Kathleen Myles will receive a copy of Great People of the Bible student book and the accompanying catechist guide, a $28.90 value.

Bring Salvation History to Life! Parish leaders have been requesting a Catholic Bible study curriculum for middle school students, created specifically to fit their parish schedules. Saint Mary’s Press is pleased to respond to this need with the Great People of the Bible parish curriculum.

The Great People of the Bible curriculum offers:

• A student book that is in conformity with the Catechism of the Catholic Church as a supplemental curriculum resource, and the only Bible curriculum for middle school students with this approval
• Twenty-five one-hour sessions designed to fit a typical parish calendar
• A catechist guide that offers easy-to-follow session outlines for the volunteer catechist
• Flexible options for the catechist to complete student activities in class or use as family learning assignments in the home
• One student book that covers both the Old and New Testament and that supports the ABC’s of biblical literacy
• Engaging student activities, now with expanded background content, based on the ever-popular Student Activity Workbooks for Breakthrough! The Bible for Young Catholics

Great People of the Bible
ISBN: 978-0-88489-690-6, paper, 56 pages

In the past year, I have become intrigued by the reruns of a television series titled Leverage. Each episode of the series is introduced by its main character, mastermind Nathan Ford, in this way: "The rich and powerful take what they want. We steal it back for you. We provide . . . leverage."

The narration goes on to explain that "sometimes bad guys make the best good guys." The "bad guys" in this team of do-gooders are former thieves and con artists who combine their efforts to right the wrongs presented to them, especially when all other possible redress has failed or is simply out of reach.

A few days ago I challenged myself with the question, "Why am I watching this?" It is not simply the fact that the mastermind is a former Catholic or that the characters are engaging and entertaining. I think it is because I appreciate that these people, with their varied gifts and talents, came together as a community to help others. This fictional group is a metaphor, for me, of the Mystical Body of Christ in all its forms: a local soup kitchen, a parish, a religious community, a school, the Church.

This led me to the question, "Who or what or where is my leverage? Who gets me out of jams and leads me to the next right step for me?" The answer, of course, is Jesus. As Hebrews 4:14–16 (GNT) reminds us, "For we have a great High Priest who has gone into the very presence of God—Jesus, the Son of God. Our High Priest is not one who cannot feel sympathy for our weaknesses. On the contrary, we have a High Priest who was tempted in every way that we are, but did not sin. Let us have confidence, then, and approach God’s throne, where there is grace. There we will receive mercy and find grace to help us just when we need it."

And, in addition, we have a "cloud of witnesses" (Hebrews 12:1, NABRE), those here on earth who offer guidance and consolation in life’s ups and downs, and those who have gone before us, the saints in heaven (including our own personal friends and relations). Yes, we have been well provided with leverage!

It follows that, the closer we come to Christ, and the more we open the door of our hearts to his mercy and grace, the more we can be like him and provide leverage for others. We can look around and ask: Who needs help from me today? Who needs an encouraging word or a phone call (or text message, for you texters out there)? If students, friends, colleagues, or family members have had their self-esteem or their sense of trust or their zest for life "stolen" from them, how can we "steal it back" and help restore their sense of well-being?

On a similar note: Yesterday, the feast of the Presentation, was also the World Day for Consecrated Life. The figures of Simeon and Anna (both elderly) presented in the Gospel reminded me of Pope Francis’s suggestion that we take time to visit elderly religious—both to seek their wisdom and to brighten their days. In the Make It Happen section of this newsletter is an activity suitable for teens visiting a retirement home. Perhaps your diocese includes retirement homes for elderly priests, brothers, and sisters. Often these are connected to the central houses of religious congregations. Seek one out. Bring homemade cards (perhaps Valentine’s cards, as in the activity outlined below). Ask to visit with a large group and practice some songs, games, or other entertainment. (You might seek out suggestions from the staff when you call.) Retired religious have devoted their lives to service, many with young people. They will be delighted to meet your students! Your group can be "leverage" for them!

Blessings on your ministry!

Peace and joy,

Joanna

Overview
This strategy brings a festive slant to a standard outreach project—a visit to a nursing home for older people. Such a visit allows the young people to connect with elderly people and also gives them an opportunity to discuss how older people are cared for in the community. You will need one session to prepare for the visit, in addition to the actual visit.

Suggested Time
About 60 minutes for the planning meeting, depending on the number of young people and how elaborate and creative they are with the cards.

Group Size
This strategy works best with up to twenty young teens, depending on the number of residents you are visiting.

Special Considerations
Most young people are uncomfortable around nursing home residents. During the planning session, be sure to discuss with the participants things they might encounter in their visit. For example, some of the elderly people will be senile and may not respond in ways the young people expect, some of the residents may be sick, many may look sad and depressed, and many will be unresponsive. Remind the young people that each of the residents is a human person, created by God, cared for by God, and loved by God. Emphasize that all the residents deserve to be treated with respect and dignity.

Materials Needed

• paper in a variety of colors and types
• scissors
• glue
• markers
• heart stickers
• other items that can be used for creating valentine cards, such as doilies, ribbon, yarn, Mylar confetti, and hole punches
• copies of the lyrics to sing-along songs for the young people and the residents

Procedure

Preparation. Make arrangements to visit a nursing home on or around Valentine’s Day. Check with the administration about the guidelines for such visits and the best way to connect with the residents. Get a list of the names of the residents if you can, or at least some idea of the number of residents you will be visiting.

Recruit other adults to transport the young people, and secure the necessary permission forms.

Find the lyrics to songs that the young people know, such as "This Little Light of Mine," "When the Saints Go Marching In," and "Battle Hymn of the Republic." Many sing-along books include lyrics that can be duplicated. Check a music store or your local library.

Planning Meeting

1. When the young people gather, tell them about the nursing home visit and the circumstances they might encounter. Allow them to discuss any anxieties or discomforts they have. Share the following instructions:

   Imagine that you are about to meet someone who has lived a long time and has done amazing things. This person may not be able to talk any longer, but she or he probably knows when someone is visiting. Your role is to smile and be friendly and share your presence.

2. Explain the details and logistics of the visit. Assign partners, and tell them that they will travel together and visit the same people and share the experience with each other.

3. Provide paper, scissors, glue, markers, heart stickers, and a wide variety of other art supplies for the young people to use in making valentine cards for the nursing home residents. The cards should be as colorful and festive as possible. Be sure that every resident will get at least one card.

4. Distribute lyrics for sing-along songs the group will lead, and practice the songs. Explain that the young people should invite the residents to join in the singing, but warn them not to be surprised if few do. Note that the older people’s lack of active participation should not dampen their own enthusiasm.

5. Help the participants create a group cheer or chant, such as the one that follows. Tell them that they will use this cheer when they arrive at the nursing home or to announce their arrival at each room there. Caution them not to get too boisterous.
   We are here
   to bring you cheer.
   Join our singing,
   our voices bringing
   joy-filled sounds that sing and say
   it is love we share this Valentine’s Day!

Valentine Visit

1. On the day of the visit, with the adults you have recruited, help the young people present their cheer or chant, distribute their cards, pass out sing-along lyrics, lead a sing-along, and visit with the residents for as long as time allows.

2. After the visit, lead the young people in a discussion of the following questions:
   What was the best thing about the visit?
   What can you tell the group about someone you met? Share their name and anything you learned about them or from them.
   Did anything bother you about the visit?
   What could be done to improve the life of the residents?
   
   
3. Close with the following prayer or one that you create spontaneously:
   God of all that is good, stay by the side of the special people we met today. Help them to feel your strength as they face each day. Keep them safe. And may we always remember them in our prayers. We ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
   
   

Alternative Approaches

• Instead of planning a sing-along, help the young people prepare an appropriate skit to present to the residents.
• Encourage the young teens to dress in costumes or as valentine clowns.
• In place of gathering sing-along songs, encourage the young people to create "valentine carols" by changing the words of popular Christmas carols to reflect the valentine themes of love, friendship, and care.
• Provide the young teens with Bibles and help them look up scriptural verses on the theme of love. Encourage them to add their favorite verse to the cards they make.
• Instead of helping the young people create a cheer or chant to use at the nursing home, invite them to write a short prayer asking God’s blessings on the residents and on the visit.

The Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
February 16, 2014
Matthew 5:17-37

Opening Prayer

Jesus, you came to fulfill the Law. You ask us as disciples to use the Ten Commandments as the foundation of our righteousness and then to take the next step to convert our stony hearts into fleshy hearts. Jesus, you call us to a higher standard of holiness, making steadfast in our lives the virtues of faith, hope, and love. Amen.

Context Connection
This Sunday’s Gospel is taken from the fifth chapter of Matthew, which opens with the Beatitudes. According to Jesus, those who will be called blessed are those who follow his teachings. The additional information we are given this Sunday is that Jesus did not come to abolish the Torah: "Do not think that I have come to abol­ish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill" (5:17). Jesus stresses that there is continuity between the Torah and what he is teaching, there­fore the commandments of the Torah are still in force. The reason for Jesus’s com­ing into the world was to reveal the true meaning of the Old Testament, expanding on what Moses and the prophets had wished to say. Jesus is an observant Jew who is devoted to keeping the Law.

As the Gospel unfolds, we learn that Jesus does not replace the Law, nor does he break the Law, but rather he brings it to its fulfillment, to its maturity, to its intended purpose. This is further emphasized by these words of Jesus:"Until heaven and earth pass away,not one letter,not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished" (5:18). There is no need to change even one iota of the Law, but Jesus does challenge the practice of the Law.

"Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (5:20). Jesus’s followers would have to set their standards of righteousness or holiness higher than that of the scribes and Phari­sees. Righteousness in the context of Matthew’s Gospel speaks about proper and honorable relationships with other people and God. Jesus calls his followers to a more stringent observance of the law. He requires the rooting out of anger and lust in our lives, to actively make peace with those who have harmed us. These are Jesus’s standards for holiness. In each instance, Jesus declares that the former understanding of the Law is inadequate, and he gives his followers a more stringent command.

Tradition Connection
The Catholic Church holds the Ten Commandments as foundations of a moral life in Jesus Christ. The Commandments assist Christians in their relationships with God and others. However, every believer is challenged to build upon this founda­tion a Christian life that implements Jesus’s more stringent demands of a disciple.

The Ten Commandments express humankind’s fundamental duties toward God and toward our neighbor. The Ten Commandments are engraved by God in the human heart (see Catechism, paragraph 2072).

Jesus came to fulfill the Torah and, through his teachings, create within hu­man beings hearts of flesh that would embrace the ongoing conversion that makes steadfast the virtues of faith, hope, and love in all believers. The Gospel of Jesus Christ brings the Law to fulfillment, because it places before the Christian the goal to imitate God in God’s wholeness of love.

In chapter 5 of Matthew’s Gospel, we learn that the Law finds fulfillment in Jesus’s Beatitudes. The Beatitudes are the way of the Kingdom of heaven. In em­bracing the faith of Jesus Christ, the believer is open to deepen and broaden his or her understanding of the Commandments of God that are found in the Torah.

Wisdom Connection
Matthew is making it clear that the Torah remains in force in Matthew’s communi­ty. Jesus does not replace it or destroy it, but rather he comes to fulfill it by taking it to the next step of observance in the religious practice of his followers. If one does not follow the commands of the Torah, there is a harsh consequence. "Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven" (5:19).

Jesus calls his followers to a higher standard of holiness. The Ten Commandments are the foun­dation of this righteousness, but Jesus gives it a new twist. The Christian is not to commit adultery but also should not hold lust in his or her heart. The Christian should not kill but also should not harbor hatred or anger in his or her heart.

Acknowledgments
The scriptural quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Catholic Edition. Copyright © 1993 and 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. All rights reserved.

The quotations labeled Catechism are from the English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for use in the United States of America. Copyright © 1994 by the United States Catholic Conference, Inc.--Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Used with permission.


The Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
February 23, 2014
Matthew 5:38-48

Opening Prayer

Jesus, help us to see every human being as our neighbor, and open our hearts so that we are working toward peace for all people everywhere. Amen

Context Connection
In this Sunday’s Gospel, Matthew speaks of righteousness as being a proper and honorable relationship with other people and God. The focus is on retaliation and love of one’s enemies. In the Torah, in several places, it is written that retaliation is permitted (see Exodus 21:23–24, Leviticus 24:19–20, and Deuteronomy 19:21). Jewish society places limits on retaliation, in an attempt to civilize the previous practice of individuals or a tribe determining what is appropriate when someone is treated unjustly. "You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’" (5:38). Jesus sees the present practice as insufficient, as it often leads to an escalating cycle of vengeance.

What Jesus presents is a strategy to break the cycles of violence: "But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer" (5:39). This is Jesus’ instruction to his disciples on how to confront evil. "If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also" (5:39). At the time of Jesus, striking other people with your hand was a way to insult them or to humiliate them. It usually was administered with the back of the right hand to the left cheek of the other person. To turn the other cheek is a way of robbing the aggressor of the power of humiliating and shaming the other person. Likewise, the other examples Jesus gives show how nonretaliation can break the cycles of violence in confrontation. Jesus shows his followers what the fulfillment of the Law looks like.

Jesus finally declares that to follow him means to love your enemy. "You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (5:43–44). Jesus makes it explicit that his disciples are to treat everyone the same, whether they are in the covenant community or not. Because God equally loves and cares for all people, that is the standard for the love Jesus models. Disciples of Jesus are called to love as God loves. In this case, love is not an emotion or feeling but rather a command that is reflected in deeds that are faithful to the covenant—praying for persecutors, welcoming the outsider. Loving only one’s relatives or fellow country folk does not adequately fulfill the Law. In other words, there must be no limits to our love, to the goodness we do for others, because God’s love has no bounds. "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (5:48). "Perfect" in this setting connotes not so much moral perfection as completeness or maturity. The process is gradual, allowing the Spirit of God to perfect us.

Tradition Connection
According to the Vatican Council II documents, the Church, the People of God, is called to holiness. Holiness is no longer something that is relegated to priests and religious men and women, but is understood as being a part of every Christian’s vocation. Because the Church is a community of human beings on a spiritual pilgrimage, holiness is something to strive for. Perfect holiness may not be obtained here on earth, but it needs to be the goal to which we direct our energies.

A Christian vocation continuously works for integrating into itself perfect charity or love. Through this kind of awareness, disciples of Jesus Christ can more easily understand the Gospel message to love with God’s love. This perfect love, which is Jesus’ commandment to love your neighbor, does not have limits. We are commanded to love all human beings because of the dignity they possess as people created by God in God’s image and likeness. That includes even those who are very different from us.

Wisdom Connection
Matthew continues to give examples of how Jesus fulfilled the Torah and that the community was to live this way of fulfillment of the Law. Jesus continues to call his followers to a higher standard of holiness. There is another way, instead of violence, to actively confront injustice in the world. How can an individual create a provocative act that challenges a violent act that opens the opportunity for gestures of reconciliation? Martin Luther King Jr. and Mohandas Gandhi are examples of individuals who broke the cycle of violence by creating situations to change the unjust actions of those who oppressed others. Jesus presents the ultimate challenge to his believers: We are called to love with God’s love, thus abandoning our human perspective that would seem to prefer vengeance rather than nonviolence when injustice occurs.

Acknowledgments
The scriptural quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Catholic Edition. Copyright © 1993 and 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. All rights reserved.

Yes, Virginia, there really is a Saint Valentine! See http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=159 for more information. This article confirms that the origin of Saint Valentine—and how many there were—remains a mystery.

The legend of Saint Valentine—that he wrote letters and notes to his Christian friends from prison—is reflected in our Valentine celebrations today. Our culture has narrowed Valentine’s Day to a sort of sweethearts day and, without negating true love, Valentine’s Day is also a day to celebrate Christian friendship and solidarity. After all, Saint Valentine was a martyr, and was no doubt supported by his Christian friends while awaiting his death.

This line from the Catholic.org article is noteworthy: "Saints are not supposed to rest in peace; they’re expected to keep busy: to perform miracles, to intercede. Being in jail or dead is no excuse for non-performance of the supernatural." So there. Pray to Saint Valentine when you could use some leverage! He is the patron of love, young people, and happy marriages. And (I would add) good friends in Christ!