A Religion Education Newsletter Spring 2009

From Ave Maria Press Issue #7

Engaging Minds,
™
Hearts, & Hands
News, Information, and Resources for Teachers, Administrators, and Youth Ministers

the electric chair. He is visited by begins to weep and cry for

Using the Arts to his childhood friend, Jerry mercy. The movie audience
Connelly, who has become a does not see his face—the
Teach Religion priest. Rocky does not fear death. entire scene only shows the
Having lived by violence he is shadows of Rocky and the
MICHEL BETTIGOLE, O.S.F.
ready to die by violence. His guards as they struggle to
J.D. CHILDS
proudest thoughts are of the hero strap him in the electric chair.
that he has become to a group of Then, as he is being
Fr. Robert Lauder, a priest of
wayward boys in Fr. Connelly’s electrocuted, we see the face
the Diocese of Brooklyn and a
parish. The boys regard him as a of Fr. Connelly, weeping and
professor of philosophy at St.
real “tough guy.” They brag praying. It is as if we are
John’s University, has written
among themselves about the looking on a meeting of God
several books dealing with
heroic way in which Rocky will and this sinful man who in an
religion and the arts. In
die. He will go to his death enormous act of will and leap
Magnetized by God:
unafraid and cocky. of faith turns to God in his
Religious Encounters
final moments and is
through Film, Theater,
In a last minute effort to save the redeemed.
Literature, and Painting, Fr.
souls of both Rocky and the boys,
Lauder recalls how he told
Fr. Connelly asks the hardened Commenting on the reaction
the story of the deathbed
gangster to go to death a coward, of the students and
conversion of the gangster,
screaming and crying, as he is congregation to this story,
Rocky Sullivan, as portrayed
strapped in the electric chair so Fr. Lauder writes: “In the
in the film, Angels with Dirty
that the boys will despise his church, during the telling of
Faces, to a congregation at
memory and turn away from the this story, there was a hushed
Sunday Mass and then to
life of crime that he represents. silence. There was the same
students in his philosophy
The gangster refuses. He says to silence in the St. John’s
class at St. John’s in order to
Fr. Connelly, “You’re asking me classroom as I retold it.
illuminate the mystery of
to give up the only thing I’ve got.” Stories can really grab
grace and the love of God for
As priest and convict walk “the people. If we ‘listen’ to art we
each individual.
last mile” escorted by prison may hear God’s voice.”
guards to the execution chamber,
The scene in the film that Fr.
the convict again refuses Fr. This insight of Fr. Lauder
Lauder described shows
Connelly’s request. Then, as he is about the ability of great art
Rocky Sullivan, a vicious
being led to the electric chair, in to illuminate God’s presence
gangster and murderer, as he
one of the most gripping scenes in our lives was also stated by
is awaiting his execution in
in the history of film, Rocky Pope John Paul II, who in his

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A Religion Education Newsletter Spring 2009
From Ave Maria Press Issue #7

Letter to Artists (1999), pointed out that it is through the arts that religious truths are made tangible, “making
perceptible…the world of the spirit, of the invisible, of God.” In emphasizing the critical role of the arts in the
development of faith, the moral imagination, and the formation of conscience, the pope was echoing the
insights of philosophers and theologians who throughout the ages have always stressed the role of art in the
formation of minds attuned to the good, the true, and the beautiful.

Touching the Holy

In a lecture titled, Imaginative Literature and Moral Theology, Sr. Anne E. Patrick, S.N.J.M. used the phrase,
“a calculated trap for meditation” to describe the effect of a great work of art on the individual who is
experiencing it. In this arresting phrase, Sr. Anne described what happens to us when we respond to the vision
of an artist. Who can look at Fra Angelico’s painting of the crucified Christ and not reflect on God’s love for his
people? Who can read Tolstoy’s great story, Where Love is, God is, about Martin the Cobbler and not gain
insights into the meaning of the Beatitudes? Who can watch Fr. Barry’s sermon over the dead body of a
murdered longshoreman in the film On the Waterfront and not feel energized to work for justice? And who can
listen to the African rhythms of the Congolese Mass in the musical piece Missa Luba and not pause to reflect
on the glory of the universality of the Catholic Church?

Great art is important in the teaching of religion because it is not merely intellectual knowledge that we are
gaining. Great art moves us; it touches us; it enables us to see.

In his philosophical work, The Grammar of Assent, John Henry Cardinal Newman distinguished between two
ways of saying “yes” to God’s call. One way was “notional assent,” the saying of “yes” with the mind to a series of
intellectual statements about God and the life of grace. The other form of saying “yes” was “real assent” – the
saying of “yes” to a Divine Being with all of one’s heart, soul, mind, and strength. The experience of great art is a
method of achieving this real assent.

Exposing students to classic artistic creations is essential to religious education precisely because art represents
the life of grace as it is manifested in the lives and experiences of individual men and women. In classic artistic
creations, painters, poets, filmmakers, and musicians illuminate the life of grace. Through great art God
touches us and speaks to us. As Fr. Richard Viladesau says in his study, Theology and the Arts: Encountering
God through Music, Art, and Rhetoric:

…art itself, precisely as art, can be seen as a mode of reflection on and embodiment of Christian
ideas and values and hence as constituting a form of theology…Art reveals significant aspects of
the particular human situation to which God’s word is addressed…Art is also one of the means
by which the message is presented in a way that is persuasive and attractive, giving a vision that
can lead to moral conversion and action.

Following the thought of St. Bonaventure, we believe further, that like angels, the human soul becomes
transformed into whatever it intently gazes upon (St. Bonaventure, Homily 8, “Such Love”), and that
therefore, through exposure to great works of religious art, music, and literature, one can grow,
increasingly, in the goodness and beauty of God.

Br. Michel Bettigole, O.S.F. is the former principal at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Raleigh, North
Carolina and Bishop Ford High School in Brooklyn, New York. J.D. Childs is the current principal at Mission
College Catholic Preparatory High School in San Luis Obispo, California. They are co-authors of The Catholic
Spirit: An Anthology for Discovering Faith through Literature, Art, Film, and Music (see page 8) to be
published by Ave Maria Press in July 2009.

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A Religion Education Newsletter
From Ave Maria Press
Outside da Box
Offers Short Films
to Enhance
Theology Courses
Creating and distributing short
films that help Catholic teens
know, love, and serve Jesus
Christ is the mission of Outside
da Box, a not-for-profit video
production ministry based in the
suburbs of Chicago. Since the
release of its inaugural DVD in
November 2006, OdB has
distributed more than 16,000
free volumes to parishes and
schools throughout the U.S. and
abroad.
A testimonial from a Catholic
high school teacher in New
Orleans trumpets the value of
using short films in theology
class: “I purchased a one-year
membership and I'm very glad
that I did. I use the DVDs and
discussion downloads for my
religion classes. The DVDs are
awesome and are very helpful to
me in my quest to enliven the
faith in my students,” she said.
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Any and all who work with teens in
ministry are invited to request a free
DVD from Outside da Box and
encouraged to become an annual
member of the ministry.
Membership benefits include three
DVDs shipped in September,
December, and March containing
more than two-dozen short films
(music videos, artist spotlights,
testimonies, dramas, and more),
online access to downloadable
versions of the films and video
discussion guides, and the annual
DVD-based video
curriculum—CateQUIZ’em! The
content of each CateQUIZ’em!
volume is put into the context of the
four pillars of the Catechism of the
Catholic Church: Creed,
Sacraments, Morality, and Prayer.
Users interact with the content
through the DVD’s four main
sections: Learn It!, Play It!, Live It!,
and Pray It!
Eric Groth of Outside da Box
previewed CateQUIZ’em at the
annual Ave Maria Press teacher’s
luncheon as part of the Los Angeles
Religious Education Congress in
February.
Teacher Enrichment
Day 2009: Save the
Date!
Ave Maria Press is sponsoring its
fifth annual Enrichment Day for
High School Religion Teachers.
The event will be held on Saturday,
October 10th, 8am –3pm, at the
Mendoza College of business on the
campus of the University of Notre
Dame.
www avemariapress com Notre Dame IN 46556-0426
Spring 2009
Issue #7
This year our keynote speaker is
Dr. Daniel Smith-Christopher,
Professor of Theological
Studies (Old Testament) at
Loyola Marymount University.
Dr. Smith-Christopher is a well-
known speaker at catechetical
conferences throughout the
nation, including, for many
consecutive years, at the Los
Angeles Religious Education
Congress. He is the author of
several books on Scripture,
including the high school
textbook: The Old Testament:
Our Call to Faith and Justice.
The afternoon will feature mini-
break out sessions. J.D. Childs,
Principal of Mission College
Preparatory Catholic High
School in San Luis Obispo and
co-author of The Catholic Spirit
will speak about the value of
using classical literature, film,
art, and music as part of a high
school theology curriculum.
Also to be explored: ways to
incorporate electronic media in
the theology classroom.
There is no charge for this
event—it is FREE to high
school religion teachers. A
complimentary breakfast and
lunch will be served. Each
participant will receive several
free gifts and a chance to win a
complete set of high school
textbooks for his or her
classroom. Special hotel rates in
the South Bend area will be
arranged closer to the event. To
make sure you are on a mailing
list for registration, please send
your contact information to
Karey Welde at
kwelde@nd.edu.
A Religion Education Newsletter Spring 2009
From Ave Maria Press Issue #7

Lenten Reflections
They say stress is a killer,” the actress Helen Isaiah quotes God as saying, “For a brief moment I
Hayes said, “but I think no stress is equally deadly, abandoned you…” (Is 54:7)
especially as you get older. If your days just seem to
slip by without any highs or low, without some
anxieties and pulse-quickening occurrences, you
may not be really living.”

Daily stressful difficulties are often called “life’s little

crosses.” Transform them by renaming them “life’s
little Red Crosses”—healing help for a full life.

Rx: Entertain life’s inevitable stresses.

Take delight in short-lived attacks of
On Good Friday, Jesus questioned whether God
tension as vital ingredients
had turned a deaf ear to his prayers and abandoned
of life’s roller-coaster ride, him. Who among us has not also experienced the
as health insurance for living more than
same kind of seemingly God-forsaken moments?
half a life. These are not fleeting moments, but ones that
seems to drag on and on, as did the agony of Jesus
A good talk is curative since it is therapeutic to talk
on the cross. At these times, pray like this:
about your problems with someone who can listen,
even if she or he isn’t a professional. When inviting
Rx: Hurry, up Lord;
a guest into their homes, the Inuit natives of end this moment of seeming
Canada say, “Speak, so that I may see you.” Within
abandonment,
each of us are aspects of ourselves that we are Not for moments, but for months it seems
unable to recognize, but when we speak about you have forsaken me.
them we bring them into the light where we can see
I ache to personally experience your next
and acknowledge them. words to Isaiah,
“. . . then, with great tenderness,
Rx: Want to talk, but can’t find anyone to I will take you back.”
listen?
Talk aloud to yourself—and listen
The Lenten Reflections are excerpted from
carefully. Embrace the Healing Cross: Daily Prayscriptions
Or speak with the silent tongue
for Lent by Edward Hays (Forest of Peace from
of your pen on paper;
Ave Maria Press(2006).
You will find that you can see far more
of you.

Minds, Hearts, and Hands

An education that is complete is one in which the hands and heart are
engaged as much as the mind.

Blessed Basil Moreau

Founder of the
Congregation of Holy Cross
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A Religion Education Newsletter Spring 2009
From Ave Maria Press Issue #7

How Religious Educators Are Using

Catholic Essentials: An Overview of the Faith
The just-released Catholic Essentials: An Overview of the Faith has attracted great interest among teachers
and teenagers alike. Catechists and other religious educators have told us that they are already or planning to
use Catholic Essentials in the following ways. Let us know how YOU are using Catholic Essentials and be
eligible for a discount on your next order of Catholic Essentials.

We use it for a Reference and Resource through all four years of High School
Catholic Essentials: An Overview of the Faith is a comprehensive source of information about Jesus and the
Catholic Faith. Organized around the new doctrinal guidelines for high school age students of the U.S.
Bishops, Catholic Essentials is intended as a reference text for students in Catholic high schools enrolled in a
six- to eight-semester theology curriculum. Catholic Essentials presents a broad overview of the main
requirements of a Catholic high school theology curriculum. It can be used as both a primer and source of
review for all courses of study offered in Catholic high schools.

We use it as a text for a Synthesis Course in the Catholic Faith

The scope of the text is broad, providing a survey of the main elements of a four-year curriculum
including: the Trinity, Jesus Christ, Salvation History, Ecclesiology, Sacraments, and Morality. An
Appendix introduces further discussion of Scripture, Church History, Social Justice, Vocation, and an
ecumenical study of World Religions. This means that the text is appropriate for conducting an
introductory course in the faith. Likewise, it may be used in curriculums that offer a review course in
either the junior or senior year.

We use it as a text for a Christology Course with one or more of the first three courses of the new
Framework.
This is a transitional time for many schools and dioceses between a traditional sequence of courses and
the sequence strongly encourage by the U.S. Bishops’ framework. A typical grid comparing both
curriculums may look like this:

Grade/Semester Current Sequence Future Sequence

Grade 9/Semester 1 Catholicism Intro The Revelation of Jesus Christ in
Scripture

Grade 9/Semester 2 Old Testament Who Is Jesus Christ

Grade 10/Semester 1 New Testament The Mission of Jesus Christ

Grade 10/Semester 2 Sacraments and Liturgy Jesus Christ’s Mission Continues in

the World Today (The Church)
Grade 11/Semester 1 Morality Sacraments as Privileged Encounters
with Jesus Christ
Grade 11/Semester 2 Ecclesiology/Church History Life in Christ (Morality)

Grade 12/Semester 1 Social Justice Elective

Grade 12/ Semester 2 Christian Lifestyles Elective

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A Religion Education Newsletter Spring 2009
From Ave Maria Press Issue #7

Recommended Electives for the New Doctrinal Framework:

A. Sacred Scripture
B. History of the Catholic Church
C. Living as a Disciple of Jesus Christ in Society (Social Justice)
D. Responding to the Call of Jesus Christ (Marriage and Holy Orders)
E. Ecumenical and Inter-religious Issues

A general recommendation from bishops to publishers was that the new framework would be implemented
gradually by the 2011-2012 school year. In the meantime many schools have already undertaken offering courses
in this new model, albeit without course-specific textbooks for the first three offerings. Catholic Essentials: An
Overview of the Faith can serve well as a primary text for the first three courses: The Revelation of Jesus Christ
in Scripture, Who Is Jesus Christ? and The Mission of Jesus Christ if supplemented with other sources,
especially the New American Bible and Encountering Jesus in the New Testament. Also note: Ave Maria
Press will provide on request a Scope and Sequence correlation between the Framework outline of each course
and page numbers within its complete line of textbooks.

We use it as a primary text to support the catechetical dimension of a Parish Youth Ministry program.

Catholic Essentials: An Overview of the Faith provides teenagers of high school age in parish programs a
reference book of the Catholic faith. While appropriate as a personal reference, the lesson plans in this Teacher’s
Manual also allow for Catholic Essentials to be used as part of a religious education class, youth group, or
Confirmation preparation program at a parish. General programming suggestions include:
• Planning a six to eight course session around each of the chapters of the book and the appendix
material.
• Assigning for homework all text reading prior to the session.
• Highlighting the chapter material with a creative PowerPoint display.
• Using suggested films, guest speakers, and panel discussions to enhance the meeting.
• Using the Apologetics: Catholic FAQs as the starting point of a presentation.
• Using the Write or Discuss questions to elicit small and large group participation.
• Assigning at least one handout per session.
• Giving the Chapter Tests to take home as review assignments.
• Definitely making the chapter prayer services a part of each meeting.

We gave it as a gift to a teenager who needed more information about and formation in Jesus and the Church.

This is a perfect gift item for Confirmation, junior high school graduation, Christmas, and birthdays for
teenagers of high school age.

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A Religion Education Newsletter
From Ave Maria Press
The Pope on
Facebook
Pope Benedict XVI said that
new technologies—including
blogs, Internet video posts, and
Facebook accounts, have an
“extraordinary potential to bring
people together and that they
can help people share the search
for goodness, beauty, and truth.”
The Pope had some cautions
too—including the sharing of
degrading images on the
computer and the danger of
substituting online friendships
for face-to-face friendships—but
also recognized the enormous
potential for the "digital
generation to bring witness of
their faith to the digital world."
In more news, Pope Benedict
announced that the Vatican
would produce daily videos
available on YouTube in several
different languages. And, just to
note, anyone can already join
with others of the more than
25,000 fans of Pope Benedict on
Facebook.
Speaking more about Facebook,
consider the following dialogue
between two Facebook friends
and former school classmates
from nearly twenty-five years
ago:
Page 7
Spring 2009
Issue #7
Classmate 1: So I Internet community not
was in my spinning separated by space or time with
class and "Another people from all throughout their
One Bites the Dust" lives. As the Pope said, there is
comes on. When I “extraordinary potential” to
hear that song I bring people together.
think of the tape
that you and your Talk over some of these
brother did and sent "Facebook issues" with your
to [Name] and me. students. Ask them what they
Do you remember think about:
that? We were • Does knowing your
pretty cruel to each high school classmates
other back then. will be able to stay in
touch with you well into
Classmate 2:I don't the future affect how
remember making a you treat them now?
tape of "Another
• How do you feel when
One Bites the
someone you have not
Dust." You will
seen for years contacts
have to remind me.
you on Facebook?
Are you sure it was
me? I remember • How does your
waking up at 5am to "Facebook community"
call you to wake you feel like a glimpse of the
up. Do you Kingdom?
remember that?
Why I had to call
you I don't
remember.
In other generations, the pranks and
sins of childhood could be more
easily forgotten and stored away.
Maybe not now. Instead, many years
removed, we could meet up with
someone we offended years ago.
Taking a positive outlook, what a
good opportunity to offer
forgiveness and perhaps satisfaction
for a long ago hurtful action.
Regarding Heaven, don't we believe
that we will be reunited with all the
friends and family members from our
life on earth? Things like "classmate
search" and "recommendations for
friends" through websites like
Facebook allow people to form an
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A Religion Education Newsletter
From Ave Maria Press
Introducing Two New Books for Teenagers!
The Catholic Spirit: An
Anthology for Discovering
Faith through Literature,
Art, and Film
MICHEL BETTIGOLE, O.S.F.
J.D. CHILDS
The Catholic Spirit: An
Anthology for Discovering Faith
through Literature Art, Film,
and Music is an anthology of
classic literature, music, art, and
film that is intended to awaken
in teenagers their natural
inclination for all that is good,
loving, and truthful.
Organized around the pillars of
the Catholic faith, teens will be
introduced to writing selections
from Flannery O’Connor, Leo
Tolstoy, Gerard Manley
Hopkins, Graham Greene,
Dorothy Day, and many, many
more. In addition they will be led
to standard-bearing works of
music, art and film.
Teens mostly learn from
secondary printed sources. The
Catholic Spirit allows for a trip
Page 8
through classical art, literature, and
musical forms that bring greater
clarity to important topics of
religious significance. This is a
perfect cross curriculum resource for
students in ninth through twelfth
grades. The chapter organization
and content presents a broad stroke
over an entire course of study as it
brings perspective to those just
beginning or finishing up the high
school course scope and sequence.
Dare to Dream: Stories of 16
People Who Became
Somebody
WILLIAM O’MALLEY, S.J.
There is no better way to be formed
in good character than to learn by
example. Dare to Dream tells the
stories of sixteen people whose lives
began as typical and average, but
through their cooperation with
God-given virtues, along with
courage and perseverance, achieved
a status that truly made them
somebodies—that is, people to
inspire others to reach their own
human potential.
Perfect as a supplement to any
theology course, Dare to Dream is
www avemariapress com Notre Dame IN 46556-0426
Spring 2009
Issue #7
an ideal source to elicit
questions, spur action, and
inspire teens, leading them to a
clearer understanding of how
God’s virtue and grace builds
from the routine of their lives to
allow for lasting character and
worth.
16 Featured People
Oprah Winfrey *Jim Henson
Viktor Frankl * Clare Hale
Helen Keller * Will Rogers
Eleanor Roosevelt * Bono
Florence Nightingale *
Anne Frank * Christopher
Nolan Tecumseh * Jackie
Robinson César Chavez *
Lech Walesa * Nellie Bly
Engaging Minds, Hearts, and
Hands is a free newsletter
published by Ave Maria Press.
To subscribe, email your name,
the name of your school, and
your address to Karey Welde at
kwelde@nd.edu. Direct all
editorial queries to Michael
Amodei at mamodei@nd.edu.
Copyright © 2009 by Ave
Maria Press. All rights reserved.
Founded in 1865, Ave Maria
Press is a ministry of the
Indiana Province of Holy Cross,
P.O. Box 428, Notre Dame,
Indiana, 46556.