Reminders for the New Year!

May the peace of Christ touch each of your hearts!   Every time you have an encounter with a parishioner, whether it is a student, parent, or adult learner; you have touched a child of God.  That is an awesome responsibility!  Most of the time the job of a coordinator, a catechist,  or a substitute teacher, has no compensation--no thank you notes, no stipends or gifts.   It is the calling from Christ and the love of the children of God that keeps each one of us moving forward to make our parishes the best they can be!  

Here are some reminders for the beginning of the year:

• Put out a schedule for Religious Education classes for Winter/Spring.
• Include extra First Communion sessions with the parents if you have them!
• Decide on Lenten activities now.  If you need speakers for parish events, they may be difficult to get if you wait.
• Make sure there is something for your teens to look forward to---a Lenten retreat or regional retreat or a service project.
• What a about a multigenerational event?  Don’t forget to get  the Religious Education classes involved.  That brings the children in and their parents and grandparents.  Some suggestions are:  game shows, talent shows, church history days, movie days, saints performances, plays, grandparent events.   Don’t forget to include food!
• Make sure your teachers and substitutes are all trained to be aware of child abuse.  Our church uses the VIRTUS program (virtusonline.org), but your church  may use another approved program.  Make sure your classrooms are open and available to the coordinator, parents, and pastor and that no child is with untrained adults.  
• Thank your teachers in some way.   We are in such a rush at the end of the school year that we forget to extend our gratitude to those who have spent hours each week planning activities for the children and adults of our parishes.  

Sr. Therese Maria, MSCL, Eparchial Coordinator for MYO & MYA brings us a new

Going Deeper article by Dr. Anne Borik:  

Prayer Warrior’s Inner Room

Clear the space that clutters your heart and mind and prepare to live today to the fullest; play to the fullest, work to the fullest, and pray to the fullest.

Jesus said, “Go to your inner room, close the door and pray to your Father in heaven.”  That ‘inner room’ is your heart, the depth of your being. How do you connect with that place in a way that empowers you, motivates you, encourages you and gives you hope for tomorrow?

I would like to suggest three things that will help you to quiet the inner chatter that often distracts and gets in the way of life, especially prayer life.

The first is Breath. Not necessarily to practice deep breathing, but to simply use your breath to remind you that God is always with you! The breath is one of the functions of the body that is there whether you think about it or not.  God is always there, even if you are not thinking about Him, He is always with you. When you find yourself feeling anxious or angry, take a deep breath and be reminded that even in the storm of the day, God is always there.

           Next is your Posture or Attitude. This is not referring to the physical posture, but rather to stand firm in your faith.  Do not be indifferent, but instead be rooted in your Maronite faith. Colossians 2:7 says, ‘Let your roots grow down into Him, and let your lives be built on Him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.’ Desire to be a Eucharistic person, that is, one who is filled with gratitude and thanksgiving.  By doing this you will find yourself growing deeper in the Spiritual life.  

Finally is Prayer. Prayer has the power to transform any situation, condition, problem or person. Like any deep and lasting friendship, your relationship with the Lord will be strengthened by frequent, honest, open communication. So when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door and pray to your Father who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.  Matthew 6:6

December Thoughts

Do you remember the Fire and Spirit filmstrips?  We have tried to update them into PowerPoints that might be useful for your classrooms or for adult workshops.  I am including the first one here:
  Maronite Way to Maron

As we rapidly approach Christmas, we wanted to share two activities with you.  
The first is how to say the rosary, since December 8th is the Immaculate Conception and the 12th is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  Here is a worksheet that the teacher can use to explain how to say the rosary. The prayers are right there on the sheet. Print them out back to back. The students can dedicate each Hail Mary to someone who needs it by writing their names along side. In this way, they can pray for 50 different loved ones if they wish!
  How To Pray The Rosary

The second activity is a  paper nativity scene created by Good Ground Press.  The students should color the scenes first, then cut them out.  They can glue the pictures to upside-down paper cups so they stand up.  Then they can arrange their nativity!  Even high students love doing this one!
  Nativity Cut-Outs


Here is also a Nativity play that you can adapt for your church community:
  Nativity Narration


Sister Therese Marie sent us the December Going Deeper article:  
  Spiritual Direction

Do Not Lose Hope!

St. Pope John Paul II wrote "I plead with you--never, ever give up on hope, never doubt, never tire, and never become discouraged. Be not afraid." In today's culture, we are faced with a number of challenges to religious education: secularism, religious indifference, adults who become disengaged in church and do not place their children in religious education programs.

Jared Dees in his book, 31 Days to Becoming a Better Religious Educator, said that first, we must be good disciples, following and learning from Christ. We have to have a passion for learning the content of our faith, spend time in prayer, experience the sacraments, strive to live a moral life and participate in our communities of faith.

The second step is to be a better servant, following Jesus' command to love as he loved. We have to recognize our students' needs and strengths. The third step is to become a better leader. We follow Jesus' example by examining our practical skills of leadership: classroom organization, discipline and motivation. Finally, Jesus showed us how to be better teachers. He was multi-dimensional, using words, signs, and wonders to teach others. We use stories, our Faith of the Mountain textbooks, projects, music, lesson plans and class activities. We all should be witnesses to the Gospel. Think about the following:

• Make a list of the reasons why you are teaching.
• What lessons about God would you want your students to hear the most?
• What beliefs do your students struggle with the most?
• What is a spiritual practice that your students could benefit from the most?
• If you could help your students make a change in their lives, what would it be?
• What aspects of the faith are the missing most in their lives?

November's Going Deeper Article

What is your Second Nature? by Dr. Anne Borik

What is your ‘second nature’?  For some it might be kindness and hospitality, for others it might be joy, laughter and humor.  For Mother Teresa, her  ‘second nature’ was love and mercy.  She was able to see the face of Christ in every person she met and extend love and mercy to them without even thinking about her own health or safety.  For St. Sharbel, his ‘second nature’ was prayer and deep love for God. He was in complete union with God every step and breath of his life!

One’s ‘second nature’ stems from within and is beyond comprehension.  As Christians, our ‘second nature’ should be our automatic response in any given situation powered by the Holy Spirit.  Each situation might be different, but our response must be consistent in order for it to be considered ‘second nature’.

Let us look deeper at what our ‘second nature’ is by turning to Galatians 5:22, against which there is no law.  The Fruit of the Holy Spirit is love. God is Love

(1 John 4:8) and from love all other qualities grow such as joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  It is important to realize that in Scripture it says the Fruit of the Spirit, not Fruits.  Therefore, we must always respond with love, which is then manifested in the different qualities stated above. My ‘second nature’ response may manifest itself as patience while another person’s ‘second nature’ response may be gentleness,  but regardless, we must always respond with love.

Once these seeds are planted, as is the case when we are baptized, it is then our job to grow in the Spirit so that they become ‘second nature’.  To grow in the Spirit is to grow in relationship with Jesus, with others and even with our self.  A simple way to remember this is the word JOY…

J =  JESUS    

Love, Joy and Peace come through a strong relationship with Jesus.

O= OTHERS

Patience, Kindness and Goodness are qualities that are strengthened through  healthy relationship with others.

Y=  YOURSELF

Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control are qualities that are strengthened within oneself.

In conclusion, as Christians, it is important for us to take note of who or what is growing in our lives.  How do we respond in a given situation?  What is our ‘second nature’? If it is not love, then we must consider re-fertilizing the soil within so that His seeds of joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control grow and overtake any outside weeds that might be strangulating our ability to love!

How Is It Going?

Now that we are in the first week of November, many of you have had several weeks of religious education classes.  Some of the children have been coming regularly, but have you noticed that others are dropping out already?  That is not unusual with today's busy schedules!   Call or email the parents with a "I haven't seen your child in class for a couple of sessions.  Is everything alright?  Is there anything I can do for you?"  If the child is in a sacramental preparation class, remind the parents how important it is to be prepared for Penance and Eucharist.  If necessary, enlist the pastor's help.  

The Saints Party
We tried an all-community event that actually can be done at any time during the year--in November at All Saints Day, or on your patron saint's feast day!   Our teachers chose a saint to represent each class.  Between our liturgies, we had a Saints Party.  The Pre-school class did a parade of angels with wings and halos.  The Pre-Kindergarten class also had a parade of saints.  The Kindergarten through Seventh grades each presented the life of a saint to students, parents, grandparents and friends. The costumes were amazing!  After the presentations, the Eighth grade and High School students supervised "saints" games they had created for the children with candy as prizes.  Coffee, juice and pastries were available for the congregation.  It was great to see so many people fill the hall to see our parish children!

Below are several links that may be helpful to you.

Structuring A Lesson Plan (Pre-School Through 6)

For Reconciliation classes:

The Seven Mysteries
Me and God: Examination of Conscience
The Child's Moral Development
Reconciliation/Penance

Mary and Lectio Divina

We found that many of our students do not know what the Church teaches about Mary.  The Catechism is clear about her role in our lives.  We are fortunate to be surrounded by Western and Eastern art and icons that depict the life of Mary and the Holy Family.  Try this PowerPoint to assist your students and parents in learning more about her.  The Church's teachings and the meanings of the icons and paintings are in the notes section of each slide. Download it as a PowerPoint presentation.    I have compiled a Word document with the notes.    Feel free to adapt it to your use!

In Honor Of Mary

Notes for In Honor Of Mary  
(The file is large, download it fully before opening.)

Here is a quizlet to play with your class after you show the presentation: Quizlet Game. 
Quizlet on In Honor of Mary 

Kahoot.it Game:  Mary and the Saints

Students can use their cell phones to play in groups to review the terms.  It requires the teams to switch members so that everyone will be able get to know each other and work together throughout the game.  



Here is the second article in the series "Going Deeper in the Spiritual Life," from the Maronite Servants of Christ the Light Sisters.  Lectio Divina can be done with students and adults!  Please read the following article:  

Going Deeper in Spiritual Life: Lectio Divina

Message from Monsignor Georges El-Khalli

                                                               Office of Religious Education

    Eparchy of St. Maron of Brooklyn

   61 Rockwood Street, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

      Telephone: (617) 522-0225   

                       Fax: (617) 522-0194

                     August 30, 2016

May We Have a Prayerful Year!

Beloved Brothers and Sisters in the Lord:

Clergy, Laity, Parents, Guardians and Catechists:

It is the sacred duty of all of us, in the Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn, to provide a sound religious education to our children and youths.  This duty begins with the bishop, a successor of the apostles, with his co-workers, the priests, along with the eparchial catechetical team which consists of the deacons, the Sub-deacons, the parents or guardians, the teachers and the catechists who are entrusted with passing on the faith. We all share this catechetical responsibility, be it in our homes or around our parish, making sure that our youths learn the doctrine of the faith and live our rich spiritual tradition.    

Gradually our world is becoming more secular, making it difficult to live our faith and to practice our religion.  Many distractions today feed our diversion from practice and prayer and create for us a tougher challenge.  Unfortunately, prayer in our daily life is decreasing.  For very many Catholics, daily prayer is either non-existent or at the bottom of their agenda. How appropriate is the theme of this catechetical year “Prayer: The Faith Prayed”, which has been chosen by Archbishop Leonard P. Blair, Chairman of the Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis, and his catechetical team! It really hits home.  

The theme “Prayer: The Faith Prayed” has been chosen to remind us of the importance of prayers and the effects of its power in our life.  It has also been chosen to reinstate PRAYER in our daily lives and to invite us all: clergy, laity, old and young, parents, catechists and teachers, to devote ourselves to a deeper study and practice of prayer, for our own spiritual good and for the good of those we serve.   

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and the Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis provided powerful catechetical resources on prayers for this year. We, Clergy, Catechists, and Parents, the eparchial catechetical team, co-workers and assistants to Bishop Gregory, are directly involved in catechizing our youths.  The following articles should assist us in our catechetical endeavors as we embark on this prayerful journey.  

1. For Clergy: “Embracing Our Universal Call to Holiness.” By Rev. Robert J. Hater, PhD. This article helps pastors deliver great sermon on prayers, and lead their parishioners to a more prayerful and spiritual life.

2. For Catechists and Teachers: “What Every Catechist Needs to Know About Leading Others in Prayer.”  By Joe Paprocki, D.Min, National Consultant for Faith Formation at Loyola Press. This article provides good tools to catechists and teachers to lead others in communal prayers, to instruct children about faith and prayers, and to have an effective and spiritual relationship with Jesus.  

3. For Parents or Guardians: “Praying with the Fathers of the Church: A Reflection per Day for Advent-Christmas and Lent-Easter.”  By Mike Aquilina.  This article helps parents and guardians encourage the family to pray together according to designated liturgical seasons.  It also assists parents in bringing up children to be true Christians, in teaching them to love the neighbor, and to understand how much God loves us and all those around us.

These articles along with many other catechetical resources are posted on the (USCCB) website. In order to read them and explore additional articles about PRAYER please visit their website at: www.usccb.org/catecheticalsunday/.   

The Lord Jesus himself felt the need to pray.  He frequently broke away from the crowds and resorted to prayer. Quite often his days were interrupted from continuing a journey in order to spend a few hours in prayers to the heavenly Father. His disciples were moved to ask him to teach them how to pray.  May all of us, clergy, laity, parents, guardians and catechists draw closer to the Lord and to one another, through a deeper and more faithful commitment to prayer, in private and with others.  Let us strive throughout this coming year to spend more time with the Lord, to pray fervently to him and to understand the essential element of our discipleship.

Truly yours in our praying Jesus,

Msgr. Georges Y. El-Khalli, Ph.D.,

Eparchial Director of Religious Education

A Letter from Bishop Gregory John Mansour: 

Dear Catechists

Your role can never be underestimated. You hold the eternal souls of our youth in your hands. You bring them to Jesus and Jesus to them. Only the priest has a greater role in the parish.

Thank you for preparing your lesson each time. Thank you for training yourself as best as you can. Thank you for praying for and coming to know each one of the children entrusted to your care. Thank you for allowing the Holy Spirit to enter your heart and your classroom. And thank you for your generous service to pass on the beauty of our faith to the children.

+ Gregory    

Structuring a Lesson Plan

Are you getting ready for your classes?  How do you structure your time?  How do you actually prepare a lesson?  What about disruptive students?  Check out this great PowerPoint by Kelly Edwards.

Saint (Mother) Teresa Worksheets  
Mother Teresa will be canonized on September 4, 2016.  Start your religious education class out by talking about the newest saint!   Look at this link for a variety of resources.  
Here is a video that also may be helpful for your classes:

Going Deeper Into The Spiritual Life - The Life Of Prayer
Click on this link for an article about prayer to encourage you to go deeper into your spiritual life.   Each month, there will be various contributors who will write these articles  The Maronite Servants of Christ the Light have written the first article on prayer. We hope that this is helpful to you!

The Spiritual Child

As a religion teacher, I am approached by parents all the time with their children’s questions about God.  Children are the spiritual responsibility of the whole family and parish.  We all need to meet our children where they are during their development.  We really don’t have to have all the answers. Children are born spiritual beings and we, as their parents, grandparents, mentors, teachers, and friends are all their spiritual ambassadors. Studies have shown that children experience their parents’ love as embodying the love of God, or of the universe. Children speak and draw pictures of God that resemble the way they experience their own parents and important adults in their lives.  We should see our children as full of possibilities for love and goodness.  We should model forgiveness, values, and continue to show expressions of gratitude.  Each teacher, each pastor, each mentor that a child has sends strong signals of guidance and love.  Our Maronite family expands the field of love and this effect becomes a source of resilience and protection against unexpected events.  They learn spirituality and religion through their experience with us, through nature and through shared religious experiences.  

According to Dr. Lisa Miller in Spirituality of a Child, adolescents with a strong personal spirituality are 40 percent less likely to engage in risky behaviors than those not spiritually oriented.  There is a spiritual surge in adolescence and a quest for meaning and purpose in life. Teens struggle to build their own spiritual views and this helps to protect them against some forms of suffering. Teens with a strong sense of relationship to a higher power is 80% less likely to be addicted to substance.  A girl is 70% less likely to be exposed to a dangerous relationship (325 The Spiritual Child). These teens think about deeper purpose in life, their calling to serve to God and contribute to the world.   Dr.  Miller’s research showed that seeing a religious symbol improves cardiovascular functioning and can increase persistence and hard work.   

Welcome conversation. It is important to allow children to ask questions.   Sometimes we worry that we don’t have the right answer or we might say the wrong thing, but the most important thing is that we are there to listen to them and to welcome their questions with loving kindness. Say that you would love to explore those questions together!

By helping to shape our children’s inner spiritual core, we are building up their knowledge that they are children of God and are inherently worthy, that they have meaning and purpose in life, that their God-given talents are part of their calling and contribution to the world.  We want them to know that they are born to know, love and serve God in this world and help one another.  We want them to always feel connected to their religious community and guided by people who love them.  We want them to feel that they have purpose and that love is life-giving.  No matter what life presents, we want them to see events as blessings and even if those events are bad, that they are opportunities from which to learn.  

As religious education teachers, coordinators, and directors, our role is to encourage the spirituality of the whole family.  We have to encourage the parents to keep the children in religious education classes all the way from pre-school through high school.  So many drop out after first communion classes!  They never have the chance to develop their strong inner religious core!  We need to have the opportunity to pass the spiritual torch of our religious foundation.  

Registration for Maronite Faith Formation
This year we are trying an online form as well as taking registration after liturgies. We sent the form by email and we are putting it on our website. After just a few days, we received 60 registrations online! We used Google Forms, but other survey tools may be much better. Here's what ours looked like:

Don't forget to order your Faith of the Mountain books. Remember the activity book comes with the text book.

What the Faith of the Mountain Series Contains

Preparing for Catechetical Sunday

Some mid-summer thoughts!
As we are reaching the end of July, we have to start thinking about how to prepare for the beginning of our next Maronite Formation sessions.  Catechetical Sunday is September 18th.
Director of Religious Education, Monsignor Georges El-Khalli asks that we examine this information.  The link includes a certificate for catechists for our eparchy, articles on how to lead prayer, Lectio Divina, practical skills for engaging students in prayer, and reflections for each day of Advent and Lent. 

Catechetical Resources 2016

The articles all focus on prayer and how to turn our thoughts and feelings toward God.  It is up to us as teachers to help our students form a loving image of our God and to teach them to love God with all our hearts, minds and strength.  We help them to learn to love our neighbors as much as we love ourselves.  
John McQuiston II in Always We Begin Again said that if we follow these directives then we will have the tools 
"to relive the unhappy, 
to visit the sick, 
to clothe the destitute,
to shelter the oppressed,

not to take ourselves too seriously, 
not to want more than we need, 
not to love possessions, 
not to carry resentment, 

to support the troubled,
to encourage good humor, 
to forgive our enemies, 
to show mercy to the weak, 

not to want praise, 
not to be proud, 
not to be slothful, 
not to offer unwanted advice, 

to pray frequently, 
to distrust one's own will, 
to speak the truth to ourselves and others, 
and to prefer nothing to the habit of affinity."  

 It is certainly permissible to begin your program before the 18th if you wish.  Remember the Faith of the Mountain books come with the activity books and are very affordable!  Please share this blog with all of your teachers.  Send their email addresses to our email address: maronitereligioused@gmail.com.  

Summer Reading For Enrichment!

Happy Summer!

Take some time out to do some personal enrichment over the summer.  Here are some books that are easy to read and some of the material can be used in the fall with your students.

Bishop Robert Barron's Seeds of the Word:  Finding God in the Culture.  He explores God in film, books, politics, and culture. It is from Word on Fire, www.wordonfire.org. 

James Martin, SJ's Between Heaven and Mirth:  Why Joy, Humor, and Laughter Are at the Heart of the Spiritual Life.  I am reading this as an ebook; it is Harper One publications.  

John McQuiston II's Always we Begin Again:  The Benedictine Way of Living.  Yes, I know it is not Maronite, but it is very monastic and very readable.  Morehouse Publishing

Lou DelFra, C.S.C., and Ann Primus Berends, editors:  5 Minutes with Christ: Spiritual Nourishment for Busy Teachers and 5 Minutes with the Saints: More Spiritual Nourishment for Busy Teachers.  It is from Ave Maria Press.  They are meditations on Christ and the saints and provide a personal reflection and short prayer and can be used daily.

Joyce Rupp's Inviting God In: Spiritual Reflections and Prayers Throughout the Year.  It is also from Ave Maria Press.  Each passage begins with a Bible verse, then a reflection, and ends with a prayer.  

Anne Bryan Sollin's God Knows You're Stressed:  Simple Ways To Restore Your Balance. It is from Sorin Books and it is all about ways to make stress work for you.  

Don't forget to check out the publications on the stmaron.org website too!

Cathy and Kelly

Maronite Religious Education

Welcome to our new blog for Maronite Religious Education for the Eparchy of St. Maron. We would like to reach as many religious education teachers in Maronite parishes as possible.  We have been trying a variety of methods that would be easier and beneficial for all of our catechists.  We know that the majority of our catechists are volunteers with very busy lifestyles.  We hope that through this blog, you will be able to access informative files and links to help you do the following:

• receive continuing professional development as a Maronite teacher
• discover new and practical ways to use our Faith of the Mountain series
• access materials to use for sacraments, retreats, and multi-generational events
• find extra sources for pre-school through Kindergarten, high school, MYO, vacation bible school, and adult classes.  

Here is an example of one of the extra sources that would be great for summer activities, Bible camp, or an addition to your regular classes:

Prayers for Children

Let us know if you can access this blog.  Please share it with all of your teachers.  We would like to hear from someone from each parish:  maronitereligioused@gmail.com. 

Cathy George and Kelly Edwards