Resources

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A Special Passover Meal with Jesus

The instructions for the skit in which children reenact the Last Supper, acting as Jesus, the Apostles, and narrators.

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An Exodus Celebration of God's Power and Love

A joyful activity for elementary children to learn about and reenact the Israelites’ escape from Egypt and their songs of praise to God.

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Family Prayer before First Eucharist

These prayers will help your family focus more deeply on the celebration of First Eucharist that will take place soon. Through these prayers, you, your child, and your family will ask for guidance as you continue to grow as disciples …

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Friendship and Forgiveness Prayer Space

An activity, including a discussion and a craft, on forgiving friends and family members, based on The Catholic Children’s Bible featured story “Jesus Teaches Us to Forgive”, Matthew 18:21–35.

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Treasures of Our Faith Bingo Card

A fun activity to help children recall important facts of our Catholic faith.

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My Vocation

This handout helps students identify their talents, gifts, and personality and how these fit into God’s vocation for their lives.

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Where East Meets West

This worksheet guides students to make connections between Confirmation in the Eastern and Western Churches.

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Waters of Salvation

On this worksheet, students identify the Scripture passages associated with the various parts of the Blessing of the Water used at the Easter Vigil.

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A Sacred Family Meal

This worksheet guides students to make connections between the Mass and a special meal or tradition in their family.

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Saying Yes

This handout guides students to examine several Scripture passages exemplifying what it means to say “yes” to God’s call.

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Eucharistic Prayer Cards

This handout provides each element of the Eucharistic Prayer on a separate card for students to arrange in order.

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The Word God Speaks

This worksheet helps students to explore the meaning of “the Word” in John’s Gospel and throughout Scripture.

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Stories That Speak to Us

This handout guides students to recognize the importance of stories, both in our families and our faith.

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Putting the Pieces Together

This puzzles helps students to identify and order the parts of the Liturgy of the Word.

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Liturgical Roles

This handout asks students to identify the role of the various liturgical ministers at Mass.

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Important Moments

This handout asks students to think about and reflect on moments in their life that have been significant.

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My Morning and Evening Prayers

This handout asks students to think about the Liturgy of the Hours before they answer questions about and create their own morning and evening prayers.

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Symbol Search

This handout challenges students to find symbols in their classroom or school and identify the deeper meaning of each.

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Unlocking the Codes

This handout provides several short activities for students to complete as they learn about the symbolism of the Book of Revelation.

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Passover Parallels

This partner worksheet helps students draw connections between Old Testament passage about the Passover and New Testament passages about the Mass.

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God Loves a Cheerful Giver

This worksheet guides students to read and answer questions about a specific Hebrew festival from the book of Leviticus.

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Baptism of Jesus Study Guide

This study guide helps students reflect on the story of Jesus’ Baptism.

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Interview Chart for Religious Beliefs

This chart allows students to see the comparison between the beliefs of five major religions and those of the Catholic Church.

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Religious Identity Descriptions

This handout provides the religious identities for five major world religions.

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Empathizing (Religion in the Modern World)

This article provides several suggestions of ways to help students reflect on their experiences with people from different forms of religion in the modern world.

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Empathizing (Islam)

This handout provides several suggestions to help students draw connections between Islam and Christianity.

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Empathizing (Christianity)

This handout provides several suggestions to help students draw connections between the various denominations of Christianity.

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Empathizing (Judaism)

This handout provides several suggestions to help students draw connections between Christianity and Judaism.

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Empathizing (The Ancestors of the West)

This handout provides several suggestions to help students draw connections between Christianity and polytheistic religions of the West.

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Empathizing (Shinto)

This article provides several possible ideas of ways to help students see, experience, and better understand the Shinto religion.

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Empathizing (Zen Buddhism)

This short article provides questions, reflections, and suggestions to help students empathize with Zen Buddhism.

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Empathizing (Taoism)

This short article provides questions, reflections, and suggestions to help students empathize with Taoism.

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Empathizing (Confucianism)

This short handout provides questions, reflections, and suggestions to help students empathize with Confucianism.

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Empathizing (Sikhism)

This short handout provides questions, reflections, and suggestions to help students empathize with Sikhism.

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Empathizing (Jainism)

This short handout provides questions, reflections, and suggestions to help students empathize with Jainism.

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Empathizing (Buddhism)

This short handout provides questions, reflections, and suggestions to help students empathize with Buddhism.

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Empathizing (Hinduism)

This short handout provides questions, reflections, and suggestions to help students empathize with Hinduism.

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Empathizing (Indigenous Religious Traditions)

This short handout provides questions and reflections to help students empathize with indigenous religions.

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Comparing and Contrasting Religion in the Modern World with Christianity

This short handout compares and contrasts several key ideas and beliefs in Christianity and religion in the modern world.

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Comparing and Contrasting Islam with Christianity

This short handout compares and contrasts several key ideas and beliefs in Islam and Christianity

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Comparing and Contrasting Forms of Christianity

This short handout compares and contrasts several key ideas and beliefs in different forms of Christianity.

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Comparing and Contrasting Judaism with Christianity

This short handout compares and contrasts several key ideas and beliefs in Christianity and Judaism.

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Comparing and Contrasting the Ancestors of the West with Christianity

This short handout compares and contrasts several key ideas and beliefs in Christianity and the Ancestors of the West.

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Comparing and Contrasting Shinto with Christianity

This short handout compares and contrasts several key ideas and beliefs in Christianity and Shinto.

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Comparing and Contrasting Zen Buddhism with Christianity

This short handout compares and contrasts several key ideas and beliefs in Christianity and Zen Buddhism.

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Comparing and Contrasting Taoism with Christianity

This short handout compares and contrasts several key ideas and beliefs in Christianity and Taoism.

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Comparing and Contrasting Confucianism with Christianity

This short handout compares and contrasts several key ideas and beliefs in Christianity and Confucianism.

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Comparing and Contrasting Sikhism with Christianity

This short handout compares and contrasts several key ideas and beliefs in Christianity and Sikhism.

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Comparing and Contrasting Jainism with Christianity

This short handout compares and contrasts several key ideas and beliefs in Christianity and Jainism.

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Comparing and Contrasting Buddhism with Christianity

This short handout compares and contrasts several key ideas and beliefs in Christianity and Buddhism.

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Comparing and Contrasting Hinduism with Christianity

This short handout compares and contrasts the key ideas and beliefs in Christianity and Hinduism.

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Comparing and Contrasting Indigenous Religions Traditions with Christianity

This short handout compares and contrasts the ideas of god, an ultimate reality, and history between indigenous religious traditions and Christianity.

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Worldviews: Religions and Their Relatives

This article explores two examples of modern worldviews and how they different from traditional religions.

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The Comparative Study of Religions

An introduction to the comparative study of religions.

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Teacher Evaluation An Interreligious Interview

A teacher evaluation for interviewing someone of a different religion.

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An Interreligious Interview

This handout offers guidelines for setting up an interview with a person from a different religion.

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The Ninety-Nine Names of God

This handout lists the ninety-nine Islamic names for God and poses several questions regarding the list.

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"In the Beginning Was the Word"

After presenting John 1:1-18 from the Christian Bible, this handout challenges to students to identify key parts that describe the doctrine of the incarnation.

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Images of Jesus

This handout provides many different images and descriptions of Jesus for students to examine and relate to.

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Miriam's Shabbat

A Sabbath Blessing.

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Rings of Interpretation

This handout lists six excerpts taken from the Tanakh.

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Greek and Roman Gods Today

This handout challenges students to identify the associations they have with Greek and Roman gods.

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A Zoroastrian Symbol

This handout presents a Zoroastrian Symbol of faith and explains its elements. Students are then challenged to create their own symbol to represent their personal understanding of faith and human nature.

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"The Canticle of Brother Sun"

A Canticle prayer by Saint Francis of Assisi

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The Haiku of Basho

A compilation of Haiku by Matsuo Basho.

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Koans: Food for Intuition

This worksheet presents Zen koans to be interpreted or explained.

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The Riddler

This worksheet presents 12 riddles to be solved individually or in a small group

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Who Is the Sage?

This worksheet provides the opportunity to choose life situations that exemplify practices of the Taoist sage.

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The Sikh Khalsa

The information on this handout provides further insight into the nature of the Sikh Khalsa

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The Ten Gurus of Sikhism

This list of the ten Gurus of Sikhism briefly summarizes the key contributions of each Guru.

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The Biographies of the Tirthankaras

A list of patterns and themes found in the biographies of the Tirthankaras

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Kuan-Yin

A guided reflection of the Buddhist image of Kuan-Yin

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Monks

This handout is to be used as students rotate to various stations. At this station, students examine a picture depicting monks in Thailand.

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Objects Used in Tibetan Rituals

This handout is to be used as students rotate to various stations. At this station, students examine objects used in Tibetan rituals.

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The Fasting Siddhartha

This handout is meant to be used as part of a station activity in which students observe different pieces of artwork from various religions.

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Right Speech

This handout provides a reflection on students’ use of words and speech. Students identify ways to improve their use of words to speak truth and kind things.

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Right Meditation

This handout provides a space for students to write impressions, observations, or questions that arise as they meditate on a statue of Buddha.

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Buddhist and Judeo-Christian Understandings of God

This article compares and contrasts the Buddhist and Judeo-Christian understanding of God.

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The First Sermon at Deer Park

A Buddhist sermon

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"The Dance of Love"

A Hindu myth

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Karma Marga: "The Path of Works"

An individual worksheet that examines the intentions and motivations behind one’s actions.

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The Master and the Untouchable

An individual worksheet the caste system in India.

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The Fruits of Action

An individual worksheet that challenges students to apply teachings from the Bhagavad-Gita to real-life situations.

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Peer Evaluation: The Game of Samsara

A peer evaluation form of student-created games.

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Teacher Evaluation: The Game of Samsara

This evaluation is to be used as a rubric for a game that groups of students created using Hindu concepts.

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What Harm Is in Our Sun Dance?

This short article provides the point of view of a Blackfoot Indian about the illegalization of the Sun Dance.

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Lesson Plan for Lesson 22

A lesson plan for lesson 22 in The Catholic Faith Handbook for Youth: Catechist Guide.

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Lesson Plan for Lesson 21

A lesson plan for lesson 21 in The Catholic Faith Handbook for Youth: Catechist Guide. In this lesson students explore the sacraments of healing.

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Lesson Plan for Lesson 20

A lesson plan for lesson 20 in The Catholic Faith Handbook for Youth: Catechist Guide.

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Lesson Plan for Lesson 19

A lesson plan for lesson 19 in The Catholic Faith Handbook for Youth: Catechist Guide.

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Lesson Plan for Lesson 18

A lesson plan for lesson 18 in The Catholic Faith Handbook for Youth: Catechist Guide.

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Lesson Plan for Lesson 17

A lesson plan for lesson 17 in The Catholic Faith Handbook for Youth: Catechist Guide.

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Interview Questions for a Married Couple

A list of questions to ask during an interview with a married couple.

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Sacrament Facts

A brief fact-sheet about the seven sacraments.

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Symbol Interviews

A series of interview questions that students can ask married couples about symbols and marriage.

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The Literature of Love

Reflection questions on William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116.

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Meeting the Needs of Sick People

A worksheet on sickness and healing in a community context.

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"The Secret Garden"

A set of questions that can be used to reflect on the movie “The Secret Garden,” a film that is an excellent example of reconciliation.

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"My Life"

A set of questions that can be used to reflect on the movie “My Life” and the key themes surrounding the sacrament of Reconciliation.

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Am I a Sacrament of Reconciliation?

This exercise can give students a better sense of their role as an instrument for reconciliation.

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Hungers

A worksheet that explores several different types of hunger that we experience.

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Remembering My Confirmation

A worksheet where students are asked to interview several adults about their Confirmation experiences.

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That Catholic Feeling

Whether or not you have been baptized, the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults outlines a process for growing in faith. Here are four statements from the introduction to the rite that describe characteristics of the process. After each statement, …

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My Baptismal History

If you were an infant when you were baptized, ask the following questions of your parents to learn more about the celebration of the sacrament. If you remember your Baptism, answer the questions yourself and ask your parents for details …

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Hugh's Life, My Life

After reading the fictional story of Hugh in the textbook, use the chart below to reflect on the similarities and differences in the faith life of Hugh and you!

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Jesus as Sacrament!

For each statement below, use your Bible to find at least three stories from the life of Jesus that support each theme. Write the citation of the stories under their respective statement, and be sure to tell which sacrament is …

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"Field of Dreams"

The movie Field of Dreams is a modern-day parable that teaches some powerful lessons and connects with the major concepts in chapter 1 of the textbook. Ray Kinsella hears voices that tell him to build a baseball field in the …

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Finding God in My Life

As your textbook states, the Catholic belief about sacraments is that “God communicates through the people, places, actions, events, and experiences that shape a person’s life.” Consider the meaning of this statement in your own life by reflecting on the …

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Grace Poems

Questions related to the poems “Renascence” by Edna St. Vincent Millay, and “The World Is Too Much with Us” by William Wordsworth.

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Images of God, Understandings of Life

The sketches below represent the different images of God and understandings of life that were held by the Jewish wisdom sages. Beneath each sketch, list the wisdom books that correspond to that image.

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Which Marriage Is More Promising?

Imagine that you know two engaged couples and that each couple has decided to write down the terms of their marriage agreement. The couples show you their “covenants,” which are offered below. As you read, consider the pluses and minuses …

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Sample Lesson Planning Chart

A sample lesson plan.

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Teacher Evaluation: An Interreligious Interview

The following ratings identify your scores on a scale from 1 (poor) to 10 (excellent).

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Miriam's Shabbat

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Greek and Roman Gods Today

Next to the name of each god or goddess in the chart below, jot down any person, place, object, time, program, or product with which you associate the name. You may also note titles of songs or TV programs or …

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A Zoroastrian Symbol

The illustration on this handout is the Faravahar, a symbol of Zoroastrian faith. With the example of the Faravahar in mind, create, on a separate sheet of paper, a symbol that represents your own religious faith or personal understanding of …

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Koans: Food for Intuition

Read the following Zen koans two or three times. Choose one and answer or explain it.

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Who Is the Sage?

In each pair of situations below, one of the people described resembles the ideal of the Taoist sage, the person who lives in accord with Tao and practices the virtue wu-wei. Read each pair of situations and circle the letter …

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Chinese Calligraphy

Calligraphy is one of the cultural arts that was pursued in the process of becoming a chun-tzu. Try your hand at reproducing the Chinese characters below, drawing your versions in the space provided to the right of the characters. The …

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The Sikh Khalsa

The information on this handout provides further insight into the nature of the Sikh Khalsa.

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The Ten Gurus of Sikhism

This list of the ten Gurus of Sikhism briefly summarizes the key contributions of each Guru.

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Kuan-Yin

1. Look at the statue or picture at this station. 2. This image depicts the deity Kuan-yin. Write words that describe this image.

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Monks

1. Look at the picture at this station. 2. Write words that describe the actions that you see in the picture. 3. Write words that describe the relationships between people that you see in the picture.

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Objects Used in Tibetan Rituals

1. At this station are several objects. Some may look familiar. Gently pick up each object and examine it. SOME OF THE OBJECTS ARE FRAGILE. PLEASE HANDLE THEM CAREFULLY. 2. Write the following information about each object.

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The Fasting Siddhartha

1. Observe the statue or picture at this station. 2. Notice that it is probably different from almost any other image of the Buddha that you have seen. 3. Look closely and write down what you observe. How does this …

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Right Meditation

1. Here is a Buddha statue or picture. Sit quietly and stare at it. Meditate on it. Let it be a visual focus for your medi- tation. Learn from it. 2. Write any impressions, observations, or questions you have.

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Correlation to Curriculum Framework

Correlation to Curriculum Framework Course V: Sacraments as Privileged Encounters with Jesus Christ from The Sacraments: Encounters with Christ.

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Correlation to Curriculum Framework

Correlation to Curriculum Framework Course III: The Mission of Jesus Christ (The Paschal Mystery) from The Paschal Mystery: Christ’s Mission of Salvation.

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Correlation to Curriculum Framework

Correlation to Curriculum Framework Course IV: Jesus Christ’s Mission Continues in the Church from The Church: Christ in the World Today.

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Baptism and Confirmation

The Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation are closely connected; they are both Sacraments of Initiation. Chapters 33 and 34 of The Catholic Connections Handbook discuss these two sacraments. After reading or reviewing these chapters, complete the crossword.

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Life Issues A Summary: The Ultimate Question: Why Am I Here?

A summary and the learning objectives of Life Issues A Summary: The Ultimate Question: Why Am I Here? from the Catholic Connections Handbook for Middle Schoolers, Second Edition.

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Chapter 37 Activity: Living the Beatitudes

For each beatitude, write down how you live it in your own life.

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Chapter 36 Activity: The Sacraments of Matrimony and Holy Orders

The Sacrament of Matrimony is a vocation for married people to serve their families. The Sacrament of Holy Orders is a vocation for bishops, priests, and deacons to serve the People of God. Use the clues to unscramble the words …

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Chapter 36 Summary: The Sacraments of Matrimony and Holy Orders

A summary of Chapter 36, The Sacraments of Matrimony and Holy Orders from the Catholic Connections Handbook for Middle Schoolers, Second Edition.

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Chapter 35 Activity: Ten Steps to Celebrate Reconciliation

The ten steps to celebrate reconciliation.

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Chapter 35 Summary: The Sacraments of Healing

A summary of Chapter 35, The Sacrament of Healing from the Catholic Connections Handbook for Middle Schoolers, Second Edition.

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Chapter 34 Activity: It’s a Match!

Match the phrases in column A with the terms in column B by writing the correct letter in the space provided.

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Chapter 34 Summary: The Sacrament of Confirmation

A summary of Chapter 34, The Sacrament of Confirmation from the Catholic Connections Handbook for Middle Schoolers, Second Edition.

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Chapter 33 Activity: The Rite of Baptism

Even though not everything about the way the Sacrament of Baptism is celebrated has stayed the same over the centuries, some elements have not changed. Tell what these are. Explain why these essential elements must remain unchanging. You may refer …

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Chapter 33 Summary: The Sacrament of Baptism

A summary of Chapter 33, The Sacrament of Baptism from the Catholic Connections Handbook for Middle Schoolers, Second Edition.

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Chapter 32 Activity: Elements from the Mass

Complete this multiple-step activity on the parts of the Mass that have to do with Communion and sending forth. First, unscramble the word or words in the boxes. Then match the statements in the list below to the words in …

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Chapter 32 Summary: The Eucharist: Communion and Sending Forth

A summary of Chapter 31, The Eucharist: Communion and Sending Forth from the Catholic Connections Handbook for Middle Schoolers, Second Edition.

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Chapter 31 Activity: The Liturgy of the Eucharist

Below are parts of the Liturgy of the Eucharist; however, they are out of order. Review chapter 31 in the handbook, and put the statements below in the correct order by numbering the parts of the Liturgy of the Eucharist …