Catechetical Sessions On Christian Morality

Catechetical Sessions on Christian Morality is a rich course that gives young people a solid grounding in the foundations of Christian morality, to add to what they have already received in their faith community and in their family. The manual presents young people with the fundamental concerns of the moral life in a Catholic Christian context. Above all, the course is an invitation to young people to build God's Reign by loving themselves and others as God loves them. In other words, it is an invitation to become holy, healthy, and happy. In doing so, they will bring God and the world together!

By teaching young people to pray, you can open for them a way to communicate on a deeply personal level with God, who is the source of all holiness. By inviting them to explore different forms of personal prayer, you will encourage them to expand their image of God and their expectations of prayer. By challenging them to look at communal prayer, you will remind them that their role in building God's Reign and as a part of the Body of Christ is important, unique, and valued. This manual can help you give young people the tools to pray all ways, and always, and enable them to build their relationship with God on a solid foundation.

The Total Faith(tm) Initiative Coordinator's Manual draws on the experience of many parish communities to give leaders what they need to plan and implement dynamic and effective youth ministry, including intentional catechesis. The manual includes two chapters describing a vision for youth ministry and adolescent catechesis four chapters providing planning tools for using the many resources within the Total Faith(tm) Initiative four more chapters suggesting numerous ways for parishes to connect with youth and their families a final chapter providing practical guidance in finding and supporting youth ministry leaders The accompanying coordinator's CD includes additional tools for using the Total Faith(tm) resources. You will find a searchable index of all activities and strategies, additional handouts, and PowerPoint presentations for training leaders, a printable list of short descriptions for every session, and more. It has never been easier to create dynamic and customized ministries for your parish.

Catechetical Sessions on Liturgy and the Sacraments begins by familiarizing participants with the nature of liturgy and the liturgical year. An introduction to the properties of signs, symbols, and rituals sets the groundwork for studying individual sacraments. Four sessions address the sacraments of initiation, two sessions cover the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick, and the final session covers the sacraments at the service of Communion. The sessions share some of the history of the sacraments, their meaning, the significance of symbols, and the nature of the rites. The participants are invited to actively study the sacraments, to make connections between the sacraments and their own lives, to reflect prayerfully on the meaning of the sacraments, and to take some sacrament-related actions.

The focus of Catechetical Session on the Creed is on understanding the treasure, the gifts, and the sacrament that is Church. The young people are supported as they grow in their faith and in their knowledge about the basic truths that Catholics profess. They will be encouraged to make the mission of the Church their own and challenged to set their heart on all that is good, holy, and true about being a young Catholic in the world today.

This college edition of Our Moral Life in Christ by Rev. Peter Armenio focuses on the Person and teachings of Christ and examines the moral life from that perspective. Christian morality is not only for "knowing," but also for "living." This is a practical manner in which the spirit of Christ is made manifest in the world, thus contributing to the improvement of society. Based on the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes, Our Moral Life in Christ presents the teachings of the Magisterium on moral issues in modern society. Inspired by recent papal documents, especially the encyclical The Splendor of Truth, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, this book provides the moral formation that will help the reader to become more Christlike in service of love and in the journey toward personal perfection as well as providing the foundation to pursue advanced theological studies.

This teaching activities manual works with both the first and second edition of The Catholic Faith Handbook for Youth. The Teaching Activities Manual for "The Catholic Faith Handbook for Youth" is designed not as a curriculum but as a collection of activities to help teachers make their current curriculum more meaningful and effective. Each chapter coincides with a chapter in The Catholic Faith Handbook for Youth and includes several activities that address the chapter's themes. Themes include: The Creed, Liturgy and Sacraments, Christian Morality, Christian Prayer. Two appendices help teachers use the The Catholic Faith Handbook for Youth with their class. "Additional Resources" lists books, movies, and songs to use in class. "Prayer Experiences" is a collection of ten prayer services on themes present in the The Catholic Faith Handbook for Youth. The prayer services require minimal supplies and are designed to take 10 to 20 minutes.

The encyclical Veritatis splendor (The Splendor of Truth) represents the first document of the magisterium devoted to the foundations of the Catholic moral life. Though it was intended to confront a genuine crisis of moral disintegration and to offer positive directions for carrying out the work of renewing moral theology, it was fiercely criticized by theologians who regarded it as a simplistic and "repressive" document. Now, several years after the publication of the encyclical, Livio Melina offers an original contribution not only to the study of Veritatis splendor and the controversy surrounding it, but also to the field of moral theology as a whole. In Sharing in Christ's Virtues, Melina proposes a blueprint for organizing moral theology, one that is in harmony with the directions given in Veritatis splendor and one that likewise respects the requirements of both the "theological" and the "scientific" character of the discipline. He describes it as a "Christocentricism of the virtues," which understands the moral life of Christians as a participation in the virtues of Christ by means of the grace of one's ecclesial incorporation in Christ. Melina argues that the renewal of moral theology should result in, first, a search for a more integral and dynamic understanding of human action, and second, a theological "re-dimensioning" of morality to better comprehend the synergy between human action and God's action. The contents of the book are: Part One: Toward a Christocentrism of the Virtues: Lines of Renewal 1. Between Crisis and Renewal: The Cultural and Theological Context of Morality Today 2. An Ethics of the Good Life and of Virtue 3. An Ethics Founded on the Truth About the Good of the Person 4. A Morality of Faith: The Salvific Relevance of Moral Action 5. A Christocentric Ethics of the Virtues Part Two: Ecclesial Sense and Moral Life: Perspectives and Developments 6. Ecclesial Dimensions of Moral Theology 7. The Call to Holiness in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: The Morality and Spirituality of "Life in Christ" 8. Moral Conscience and Communio: Toward a Response to the Challenge of Ethical Pluralism Livio Melina is professor of moral theology at the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family at the Lateran University in Rome. In addition to numerous articles, he has written and coauthored several books, including La conoscenza morale. Linee di riflessione sul Commento di san Tommaso all'Etica Nicomachea; Morale: tra crisi e rinnovamento; Corso di bioetica. Il Vangelo della vita; Amor conjugal y vocacion a la santidad; Domanda sul bene e domanda su Dio; and Quale dimora per l'agire? Dimensioni ecclesiologiche della morale. "Melina's thought-provoking and powerful presentation of key themes in moral theology will be welcomed by English readers.... One comes away with an understanding and appreciation of the basis of Christian morality for the twenty-first century. The excellent bibliography lists authors from Aristotle to John Paul II, many not well known in the English literature on moral theology. . . . Melina's work is timely. ..."--Catholic Library World