Endurance

Written by Jacquelyn Cutts

Objectives:
-Youth will understand how the Catholic Church grew after the death and
resurrection of Jesus, through the perseverance of the apostles and other
Christians in the face of persecution
-youth will understand that Christian persecution continues in parts of our
world today
-youth will understand that persecution is not limited to violence and death,
but social rejection and bullying as well

Overview:
The night will begin with a game about Christian symbols, common and
uncommon, helping the teens to learn about the history of the symbols. This
leads to the proclaim about the persecution of the church in the first three
centuries and the development of symbols and secrecy to preserve the faith.
The proclaim reviews the concept martyrs, specifically addressing some
noteworthy saints. The proclaim will close by relating persecution to the lives
of the teens, in their schools and social lives. The break will give the teens an
opportunity to share times when they may have been persecuted for their
faith and discuss in fellowship how to remain strong in the faith. Then, a skit
will begin the send, connecting the themes of the night to current events.
The skit will compare the experiences of a first century Christian, a modern
day Christian who has religious freedom, and a modernly persecuted
Christian. The night closes with a prayer service inspired by the words of
Pope Francis about the persecution in the Middle East and Africa.

Catechism
#74
#76

Scripture
Acts 12:1-11
Acts 7:48-60
Acts 14:22
John 15:18
1 John 3:13
1 Thessalonians 2:14-15
2 Corinthians 2:10

Environment
The environment should have lots of Christian symbols all around the room.
There should be a cross near the front, and candles for the prayer service.

Red draping can be used on the cross or throughout the room in

remembrance of martyrs.

Gather:
Welcome and Introductions (5 min)

Gather the teens together and welcome them to the night, lead opening
prayers, ask about birthdays and introduce new teens.

Symbol or Nah? (10 minutes)

For this game divide the room into two halves that the teens can walk to.
One half will denote "yeah" and the other "nah." Signs can be put up to help.
Have the teens get up and walk to the different sides of the room to show
their answer to the question, "Christian symbol or nah?" Then, show different
symbols, some that are Christian (try for the more obscure ones) and some
which are not. After each symbol goes up ask the teens to move to the side
they agree with. Award a prize to anyone who gets all of them right.

Proclaim: (12minutes)
The Early Church

As the Apostles began to evangelize, they traveled around the Roman

Empire and beyond to spread the Gospel message. However, it was a
dangerous time for them because the Roman Empire and the Jewish
leadership still hated Jesus and his followers. They viewed Christianity as a
threat to their power.

Persecution for Three Hundred Years

The Romans and the Jews hated Christians so much they persecuted them.
Persecution is when individuals are mistreated, attacked, or even killed
because of their beliefs. Christians loved their faith and created many secret
signs to help perpetuate their faith. We saw these secret symbols during our
icebreaker. They had to have mass in catacombs (underground tombs) in
order to practice their faith safely.
Many of the early Christians we look to as examples of faith are martyrs. A
martyr is someone who has been killed for their faith. It is the ultimate
sacrifice to die as Christ did for the faith. In fact, St. Peter was crucified on an
upside down cross because he said he was undeserving of dying the same
way Christ did. St. Paul, author of a large portion of the New Testament used
to be a Jewish worker under the Roman Empire who helped persecute
Christians. His name was Sauk before he converted to Christianity. He was
the man who oversaw the stoning of St. Stephen, the first martyr. One day
he was riding his hours to Damascus and he fell off of his ho shore, struck
blind by Christ's light. He told Saul how to get his sight back, and Saul, from
this experience turned his life around, became a Christian and traveled far
and wide telling people about Jesus. Many of his letters to Christian
communities found in the Bible, like Corinthians and Thessalonians were

written from prison. He was captured and eventually killed for his new
Christian faith.
Our own patron saint, St. Justin was a martyr. He was a Christian in the
second century who defended the faith, and was eventually killed for
speaking out.
Christians were also blamed by the Roman emperor Nero for the burning of
Jerusalem, and were persecuted even more heavily. They were tortured and
told to deny the faith. Those who didn't suffered crucifixion, beheading, or
dying for the entertainment of others in the Coliseum.

Tolerance Comes to Rome

In 312 a conquering Roman emperor named Constantine helped end

Christian persecution in Rome. He became emperor of Rome thanks to a
vision from God, and made Christianity legal and tolerated in Rome under his
rule. He was a pagan most of his life but on his deathbed converted to
Christianity.

Persecution Continues

The persecution of Christians was not limited to just the early days of the
Church. When Henry VIII broke from the Catholic Church in the early 1500s,
Catholics were persecuted in England. Depending on the ruler, Catholics
were persecuted off and on for the next hundred years.

Persecution in Our Lives

It's not likely that any of us will be put to death for our faith, but we are still
called to be a witness, a martyr in other ways. Socially, are we willing to
witness the truth of Jesus, even if it means getting made fun of at school?
Are we willing to be living witnesses to God in our homes even if we are
opposed or unsupported by family. Do we want to fit in for can we stand by
our faith as the martyrs did. God calls us to be witnesses to his love, the
same way he called those in the early church. The Gospel message in simple,
but living it is not easy.

Break: (25 minutes)

Divide the teens into small groups for questions to discuss. Be sure to open
each small group with prayer and and icebreaker.
1. How did the early Christians feel about their faith?
2. How did early Christians live their faith bravely and courageously?
3. Have you ever been made fun of or mistreated because you are Catholic?
When?
4. Have you ever denied the faith to fit in?
5. How can you stand for your faith in your life?

Send:
The send begins with a skit and explanation of the skit as it relates the story
of Christian persecution to modern times and leads into the prayer service
for persecuted Christians in the Middle East and Africa.

Skit: I am a Christian (10 minutes)

Early Christian (EC): speaks with nervousness and fear
Modern Day Christian (MDC): speaks with nonchalance and kind of a
"whatever" attitude
Modern Day Persecuted Christian (PC): speaks with desperation
EC: I am a Christian; you can tell because I have a fish carved into my house.
To the Romans it means nothing, but to those who share my beliefs it's a
symbol of my faith.
PC: I am a Christian; though I have no church to pray in or even a home to go
to anymore. They destroyed my church the day after I fled for my life.
MDC: Yeah I'm a Christian I guess. My mom likes it when I show up to church
so I go for her. Other than that it's not a huge part of my life.
EC: We have mass in the catacombs, in the old part of the city. If we tried to
hold a public mass we'd be killed.
PC: Christians have lived and prayed in this city for thousands of years. Now,
it is empty and filled with terrorists.
MDC: I know I could pray at school and stuff, but I think people would look at
me funny. It's not exactly a common thing you know? I don't like sticking out
too much. People will mock me. I hate that.
EC: It's not safe to be a Christian, but I won't abandon my faith. I am a
Christian.
PC: It's too dangerous to be a Christian there anymore, so I left, but I will
remain a Christian.
MDC: No one understands me. I try to make my mom happy, but I can't talk
to my friends about what it's like. I'm just not sure now to be a Christian.
Each of these is a snapshot of what it's like to be a Christian at different
point, in different places. Tonight we learned about Christian persecution in
history, and we talked about how persecution affects our own lives. Even
though we may be mocked or excluded because we are Christians we can
stand safely to say that we are Christians. Think about the worlds of the
characters. I AM A CHRISTIAN. In America, this isn't a dangerous statement,
but in other parts of the world it still is. There is a region in Iraq today where
being a Christian is the most dangerous thing to be. In the heart of some of
the oldest Christian communities there are no longer masses or even
Christians. On the planes of Nineveh, the city the prophet Jonah was sent to,
the terrorist group ISIS has driven out and killed hundreds of thousands of
Christians. They have no one to protect them, and the only thing we can do
is pray. Tonight we pray for those killed in Iraq especially, killed merely
because they believe in Jesus Christ.

Prayer Service (15minutes)

Opening song
Sign of the cross

Reader 1: In the words of Pope Francis "what must continue is the spiritual
journey of prayer, intense prayer; the concrete participation and tangible
help in the defense and protection of our brothers and sisters who are
persecuted, exiled, beheaded for the only reason of being a Christian. They
are our martyrs today and they are many; we are able to say that they are
more numerous than in the first centuries."
Reader 2: Let us pray.
Heavenly Father, we pray for the persecuted church, for their oppressors, for
nations that foster persecution, and for those who ignore it. Let us remember
the promise of hope the gospel gives to all who are persecuted for
righteousness' sake.In our prayer for persecuted Christians, let us not narrow
our compassion for all who suffer, but for their enemies for you tell us to pray
for our enemies. Called by the Holy Spirit to unity with the persecuted,
let us enter into their suffering, refusing to be silent, ready to reach out to
them in their isolation.
Amen
Reader 3: A reading from the book of Romans.
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not
receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit
of adoption. When we cry, "Abba! Father!" it is that very Spirit bearing
witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs,
heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ if, in fact, we suffer with him so that
we may also be glorified with him.
The word of The Lord.
Reader 4: Hear the words of an imprisoned Christian in Indonesia.
"To enjoy the warmth and cheerfulness of the dawn, there is no other way
but to pass through the darkness of night," he says from his prison cell. "In
this world I have learned that truth very seldom wins, in fact mostly it is
defeated. However, I strongly believe that one day it will be discovered. God
is the true truth, and eternal God. He is full of forgiveness and blesses us
with truth and grace, which gives us the powerful ability to face any
challenge and suffering."
Reader 1: Listen to early Christian writers who mused on the meaning and
significance of the suffering and martyrdom of their brothers and sisters.
The third-century bishop Cyprian said, "When persecution comes, God's
soldiers are put to the test, and heaven is open to martyrs. We have not
enlisted in an army to think of peace and to decline battle, for we see that
the Lord has taken first place in the conflict."
Reader 2: Augustine wrote, "The martyrs were bound, jailed, scourged,
racked, burned, rent, butchered and they multiplied!"

Tertullian, a second-century lawyer who converted when he saw Christians

singing as they went out to die, exclaimed, "The blood of the martyrs is seed.
Their blood is the seed of new Christians, the seed of the church."
Reader 3: Let us pray.
Almighty God,
We can't really imagine what it would be like to suffer for your Name.
Open our hearts to the men and women sitting behind bars because they
voiced their faith in you. Raise our thoughts to the cry of those in need
simply because they bear the name Christian. Cause us to remember the
youth whose lives are denied because they dare to name your Name. Faithful
God, make us aware of those
for whom at great cost, and greater peril, quietly call themselves your
disciples
in a world where being a Christian means persecution.
Father, help us to kneel with them in prayer, to stand with them in solidarity.
Let them know that across the miles, beyond the silence, we add our prayers
to yours for them. Help them to know they are not forgotten. May they feel
the prayers of your people calling out in their behalf. Help our hearts to hear
their cries, o God, keep them in our minds and we will hold them in our
prayers.
Amen.
Closing song