Day 29

Another good day at school!

Got to school this morning and I opening the door to my classroom and immediately I was hit with the aroma of old lady perfume...Ummmmmmm?

"I'm really going to miss this class.  I never thought I'd say that!"  That was said within the first five minutes of my first class people.  Class dismissed!  Another confirmation that things are going well.

Today they gave their presentations on the 7 sacraments.  They made me so proud!  While their presentation skills didn't necessarily blow me away, they were able to remember a lot of the content we covered over the last almost 5 weeks.  That's a lot!  They even had things that I said and didn't see any of them take notes on-which means they are listening and retaining so much!  

I asked each of them to tell me something they learned after they gave the official presentation so that's what good.

In my last class, I asked if they had any questions about the sacraments.  I got really excited when one of the guys raised his hand.  This is what he said:

"This is a little off topic, but I've been wondering this for a couple of years now."  (Now, I'm getting excited.)  "Where is that guy's head?"  

2 things.

1. That is a bowler.  I thought it was a man with his head down in frustration.  And I thought he had a pointy nose facing down but that in fact is part of his chest.  Does anybody else see that?  You can imagine our pretty funny discussion on this person depicted on my wall along with the rest of the wall.

2.  I really dislike the back wall in my classroom.  

To finish up the day, I put together a poster as an example for what I'm having my students do.  

The first objective for teaching Morality is : "Understand God's desire for us to be truly happy or joy-filled on earth while calling us to eternal life with Him."  This assignment will touch on that, continue to foster friendship and conversation in our classroom, and a add to our wonderful classroom environment (aka cover up that back wall).

So, we're making posters that describe us- what makes us happy!

Here's mine:

 I am so grateful for the people and opportunities placed in my life.  I'm beyond blessed.

Please pray for me as I continue to lift all of you up in prayer.  

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."  

Day 28

First off, thank you to all 94 of you who read my last post! Wow.  I was very shocked to see the number of page views increase my the minute yesterday and way more than when I last checked today!  

Today was another great day.  Today they worked on their final assessments for our segment on Sacraments.  They have learned so much over the last 5 weeks!  For their final asssessment, they were put into groups (the first class is a group) and my second class has a group of 4 and a group of 3, and in their groups they have to create a power point presentation on what every Catholic should know about the 7 sacraments.  They had all of class today to work on those.  Now, if my classes were any bigger, we would not have been able to do this.  I let one group use my laptop and the other one is the OLD laptop.  I'll have to think of something else if my class sizes are bigger over the next few terms.  (That would be a great thing!!!)

So today we enjoyed each other's company and they worked away.  We had an early dismissal today so we only had 45/50 minutes.  It was the perfect amount of time for them to work on these.  Tomorrow they will present them to me and I will share the power point(s) from the other class(es) so they can see how they explained them.  

Sweetest thing, as my last class was leaving, one of the girls stopped me and said, "Ms. Sexton, you made me think of this yesterday when you were telling us all about happiness that comes from children in a marriage.  Can I show you this picture of my cousin's baby?  I just couldn't stop thinking about her as you were teaching us yesterday!"  My teacher heart is overflowing with excitement and love for my kids.  I want to keep them for the entire school year!  

Night Class #3

Here is the information we sent to our parent volunteers (they are the volunteers/small group leaders) about what will be taking place tonight.  

HS Wednesday night RE on SEP 25, 2013

7:00	What I have in Common activity
7:10	Students to small group, take roll, have students introduce self, grade, family, sports, hobbies…
7:15	Opening prayer:
7:20	Two Standards part 1 – Patrick include instructions on using YouCat
7:30	Two Standards part 2 – in small group
7:45	Video – A Man Fell in a Hole – questions after led first in small group then by Erin in large group
7:50	Our Relationship with God, Jesus and Holy Spirit – in small group
8:05	Prayer Panel – catechists and Father Joe?
8:15	Announcements
8:20	Silent reflection in church

Narrative – This session is divided into three movements. We begin by talking about our choice of standards – Jesus’ or the world’s. Patrick will point out three collusions with the world’s standard we fall into today (benign secularism, seeking pleasure, and succumbing to darkness). In small group they will discuss these three collusions. We will then contrast the three theological virtues of faith, hope and love to these. We will ask groups to define these virtues, help them look up in the Youth Catechism and read what church says.

Movement two is to talk about our relationship with God. First there will be a video A Man Fell in a Hole with a few questions to answer in small group followed by a large group discussion. Then there will be several scripture passages groups must read and then discuss what it tells us about our relationship with God.

Lastly we will have a prayer panel where the panelists will share a couple ways they use prayer to deepen their relationship with God. NOTE: going in we will be asking the teens how they pray and project the list as our background for the panel.

Close with silent reflection time in church.

What I have in Common

Beginning in pairs, students have one minute to list 12 things they have in common. Next three pairs come up with 10 things in common. Continue with larger groups – 1/4^th, 1/2, then whole group and see if they can come up with three things in common.

Opening Prayer - former Chief Rabbi of Great Britain, Jonathan Sacks, to the House of Lords

"I have followed the fate of Christians in the Middle East for years, appalled at what is happening and surprised and distressed by the fact that it is not more widely known...  The tragedy of religion is that it can lead people to wage war in the name of the God of peace, to hate in the name of the God of love, to practise cruelty in the name of the God of compassion and to kill in the name of the God of life. None of these things brings honour to faith; they are a desecration of the name of God. May God protect Christians of the Middle East and people of faith who suffer for their faith, whoever and wherever they are."

Two Standards questions

1.     What are the 3 collusions with the world standard [benign secularism, seeking pleasure, succumbing to darkness]

2.     Which is most prevalent among teens? In families? In Delaware County? Why?

3.     Which seems most hidden from your view, why? (that is hard to see it happening)

4.     Why is it so easy to imitate the world?

5.     How does Jesus’ standard differ?

6.     Who is central to each standard and how does this make a difference in viewpoint?

7.     What is faith? [YouCat #307] How does it counteract benign secularism?

8.     What is hope? [YouCat #308] How does it counteract seeking pleasure?

9.     What is love? [YouCat #309] How does it counteract succumbing to darkness?

A Man Fell in a Hole questions:

1.     Have you ever found yourself stuck in a situation that you couldn’t get out of?  And not only that, but you didn’t know how to get out of? 

2.     When you need help, where do you turn?  How do you get out?

3.     What is the hole a metaphor for? [possible answer – our fallen nature and need for Salvation]

4.     What is this video getting at? [possible answer – We need truth-which is a person, JESUS]

Our Relationship with God, Jesus and Holy Spirit

Have someone from group read the assigned passage one at a time then answer the question “What does (passage) say about our relationship with God/Jesus/Holy Spirit?” Allow teens to answer and if necessary input possible answer provided. Do all three assigned passages and then begin on others if time allows.

Verses for groups 9.1 and 9.2

Verse/Question	Possible answer
What does 1 John 3:1 say about our relationship with God?	God is our Father.  He is referred to as “Abba” which is like saying “Daddy.  His love and pride for us is like that of our parents.
What does Mark 2:5-7 say about our relationship with Jesus?	Jesus is divine, aka God, the Son of God, which makes us reliant on Him.  He wants to love us and forgive our sins.
What does Romans 8:26 say about our relationship with the Holy Spirit?	The Holy Spirit is always with us.  The Holy Spirit is our teacher, teaches us how to pray.

 Verses for groups 10.1, 10.2 and 10.3

Verse/Question	Possible answer
What does Jeremiah 29:11 say about our relationship with God?	God has our best interest in mind.  He wants us to follow Him so that we might know His plan for each of us.
What does John 10:11 say about our relationship with Jesus?	Jesus is our shepherd.  He cares for YOU, on an individual basis.  He knows when we wander away and always sets out to welcome us back.
What does Acts 2:4 say about our relationship with the Holy Spirit?	The Holy Spirit enables us to live the Gospel-words and actions.

  Verses for groups 11.1, 11.2, 11.3 and 11.4

Verse/Question	Possible answer
What does Genesis 2:7 say about our relationship with God?	God is our creator/father.  He knows us inside and out and continues to breathe life into us.
What does Ephesians 5:1-2 say about our relationship with Jesus?	Jesus loves us, even to the point of such a gruesome death!  Not only does He love us, he likes us!
What does Luke 12:12 say about our relationship with the Holy Spirit?	The Holy Spirit always comes to our aid!  Helps us in all situations.

I would say that most catechists are doing their best to help their students establish or deepen their personal relationships with Jesus.  How else can you bring students closer to Jesus than by literally bringing them closer to Jesus?  The church is connected to the parish center where we hold class, so for now on, I decided that to end each session, we will all go over to the church for silent prayer/reflection and let Jesus finish off the night.  That's why they're coming- to get to know themselves and Jesus more (whether they know that or not.)  

Tonight's going to be a good night!

Day 27

So today I got to talk about the sanctity of the sacrament of marriage.

Before class even started, two of the ladies were scheming, and finally one of them spoke up and said, "Ms. Sexton, we found someone for you to date!  He's super Catholic and we're friends with his younger sister.  You two would be perfect for each other!  Would you like to see a picture of him?"

I'll let you imagine the rest.

Let's just say I love my students. And the guy was cute ;)

ANYWAY, it was appropriate because we talked all about the sacrament of marriage and I got two of the girls to get glassy eyes.  One said, "Ms. Sexton, you're going to have to stop.  You are making this sound SO beautiful.  I could cry!"  RIGHT?!?  Shoot, I was ready to start saying my wedding vows!

Being a woman and all, I'm pretty into the idea of love and being loved in return.  Well, I guess that's more of a human thing.  Thankfully I experience it in a number of relationships-Jesus, my parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, my sister, friends, my rabbit, puppies.  However, I will not be marrying any of them.  Definitely none of my lady friends.  Ya heardddd.

My second class in more inquisitive, so they were not afraid to ask me any questions.  Even about SEX!  *gasp!*  So it got real.  Real quick.

I guess I started it.  I asked them what it means where the catechism expresses that a marriage must be consummated.  Yup.

So that's why sex is reserved for marriage!  "You and me baby!"  Not for every guy that wants to take the risk.  Sex is a beautiful gift-I mean, God created it!  The Church says it's a beautiful thing too! It becomes tainted, really dirty and icky in a number of situations-pornography, hooking up, drunk sex, casual sex, etc.   "Wait, so that's why the Church says no to sex before marriage?"  This explanation really hit home for some reason, and I'm so glad!

Someone asked what makes the sacrament of marriage different than a marriage in a courthouse.  Among the reasons that I mentioned, these were the ones that really got them drooling.  In a good way. (Not literally).

Jesus laid down his life for us.  He loved us even until death, death on a cross.
We receive Jesus and He is the sacrifice of the mass right before our very eyes on the altar.
A couple says their wedding vows on the altar.
They are making a promise before the living Christ, the community, and to one another, to sacrifice their lives for one another.  Even when that person is really annoying.  Or smelly.  Or frustrating.  Or when they start to look less attractive.  Their love is self-less, not self-less, just like Christ's love for each and every one of us.  They are ready to go all the way with their love, to love, serve, and honor one another until the death of one of them.

Pretty loaded promise!

I clarified their questions about contraception in a marriage, what makes marriage a sacrament, why they should wait to have sex, why they should wait to marry someone who will lead them closer to Jesus and be a better person-along with their families.  This person will be becoming a member of your family-they should not be drawing you are from them!

I once again reminded them, you are or will be dating somebody's husband or wife.  You are somebody's husband or wife (unless you're being called to the religious life or priesthood!). But majority of us will be called to marriage.

Go against the culture.  Do not live with your boyfriend or girlfriend before marriage.  Do not sleep with your boyfriend or girlfriend before marriage.  By doing that, you are actually loving yourself and the person you're in a relationship with more!

Anyway, I'm going to finish this post up...heading to a Bible Study at my parish...Jeff Cavins study...Couldn't be more exited!  I've been needing something like this.  I'm missing the Bible Studies I've been a part of over the last 4 years at Loras.  

Day 26

"Miss Sexton, are you dating anyone? "
Not right now.
"Darn it!  I'm surprised!"
Anyone have any older brothers? ;)

"Who's dating in this room?"  3/7 in my afternoon class are.  
"Remember, you are dating someone's future spouse!  Love and respect them!"

Dating advice from student:
"Only give your heart to someone who will bring out the best in you and make you a better person."

"You guys, it's already the start of week 6!!!"
"Wait, how much time do we still have with you?"
"3 full weeks! :)"
"Thank goodness!  It's going too fast!"

"Miss Sexton, we should have a day called FUN DAY."
"How should I defend that one to my boss?  Cake, sacraments...?"
"Sure!  Bring your friends that you have mentioned.  They can be 'guest speakers!'"

"I saw Miss Sexton waiting in line at the movie theater this weekend.  How was that movie?"
"Hilarious and something I would not tell you to see as your Religion Teacher." 
"I'm going to see it tonight."
"We'll talk about it in one of our Morality classes."  

"Would you be willing to come to a meeting with 6 of us retired priests to tell us about how to effectively teach the youth about our faith?"
"I would love to!  When?"
"When are you done teaching today?"

"Miss Sexton, I was going through one of those prayer books of yours, and that one has some pretty awkward prayers in it.  The first time I ever picked it up I turned to a prayer about Sexual Problems and then Bulimia."
"Hey, you never know what people need to pray for!"
"My life is a mess though.  I shouldn't judge."
"Join the club.  Let's pray!"

"I love you guys."

Just another day at St. Paul's. 
Best 160 minutes of my week days is in class with my students.
Class topic today: Sacrament of Marriage
To be continued...

Day 25

Class on Friday was lovely!

I had the pastor, Fr. Joe talk about the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  With that, he talked about the purpose, history, and the person of Jesus.  It was good opportunity for the teens to have a more personal encounter with their pastor.
  
Sorry for such a short post.  I'm tired after a great weekend!  

Please know of my prayers for all of you.  Please continue to pray for my students and I!

Day 24

People, I can't help myself.  I love the priesthood!  I got so excited talking about it today and why we as a Church are so blessed to have me answer God's call to the priesthood.  It was great talking about the vocation to the priesthood.  I had them watch "Fishers of Men."  We had a great discussion about it.  If you haven't seen it, please watch it.  

Tomorrow, Fr. Joe, the pastor, is coming in to both of my classes to talk about the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  I'm hoping he will talk about the sacrament of Holy Orders as well since we only learned a little bit about that today.

Super tired after a full day.  

Just want to let everybody know- God always provides.  ALWAYS.  I love Him!

Have a restful night..

Day 23

"So what did you learn after reading this article together?"

-"When the priest says the words of absolution and puts his hand on our foreheads, it's as though the blood of Jesus is dripping on us washing away our sins."

-"The priest also does penance for every person he encounters at confession.  That's so cool!" 

-"I need to go more often."

-"We're being the best version of ourselves when we go to confession-it's a victory, not a failure."

My Side of the Confessional: What Is It Like for a Priest? by Fr. Mike Schmitz

Read it people!!!

For those of you that don't know of Fr. Mike Schmitz, he's super young, very attractive-yea, I said it, and I caught some of the ladies in my class whispering about how charming his smile is.  Haha, but really, it is.  It's ok, you can look.  (He is pictured at the very end of the article with a brief description of him.  Now I know you're going to look!) 

We talked about the love priests have for us and how much they want to help us get to heaven, and to have that relationship with Christ right here and right now!  There's no need to wait!  Besides, why would we want to spend eternity with someone we hardly even know?  I tend to mention those points to my students frequently.  I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it!

We then read through a great examination of conscience and took some time to reflect.  I encouraged them to pick one thing:  whether that be an attitude or behavior that they need to change and to ask Jesus to forgive them and to give them the strength to say no to that sin in the future which is actually saying a greater YES.  Yes to love.  Yes to truth.  Yes to Jesus.

I then reiterated that our life as Christians is not just an ideology or a set of rules.   It's a lifestyle, and this is what God asks of us:

Thou shalt…

• Be single-hearted toward me
• Be reverent in speech and conduct
• Keep priorities
• Be respectful and obedient
• Defend life, womb to tomb
• Be faithful to vocation, future spouse
• Be trustworthy
• Be honest in word and deed
• Have only pure admiration
• Be grateful for what you possess

We had an early dismissal today and we also have one tomorrow because of parent-teacher conferences.  I wonder if I could schedule something like that but on a week night or even a Saturday!  I would love to meet their parents.  I'm going to talk to my boss about possibly having an open house/conference night.  

In less than an hour I will be teaching not 4 students, not 7 students, but 64 students!!!  It's Wednesday night and we're having Class #2!  Topics for tonight:  "Who is God?" and "Who am I?".  Pray for all of us!

I will post all about that later (possibly tonight but maybe tomorrow).  

Have a lovely evening!

Day 22

According to my boss it's Toilet Tuesday aka her "cleaning day".  So, Happy Toilet Tuesday?  

One of my students decided to pray today and she picked the prayer "Veni, Sancte Spiritus" which means, "Come, Holy Spirit!" because she recognized the title. It was beautiful.  And then she started singing it!  In Latin!  She then realized she sang it in the all-state choir last year!  I was amazed by her voice!  We then listened to her and hundreds of other high school students sing this song in unison.  You can watch it directly here!  She said she was all the way up on the top row.  So cool that she knew the prayer without even realizing it until she saw it in one of my prayer books.  

Today we wrapped up our lesson on the Anointing of the Sick by writing little notes to the people listed in the parish bulletin of people to "pray for."  I reminded them that healing comes through those who show Christ's love.  Check out how sweet the notes turned out:

I think these will bring a smile to the 20 people they wrote to!

We then moved to the Couch Room.  2 days in a row!  I'm telling you, they love me.  

Anyway, might as well get them comfortable in one way as we talk about how we're sinners and need God's love and mercy in the sacrament of Reconciliation!  Ammarite?!

We started off by reading the Prodigal Son.  I've prayed a lot with this story in the Bible and through discussions in Bible Study, my Grandma Buddy, and reading Grandma's copy of Henri Nouwen's "The Return of the Prodigal Son," I discovered the depth of this story and what Jesus was trying to get at:

-The younger son, "the prodigal" not only sinned by running off with his Dad's money and living a life of debauchery, but another sin was SELFISHNESS.  He needed to reform his actions and heart!  

-By asking his father for his inheritance was like him saying- "Dad, you are dead to me.  Give me my portion of the inheritance and see ya."  HARSH! If only the scriptures were scripted like that!  My students love when I create my own captions based on what is written already in Scripture.  It helps them understand and/or laugh.  Both usually because I'm such a dork.  But when I said that caption, you should have seen how big some of their eyes got. They never realized the gravity of the prodigal son's sin!

-The father is like God the father.  Endless is his love and mercy!  As long as our hearts are sincere!

-The older son is no better!  Sure he was obedient, but he expected a reward, and did not have love and joy for his brother's return and change of heart.  He too needed a change of heart.  They were both sinners in their own way, yet the prodigal son/little brother asked for forgiveness and got it!

Then we talked all about the sacrament, answered some of their questions, and before we knew it, it was time for them to go back over to the other school.  It was like that for both classes.  My earlier class only had 2 students again-so that just goes to show that the Scriptures gets people to talk!  It helps them reflect on their own lives and they become more talkative and/or reflective.  That has been my experience and my observation at least. 

Anyway, you're probably suspicious or at least curious as to why everything is going so well.  3 words: The Holy Spirit.  Not only that, but I come prepared, and then I realize that I'm not here to teach a curriculum (well kinda, yea), but I'm here to teach students, living/breathing young men and women.  It doesn't feel like a job or a daunting task.  It's a wonderful environment where we are able to not only learn more about God, but we are able to encounter him through our prayer and by conversing with one another.  I get to know them and know God through them.  They really are that great!

Anyway, I'll wrap this up.  I need to get myself fed and ready for the volleyball game.  Excited to see my students again! Go Hawks!

Day 21

Happy Monday everyone!

It was so nice to wake up to a chilly morning.  It wasn't even 50 degrees when I walked over to mass this morning.  I love fall mornings!  On my bike ride over to school, I realized how extremely blessed I am to have a job and to be able to provide for myself.  I know far too often I look over the blessings that God has given to me.

About this time last year, I would have never been able to get on a bike a pedal over to work.  I had one of my worst flare-ups from my arthritis.  It literally stopped me in my tracks and made me realize the miracle of even being able to get out of bed without wincing.  Most of you know that I was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis when I was a senior in high school, and what a journey that has been!  Anyway, while that was probably one of the most painful weeks of my life, I learned much about myself and God's love.

1. I like to be in control.  I even see it in my first paragraph- blessed that I am "...able to provide for myself."  I don't like when people see me in pain, upset, confused, and helpless.  I usually don't put myself in those kinds of predicaments, but I have found myself feeling that way at times over the last 5 years due to this condition.  This time last year my treatment stopped working and my entire body basically freaked out on me.  I felt like I was trapped in a frail, 90 year old woman's body.  Let me tell you, it's pretty freaky among a number of other things as a then 21 year old.  But during that time, I was unable to even get myself to class for a few days.  It took minutes to walk over to the bathroom in my apartment which would usually take me seconds.

Sure, it's unfair for any human to suffer.  I agree.  100%.  But that doesn't take suffering away.  In fact, our suffering and hardships can bring us closer to Jesus.

2. He wants us to realize that we are His dependents.  We are HIS!  Our relationship with Him can become some intimate in times of struggle.  We realize that He is the air we breathe.  The song we sing.  The people we love and encounter daily.  He is Everything.  He is more necessary than any treatment or medication.  Jesus doesn't want us to experience this pain of suffering, but He allows it, and it can teach us so much.  It has for me anyway.

“Pain and suffering have come into your life, but remember pain, sorrow, suffering are but the kiss of Jesus - a sign that you have come so close to Him that He can kiss you.” -Mother Teresa

3. Jesus wants to heal us.  He can.  He does.  I would never refuse physical healing, but that hasn't quite happened.  Nobody would look at me and know of my condition, not because I'm good at hiding things, because trust me, when I'm in pain, people know, at least the people who know me best.  As I was teaching about the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, I mentioned how physical and spiritual healing can take place, and while we cannot exclude the possibility of physical healing, it's pretty rare.  Jesus is after our soul which goes beyond our body anyway!  He can love us and heal us through other people too.  While I went through this flare up, a lot of people were praying for me, and I can understand, it can be awkward for people to see someone in pain.  I've experienced it as a witness of people suffering but also being on the other end.  You can see it in a person's face.  No matter what they say, they can't help you, and they feel awkward, and quickly abandon the situation.  It's hard stuff!  However, I believe our words get in the way sometimes.  

A very close friend of mine knew how horrible I was feeling and she insisted that she would come over just to sit with me.  I thought she was crazy, since I looked like a hot mess with my heating pad, ice packs, "pain relievers," and tissues from all the crying I had done out of the physical pain.  I told her there was nothing she could do, and she, being the wonderful friend I was, saw past my excuses and knew that I really needed her.  And all she did was sit with me.  We barely carried a conversation and she just sat at my bedside.  It was a beautiful experience because for the first time, I realized that that's the gospel message.  Love without limits.  Drop everything and love.  Oh, and allow people to allow you.  Allow yourself to be dependent.  That's Christ's love.  And that's what I experienced.

I shared parts of this story with my students to try to get them to understand how isolating and hard it can be to suffer but how Christ's healing love trumps physical healing.  Although I'm all for it!  But without my suffering, I wouldn't recognize my endless need for Jesus.  I am so thankful for the blessings I have received in my times of suffering.  It has taught me so much about love and friendship along with how necessary our relationship with Christ is!

So today, too, was a great day.  I was able to wake up, get out of bed without struggling, walked to mass, finished getting ready for work, rode my bike, taught like a boss, and went on a nice walk around my neighborhood.

See the beauty in every day, and don't forget to say "Thank you."