Amazing Catechists

Teaching and learning the faith together

We are Music to Heaven’s Ears

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There is nothing like a beautiful Gregorian Chant or a lovely Hymn to carry us into a deeper connection  to God Almighty.  Beyond serving as a soothing environment for meditation, music can itself become a vehicle for prayer.  Benedict XVI, a pianist in his own right, often spoke of music’s power to raise us to God and become a prayer in itself.  Anyone listening to a great orchestral concert can only marvel at the inspiring melding of varied sounds into a single unified, yet varied, message.  It is at this image of an orchestra that we begin our discussion here.

What is an orchestra, if not a synchronized alliance of distinct tones combining to embrace and elicit a desired message to its audience?  Each instrument contributes its own, unique beauty which adds to the flavor and depth of the music while maintaining its own identity.   This wonderful  interaction of unity and uniqueness mirrors our role in serving God Almighty in the concert hall of life.

Just as each instrument has its special voice, so too, each of us has been given special gifts from above, which we are to use to bring greater glory to God and serve others.  That service, of course, includes helping them in their needs as well as helping in the salvation of as many others as possible.

When an instrument is played well, it often melts into the melody of the entire orchestra.  However, when not played well, that same instrument can call attention to itself, and detract from the efforts of the other instruments.  Well-played instruments do not call attention to themselves, or seek the spotlight for their own gain. Rather, they excel when the spotlight is placed on them, as in a planned solo.  There is a humble beauty in anonymous talent placed in the service of the music rather than in the service of its own glory.

Different musical arrangements call for different combinations of instruments, each ready when called upon as needed.  This and other reasons highlight the need for diverse talent eager to build something much greater than any single contributor.

Are we not like the players in such an orchestra?  Do not we each possess unique talents which allow us to be instruments for God and others if we so choose?  Is it not true that our talents, when used for such noble purposes, rise to become true instruments of love, service, prayer and, yes, even salvation?  It follows that we are each called to humbly offer our gifts in the service of God, developing and playing these talents well enough  that we do not call attention to ourselves.

Given all of the above, consider what talents you possess, and see these gifts as opportunities to give God a beautiful return on His investment in you.  Seek to develop these gifts in humble service of the salvation of souls and you will be a vital musician in the most beautiful orchestra possible.

Giving praise to God Almighty, honoring the Queen of Heaven, saving souls, and loving others are just some of the wonderful arrangements which we are called to perform.  Follow the call of St. Francis of Assisi to be an instrument for God, and all that you do will be music to Heaven’s ears.

2016   Gabriel Garnica

Reparation Power: Good Comes From the Threat of a Satanic Mass

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On August 15th of this year, on the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into heaven, the Oklahoma City Civic Center is hosting its second public black mass, in spite of the outrage it caused the first time, in 2014.

In addition to profaning a consecrated Host in the most vile way possible, the registered sex offender who will officiate the ritual will also desecrate a statue of Our Lady, on her feast day.

Still, “be not afraid.” The Church provides a super-powered way to respond to these dark acts. I’ll explain about prayers of reparation, in a few paragraphs. First, a little context.

TFP.org is circulating an online petition to be sent to the Mayor of Oklahoma City, as well as the Governor of Oklahoma, demanding that this hateful, anti-Catholic ritual be stopped. This is no mere matter of free exercise of religion, and here’s why.

Attacking Jesus Christ, the Blessed Mother, and the Catholic Church are the purpose of the sexualized desecrations that constitute a black mass, yet the group now seeks acceptance as a mainstream “religion.” They essentially have nothing of their own–unless you count perversion and hate.

Holy_Virgin_Gospa_from_Tihajlin_next_to_Međugorje

Wikipedia Commons/public domain

Lord, have mercy on us and on all who participate in, support, or accept this sacrilege. +

After signing TFP’s petition and sharing it around, it occurred to me that just getting angry wasn’t going to cut it; I thought, in addition to speaking out (which we should all do), I should make reparation for the offenses against Our Lord and Our Lady. I’d never really thought much about it, before, but suddenly it really mattered.

So, what is reparation? To make reparation means to make amends for harm that is done to another. Reparations in society are usually made in terms of assigned labor (community service) or the monetary payment of damages, as in civil suits.

In Catholic tradition, reparation means to make acts of prayerful, sacrificial love in order to accomplish several objectives:

  • Give honor to the person wrongly offended
  • Make amends for our own wrongs or in place of those who committed the offense
  • Save souls–including and perhaps especially those who desecrate what is holy

This is powerful stuff, and I trust that the prayers and sacrifices inspired by Oklahoma City’s latest affront will far outweigh the evil acts being proposed.

Here are some simple ways to join in:

  • Attending the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and receiving Jesus in the Eucharist with tender reverence. Nothing is more powerful.
  • Confessing our sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation with sincere penitence and cultivating the virtues we lack. This is an offering very pleasing to God.
  • Praying the names of Jesus and Mary with affection, reverence, and love is a very simple way to make amends for the ways their holy names–and the Blessed Sacrament–are offended, daily–and it can be incredibly moving. When I started praying with more intentional love and affection, and cultivating more gratitude in prayer, my soul caught fire in a new way.
  • The Sacred Heart Novena, popularized by St. Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio), can be prayed daily. (For more on the Sacred Heart, this is a good article from Word on Fire Ministries.)
  • Fasting, offering up ordinary tasks, any sacrifices done cheerfully
  • Cultivating beauty in your life and sharing it with others through hospitality and friendship
  • Our Lady of Fatima requested the First Saturday devotions in order to make reparations for the five offenses against her Immaculate Heart. (To learn lots more about that, Father Andrew Apostoli has a new book called “Fatima For Today” and a superb, hour-long talk, which you can watch for FREE on YouTube, here.)

The five offenses against Mary’s Immaculate Heart are as follows:

  1. blasphemies against her Immaculate Conception
  2. blasphemies against her perpetual virginity
  3. blasphemies against the divine and spiritual maternity of Mary
  4. blasphemies involving the rejection and dishonoring of her images, and
  5. the neglect of implanting in the hearts of children a knowledge and love of this Immaculate Mother.

With the intention of making reparations on the first five Saturdays (of five consecutive months), Our Lady asked us to do the following:

  • go to confession (within a month before or after the first Saturday–it used to be 8 days, but not everyone has access to confession on a regular basis, so the Church allows a longer grace period, now)
  • receive Holy Communion in a state of grace (which means that if you have committed a serious sin, you need to get to confession BEFORE receiving Holy Communion)
  • pray the Rosary (preferably in presence of the Blessed Sacrament, but it can be anywhere)
  • meditate for an additional 15 minutes on one or more mysteries of the Rosary (ditto, great to do in church)

Our Lady also told the seers of Fatima–Lucia, Jacinta, and Francisco–that she was grieving because souls were “falling like snowflakes into hell.”

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Wikipedia Commons/public domain

She asked them to pray the Rosary every day.

Through angelic, divine, and Marian apparitions, the following prayers were also given to the shepherd children at Fatima, and they are available to help us all make loving reparation and save souls.

Prayers of Reparation from Fatima

My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love Thee! I ask pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love Thee.

Most Holy Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit- I adore Thee profoundly. I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges, and indifferences whereby He is offended. And through the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of Thee the conversion of poor sinners.

Oh my Jesus, I offer this for love of Thee, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Oh My Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who have most need of Thy mercy.

In discovering the simplicity and beauty of reparation, I feel my heart is being expanded to hold more love–not my own paltry love, but the gracious love of God that is poured into any willing heart as pure gift. One thing leads to another, and now I’ve got plans to start the Five First Saturday devotion on August 6th. I’m really excited about it.

So you see? Much good can come out of very bad situations.

Be hopeful, my friends! To hope is to praise the goodness of our God.

And praising our merciful Lord makes amends in countless beautiful ways.

Enjoy this beautiful hymn, “It Is Well,” sung by Audrey Assad:

 

Music Can Help Teach the Faith

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The Jacob's Well ExperienceMusic is a medium that can help to mold a mind and soul. We see how music affects our culture, drives fashion and other fads, and influences our thoughts and speech. You are tapping into this powerful medium while you are passing on the faith right? If you are great, I’m going to help strengthen your use of music and broaden your view of the great music that is at our disposal. If you aren’t using music to help teach the faith there is no better time to start than now.

I have found in a lot of classrooms, formation offices, and youth group functions there is either music missing, or good music missing. As a teenager the CD that was always played at youth group functions was “Steve Miller Band’s Greatest Hits.” Granted, I am now a Steve Miller Band fan but I don’t think listening to him in the background helped to strengthen my faith or understanding of Catholic teaching. Sometimes I notice some of today’s top Christian artists playing like Third Day, Relient K, Michael W. Smith, etc. All of these artists are fine and great. They bring a good solid Christian message in their music and they can certainly have their place, but we are missing a large market of great music made by Catholic musicians that bring strong catechesis and great passion. Other times I hear chant and other styles of sacred music playing. Don’t get me wrong, this has its place and is important. All Catholics should be introduced to chant and other kinds of sacred music. I want you to think of this though. What kind of music are your students listening to when they are with their friends, at home, at school, in the car? What would you think if I told you there were Catholic artists that your students would want to listen to at these places? This may surprise you, but there are many great Catholic artists making great music that rival the popular artists of today. Unfortunately the market and venues for this great Catholic music is very small so your chance of stumbling upon it is slim. Great news, I have done the hard work for you.

Over the last couple of years I have been working on finding some great Catholic musicians that produce high quality music with great foundations in the Catholic faith. There is no reason we shouldn’t be using this music to help strengthen our teaching. Here are some of the fruits of my labor. Browse through these artists and enjoy their music. After the list I will have some ways you can use this music in your classroom, home, lessons, etc.

First, the artists you may have already heard of:

  •  Matt Maher – He has played music at World Youth Day, has toured with Jars of Clay and Mercy Me, and has his music played on top Christian radio stations around the country.
  • Audrey Assad – A friend of Matt Maher, she was on a top Christian label but is now an independent artists. She has a wonderful voice and a great songwriting style.
  • Jackie Francois – A speaker/musician that speaks a lot on chastity, purity, modesty, and relationships.
  • Bob Rice – Bob is a professor at Franciscan University of Steubenville as well a musician/speaker. He plays accordion and is often leading praise and worship at the Steubenville youth conference in Ohio.
  • Chris Padgett – Chris is also a professor at Franciscan University of Steubenville. He is a very funny and faith filled musician/speaker.

Here are some artists that are often at nation Catholic youth functions:

  • Popple – An acoustic humor rock duo. They have a strong faith and can relate to a younger audience. They use humor in their music to help bring Christ’s message.
  • Michael James Mette – A father that tours a lot to help raise his family. He has a pretty rocking sound to his music.
  • Josh Blakesley – An artist from OCP (They have many great artists) with a great voice and a strong story.
  • Jacob and Matthew Band – A duo that travels with their band. They recently played in Rio for World Youth Day.
  • Lee Roessler – A strong Catholic rock sound with some great lyrics.

Lastly here are some artist that you probably have never heard of or seen:

  • The Thirsting – A rocking group from California that plays edgier music with well thought out Catholic lyrics.
  • Clap For Poland – A group with a very unique sound.
  • Joia Farmer – A mother and wife who works with her husband as a youth minister. She has a very soulful voice.
  • Fr. Rob Galea – A Catholic priest in Australia that makes some great, relevant music.
  • Righteous B – Bob Lesnefsky is a Catholic hip hop artists with a great inner city ministry in Steubenville, OH.
  • Chris Bray – He’s from Canada, but he spend quite a bit of time in the US lugging his guitar around and leading worship. He is a husband and father as well.

Here are some more resources where you can find and listen to more Catholic music:

Now that you found some great Catholic music, how do you use it? Here are some ideas.

  1. Simply have it playing in the background.
  2. Find a song that works with whatever you are teaching. You will easily be able to find a song about God’s will, love, Mary, ordination, and other great themes with these artists.
  3. Find out what music your students listen to and do this, “Oh you like _____, have a listen to this.” Some of these artists have bulk discounts so you can even give away CDs when your students like them.
  4. When I taught middle school faith formation I would start with the gospel for that day and find a song that would go with it. We the then spend a short amount of time reading, listening, and discussing.

There are just a few small ideas to use. Music is too powerful a tool not to use. If you have other ways that you use music to teach the faith let me know in the comments.

Gifts for Catechists: 4 CD’s to Use in Your Class

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Gift season’s upon us, and while I’ve never looked askance at that holiday favorite for catechists, the Gift of Chocolate, I’d like to share four of my favorite CD’s for use in teaching the faith.  Here’s a link to the local Catholic Store Finder, where you can support your nearest Catholic bookstore when placing your order.  Gift certificates and parish credits are always the right size!

This summer I received a gift copy of Marian Hymns of Ephesus from the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles. Took me forever to break it open, but wow!  Stunning!  It is now my #1 CD to Bring Along on a Business Trip — exactly what you need to get your head on straight in between meetings.

What’s in it for catechists?  Gorgeous recordings of classic Catholic hymns and chants.  Most of them are better to listen to than sing-along, though a few are suitable for sing-along as well.  I e-mailed the sisters, and received assurance that catechists are welcome to enlarge and distribute copies of the lyrics for classroom use.  Here’s my article on meditative prayer in the classroom, to give you some ideas on how you might use a CD like this one as part of a class for elementary-age students.

Taking a look at the sister’s website, it appears that Marian Hymns is on back-order at this writing.  The Benedictine sisters do have a brand spanking new Advent at Ephesus CD just out, and it promises to answer the question of “How do I make my Advent classes more about Advent and not just The Three Weeks of Christmas?

 

 

For an accessible, easy-to-sing-along introduction to chant, I absolutely love John Michael Talbot’s Chant from the Hermitage.  I’m no technical expert, but I can say that having learned the genre via this simple and user-friendly CD, when I recently dived into The Parish Book of Psalms, it was an ‘Aha!’ moment — Yes!  Anyone can learn this! Yes! Anyone can sing this! Gregorian chant really is meant to be music for the masses!

The  CD contains Latin recordings of the Sanctus and Gloria, and the Greek Kyrie, and then a dozen or so psalms chanted in English.  This is an excellent introduction to chant and the Liturgy of the Hours for students, because the recordings are very down-to-earth, so students can easily follow along.  Very quickly students will get the knack for how chant “works”, and start chanting all kinds of silly stuff.  Brilliant recording.

 

A top-notch sing-along CD for classic Catholic hymns in English and Latin is the Sacred Hymns Collection from L’Angelus.  If the Benedictines of Ephesus win the award for ephemeral beauty, L’Angelus comes along and gives you the tracks the kids can use to learn to sing the Panis Angelicus and Tantum Ergo themselves.

English-language hymns include The King of Love My Shepherd Is, Be Thou My Vision, as well as an upbeat, folksy riff on St. Patrick’s Breastplate, This Day God Gives Me.  There is a smattering of Cajun French, Spanish, and Gaelic as well. Cool factor: Pictures of the kids who make the music.

 

My final catechist-recommended CD is a homegrown prayer collection (spoken, not sung) by a personal friend of mine, John Hathaway.  Hide Me in Your Wounds is John sitting at home in front of his PC, recording about 10,000 classic Catholic prayers, including quite a few you’ve probably never heard before.  The recording volume jumps from track to track, but within each track the sound is fine.  I recommend this CD because in using it in class, I have found the kids respond very well to it.

Why do I like it?  Three reasons:  1. It’s a pleasure for all of us to be able to listen to someone else’s voice for a change.  2. Lex orandi lex credendi – after learning about the clergy, the prayer for priests is a breath of fresh air, knocking out the pedestal and praying for our holy ministers, human faults and all.  3. I particularly like using the obscure and very powerful saint’s prayers in observance of various feast days throughout the year.

 

That’s my list.  How about you?  What’s on your catechist wish-list this year?

 

Catechist Chat: Drumming Up Enthusiasm

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It doesn’t take a veteran teacher to recognize that each child – and adult – is unique. And what works with one person won’t necessary work with another; we each have our own talents, and we each find joy in different ways. Being able to tap into these differing abilities can really transform your approach to  religious education– whether in a classroom setting, a presentation to a group of adults, or even a homeschooling setup.

My favorite way to think about this is based on Howard Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences. Back in MY day, he’d only identified seven. Now he’s up to eight, but the overall point remains the same: individuals display intelligence in different areas, which can be roughly categorized as follows:

  • Linguistic: learning through reading and writing
  • Logical-mathematical: Reasoning, patterns, and numbers
  • Spatial: Visualizing with the mind’s eye
  • Musical: sensitive to sounds, rhythm, tone, and music
  • Bodily-kinesthetic: Learning best by “doing” and physical activity
  • Interpersonal: Learn best by working with others; enjoy cooperative learning; comfortable with leadership
  • Intrapersonal: Deep understanding of the self; strengths and weaknesses

Since my time in the trenches (a.k.a., grad school), he’s added:

  • Naturalistic: Relate to the natural world and observe their surroundings
And there’s been discussion of a need to also include:
  • Existential/spiritual: Contemplate the deeper meaning of experiences and life
  • Moral: Ability to apply reasoning to moral decision-making, particularly in terms of the sanctity of life

In catechesis, we’re about the business of expanding folks’ existential/moral intelligence, or at least tapping into that, right? So I’m going to focus on how the other eight can be useful in coming up with different lessons, etc. that can grab students’ attention in new ways.

Serious drumming skillz

This guy has insane amounts of musical intelligence

I’m going to start with Musical, because that’s my favorite. Well, not really, but it would be boring to start with Linguistic or Logical-Mathematical, wouldn’t it? Because that’s what we usually think of when we think of “teaching.” Talk at students, they write things down, they take a multiple-choice test with maybe an essay tacked onto the end, and presto: teaching. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that.)

But before you say “I can’t carry a tune to save my life*,” I ask you: Can you say the Our Father?

You can, can’t you?

Let’s say it together;

Our

Father, Who Art

In Heaven, Hallowed Be Thy

NameThyKINGDOMCome…what? Isn’t that how you say it? No?

Right – we all say it in the same cadences, don’t we? Our liturgy is full of cadences; we chant the Psalms in rhythm, we teach our children their prayers to a certain meter, we’re all about music even if we are afflicted with tin ears.

I find that most kids, especially adolescent boys, respond very well to activities that incorporate music. Take advantage of this by including activities like:

  • Listening to hymns and talking about what the words mean
  • Memorizing a prayer by breaking it down into phrases
  • Learning to chant parts of the Mass
  • Write a song – or change the words to a popular song – to teach someone about a basic concept you’ve learned in class.
  • Listen to different settings of parts of the Mass and think about how the music reflects the meaning of the words – this is an activity I really enjoy doing with students, because there are so many beautiful orchestral settings of the Mass.

Howard Gardner himself said:

I don’t believe because there are eight intelligences we have to teach things eight ways. I think that’s silly. But we always ought to be asking ourselves, “Are we reaching every child, and, if not, are there other ways in which we can do it?”

And so I’m not saying “out with books, in with Rap!” But supplementing what you discuss in class with an activity that allows musically-inclined…or musically-enthusiastic – students to shine is a great way to get them engaged in what you’re teaching.

If you’d like to learn more about the theory – pros and cons – check out:

*Essay: Can you describe a situation in which your life would literally depend upon your ability to carry a tune? What would you do in said situation?

Making Movies for Christ

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Online videos are popular right now. Did you see the Darth Vader Christmas carol or the one about the adults eating their kids’ Halloween candy?

Hilarious.

How about the Silent Monks Hallelujah Chorus or the elderly couple playing the piano?

Great videos, right?

According to Media Post, 184 million people watched more than 42 billion videos in October.

Online videos can reach millions, so as evangelizing Catholics we need to be in this medium.

There is an upward trend of online videos that deliver a powerful message. Did you see the one about what the nativity would be like if social networking was around at the time of our Lord’s birth? Very clever. Or did you see the short film about the good one man can achieve with just change for a dollar? I bet you could name ten more that you’ve watched and forwarded along for others to enjoy.

So why can’t a Catechesis video have the same effect?

I believe it can and it starts with your students.

What about assigning a video competition for your class (most computers come with a free copy of Windows Movie Maker or iMovie). Pick a theme about the Eucharist, their favorite saint or a moral dilemma. Not only can they get excited about this medium, but you know they will post it on facebook and show it to their group of friends. They would be evangelizing without even knowing it!

I would like to share a stop-motion video that I put together for my Catechesis class. This video was homemade with my nieces and nephews as the actors.

The assignment was to read C.S. Lewis’s Screwtape Letters and then rewrite one of the letters in a creative way. I chose to highlight some of the themes from Book 7 about distraction.

In an age where kids chat with their friends on facebook, watch their favorite shows on Hulu, play games instantly on their smart phones (and all at one time!) we miss God’s quiet whisper. This is an important message for today, but especially in this time of waiting for Christ’s birth.

It is my hope that this video will make people aware of how the devil can so subtly distract us from our path to God. I also hope that those who are multi-media users (me included) will learn how to use media in moderation and for the greater glory of God.

I would love to hear what you think of the video. Please leave me your feedback. Here is the youtube link: Seeking God in the Quiet