage and set up Christmas trees and Nativity scene in the church.  Meet in the Gathering Space at 3 p.m.  
  • Add your name to the list for Sunday, December 23, Decorating the Church for Christmas, Part II: place poinsettia flowers and finish decorating for Christmas in the church.  Meet in the Gathering Space at 1:30 p.m.  
• "Living Examples" worksheet. Read carefully, and note that you will need to look at pages 76-80 in your textbook to do it. To be brought back to the next class.
• do pages 5-8 in your journal
  
• next class is: 
  
  • Track B (Queen of Angels School): in Religion class, split between Wednesday, December 12 and Thursday, December 13.  
  • Track A (Religious Education): on Monday, December 17, from 6:45 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Questions? Contact the coordinator, rhohner@queenofangelschicago.org.

Session 10, December 3, 2018: Parent Night

In This Post: Materials from the ninth Confirmation class session of the year, Parent & Candidate Evening, held on Monday, December 3.  Also included is Bonus Content for your enrichment and enjoyment.

Session Summary for Catechists

Icebreaker
Expressions of Faith questionnaire:  English *  Español

Opening Prayer

(Uploaded to YouTube at http://youtu.be/zn6Snr2sppk)
Contemplation of the Holy Family using Pope Francis' Prayer to the Holy Family 
with Blessing and lighting of advent wreath

Bonus Content Updated "Advent in 2 Minutes" video from BustedHalo.com This video summarizes the meaning of the Advent season and gives an explanation for the colors of the season, including the third, pink candle of the Advent wreath. (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eC0FGQLBp7w)

Talk on the Church and the World by Msgr. Jim Kaczorowski, Pastor
PowerPoint Presentation slides (PDF, 6 pages) | slideshow (PPS)

Communion, Catholic Identity and the Sacraments of Initiation
PowerPoint Presentation slides (PDF, 6 pages) | slideshow (PPS)

Bonus Content Videos from BustedHalo.com which describe the three sacraments of initiation that we focus on in this class, Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist.  Baptism Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05YB2jdHLsY Confirmation Video (also part of content for first class session): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qt32SyDWuW8 Eucharist Videos:  - 101, How We Receive: https://youtu.be/qdGkTdv4Dt4  - 201, What We Believe: https://youtu.be/TMSiHGTBdGk

Mass Overview Videos not shown in class, so more Bonus Content!
Conversation-starter: What are you getting out of Sunday Mass? 

See what teens at Holy Infant of Prague Parish said about the importance of Mass in the 3rd Place entry from a youth-made video contest for the Archdiocese of Chicago a few years ago.

http://youtu.be/w4fbJEHIwoQ (unlisted video)

Now, what do you say about Mass?

The Actions of the Mass
A verb is a word that shows actions, states of being or relationships.  There are many verbs that describe the actions and relationships of the community celebrating Mass together. 

Each table will receive 8-9 Mass Verb cards to work with.  Each pair (student and his/her parent/guardian) should choose one of the verbs and together complete the question sheet (English | español). When choosing a card, try to pick something where the word means something to you, or the picture captures your attention, or both. The complete list of verbs is in the table below:

"One Word At A Time" Mass Verbs Reflections from the Archdiocese of Chicago, Strategic Pastoral Plan Photos by John Zich, James Hohner and the Catholic New World
acclaim	adore	believe	bless
bow (inclinarse)	break	call	deepen
die	direct	drink	eat
feed	forgive	gather	give
go	hear	hope	invoke
join	keep (conservar)	kiss (besar)	know
lift	link	love	open
point	praise	pray	prepare
quiet	recognize	remember	rise (levantarse)
see	send	serve	share
sign	sing	sit	stand
support (apoyar)	take	thank	think
unite	wait	walk	witness

 

Bonus Content The saints all had a connection with the Eucharist and many of them wrote very eloquently about their experience of the Mass. This video presents some quotations from saints about the Catholic Mass with images of what the Mass looks like around the world.

Homework & Reminders

• Service opportunities
  • Updated service brochure * Form for documenting service hours
  • Saturday, December 8, Breakfast with Santa, 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the Queen of Angels church basement: guide children in craft activities for a parish event.
  • Thursday, December 13, Holiday for Hope Toy Wrapping: wrap gifts for children in need
  • Saturday, December 15, Holiday for Hope Christmas Party: volunteer at a Christmas party for children in need; experience with face-painting is especially helpful.
  • Sunday, December 16, Decorating the Church for Christmas, Part I: move items from storage and set up Christmas trees and Nativity scene in the church.  Meet in the Gathering Space at 3 p.m.  
  • Sunday, December 23, Decorating the Church for Christmas, Part II: place poinsettia flowers and finish decorating for Christmas in the church.  Meet in the Gathering Space at 1:30 p.m.  
  • Tuesday, December 25, Christmas Dinner at St. Benedict: volunteer at or cook for a Christmas Dinner for the homeless, seniors, and anyone who would otherwise eat alone
  • Recurring opportunities for direct service at local soup kitchens:
    • Wednesdays, 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.: Our Lady of Lourdes Church Soup Kitchen, enter the basement through the parking lot on the northeast corner of Ashland & Leland
    • Saturdays 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Pilgrim Lutheran Church Hot Meals, corner of Cullom & Winchester
    • Tuesdays and Fridays 3:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. (must attend with a parent): St. Thomas of Canterbury Soup Kitchen, 4827 N. Kenmore 
    • Tuesdays, 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.: RCS Community Kitchen at All Saints Episcopal Church, enter at 1757 W. Wilson 
    • Fridays 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.: St. Teresa of Avila Loaves & Fishes, 1037 W. Armitage
• The next class session will be:
  • later this week during Religion class, on Wednesday, December 5 and Thursday, December 6 (Track B, Queen of Angels School students).  
  • Monday, December 10 (Track A, Religious Education students).  
• Finish parts of Parent Night assignments not completed in class. 
  • For Track A, this is due at the next class, Monday, December 10.  
  • For Track B, this is due Wednesday, December 12, not at the very next class.  

Closing Prayers
Renewal of Baptismal Promises (in English, from textbook):

• Do you reject Satan and all his works and all his empty promises? I do. 
• Do you believe in God the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth? I do. 
• Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary, was crucified, died, and was buried, rose from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father? I do. 
• Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who came up on the apostles at Pentecost and will be given to you sacramentally in Confirmation? I do. 
• Do you believe in the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting? I do.
• This is our faith. This is the faith of the Church. We are proud to profess it in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen. 

Bonus Content One of the questions in the "Expressions of Faith" questionnaire is about the Ignatian Examen. If you have never prayed in this way before, watch the introduction film and instructional video below, then try praying the video examen yourself. Introduction Film: "Into the Examen"  (Source: http://youtu.be/qUr9Qy-8C5M) Instructional Video: The Five Steps of the Examen (Loyola Press), http://youtu.be/CMhtEUPL3BQ Video Prayer:  Daily Examen (Strake Jesuit High School in Houston, TX) (Source: http://youtu.be/IDzs9UCbNNk)

Questions? Contact the coordinator, rhohner@queenofangelschicago.org.