How to Use the Saints and Virtues Series with Students
Being a saint, that is, one of God’s holy ones, is a viable option for all of us providing we live our days practicing the Christian virtues that help us to be more like Jesus Christ.
Virtues help us to “govern our actions, order our passions, and guide our conduct according to reason and faith” (CCC, 1804). Four pivotal or cardinal virtues merit special focus, as all other virtues are grouped around them. They are prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance.
The Saints and Virtues series from Ave Maria Press offers students several practical ways to put these virtues into practice. It also offers much more: a chance to read about a real-life person, a Christian saint, who exemplified one of the virtues in a special way. Finally it allows a chance to spend focused time reflecting on the life of the saint in prayer before enacting two, three, or more projects that can help teens apply an put the virtue into practice.
While students can read and work through a Saints and Virtues book on their own, the series works well as the theme for a youth ministry meeting, religious education class, peer ministry gathering, or theology period in a Catholic school. In these group settings, a youth minister, catechist, peer leader, or teacher might use the following sample sequences for scheduling:
Eight Day Unit
Beginning of the Week
· Introduce the saint and virtue to the group
· Show a film on the saint’s life
· Have students address practical ways they have lived the virtue that is the focus of the book
· Read or summarize the introduction of the book
· At the end of the class, distribute the book. Assign it for reading, praying, and doing over the next six days
During the Week
· The students read the biography of the saint
· The students pray the five days with the saint as suggested in the book
End of the Week
· Present a short lesson featuring additional information on the life of the saint not featured in the book (see links below)
· Have the teens share their impressions of the saint and of the ways that they have been able to live out the virtue.
· As a class or in small groups, enact one or more of the project ideas in the book
Optional: The time students work on the projects can be extended for as long as you deem necessary for them to complete them.
Two Week Unit
Beginning of the Week 1
· Introduce the saint and virtue to the group
· Show a film on the saint’s life
· Have students address practical ways they have lived the virtue that is the focus of the book
· Read or summarize the introduction of the book
· At the end of the class, distribute the book. Assign it for reading and praying over the next six days.
Week 1
· The students read the biography of the saint
· The students pray the five days with the saint as suggested in the book
Beginning of Week 2
· Present a short lesson featuring additional information on the life of the saint not featured in the book (see links below).
· Have the students share their impression of the saint and of ways that they have been able to live out the virtue
· Review the list of project ideas in the book. Have the students choose one project they can work at on their own and one project they will work on with the class or small group.
· Assign the students to write a short reflection paper telling about the project(s) they worked on, what they learned from them, and how they plan to continue to enact the virtue they have studied in the future.
Week 2
· The students work to completion on both their individual and group projects
· The students write a short reflection paper on the projects they worked on.
End of the Week
· Have the students share information about the projects they worked on from their short reflection papers
Optional: The time the students work on the projects can be extended for as long as you deem necessary for them to complete them.
Four Week Unit
Beginning of the Week 1
· Introduce the saint and virtue to the group
· Read or summarize the introduction of the book
· At the end of the class, distribute the book. Assign the reading of the biography of the saint over the next week.
Week 1
· The students read the life of the saint from the book
Beginning of Week 2
· Show a film on the saint’s life
· Present a short lesson featuring additional information on the life of the saint not featured in the book (see links below).
· Assign the five days of prayer from the text for Week 2
Week 2
· Students pray the five days of prayer from the book and to keep a journal with reflections on how they met God and lived the virtue of the saint during the course of each day
Beginning of Week 3
· Call on teens to share reflections on their week of prayer with the saint
· Review the list of project ideas in the book. Have the students choose one project they can work at on their own and one project they will work on with the class or small group.
· Assign the students to write a short reflection paper telling about the project(s) they worked on, what they learned from them, and how they plan to continue to enact the virtue they have studied in the future.
Week 3 and 4
· The students work to completion on both their individual and group projects
· The students write a short reflection paper on the projects they worked on
End of Week 4
· Have the students share their impression of the saint and of ways that they have been able to live out the virtue from the reflection essay that they have written.
Optional: The time students work on the projects can be extended for as long as you deem necessary for them to complete them.
Links on the Life of St. Francis of Assisi
· http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06221a.htm
· http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintf01.htm
· http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Francis/default.asp
Links on the Life of St. Thérèse of Lisieux
· http://www.littleflower.org
· http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintt02.htm
· http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/17721a.htm