Catholic Educators News - December, 2006

 

 

Resources for Advent

 

Resources from Catholic Web sites:

bullet Advent 2006 Resources from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Catholic Campaign for Human Development

bullet Advent Coloring Pages:

From sermons4kids.com: Candle of hope, peace, love, and joy

See Also:

bullet Liturgical Seasons: Advent, Christmas — Links and clipart on the Resources for Catholic Educators Web site.

 

Some resources from other Christian Web sites:

bullet The Christmas Story Advent Coloring Book - "Print out these 24 coloring pages with quotations from Luke (first 15 pages) and Matthew (last 9 pages) to reinforce the Christmas story. Color and read one page per day from December 1st thru the 24th. Put them all together to make a booklet you can read as a family on Christmas day! "

 

 

Web Sites Worth Exploring

 

bullet Catholic Digital Images - ChantArt now offers its extensive collection of Catholic digital Images free of cost.

If you have not already done so, you will need to open an account. The process to download one or several images is simple. When you find an image you would like to download, click on it. Then click on the button "Add to cart". Repeat this process as often as you like. When you have selected all of the images you are interested in downloading in a specific session, click on "Shopping Cart" in the menu bar near the top of the page. Cost will indicate $0.00. You will then be able to download the entire selection of images you chose in a zip file and these will be in large format that you can then format for your needs.

You might also want to write to her at catholicdigitalimages@gmail.com as well to let her know how you are using the images.

 

bullet Martin Luther King Jr. — Resources, Lesson Plans, Coloring Sheets, Worksheets, Puzzle, Quizzes, Posters

bullet Good News Cafe is a place where young adults seek to understand the truths of our Catholic faith and support and witness to each other so that we may grow in love of Christ, the Church, and each other.

We enrich our minds by learning God's truth, our souls are empowered through the power of the Spirit of Christ, and we experience our Baptismal call to holiness through relationships with one another and the one Church

Click to enlarge
Click on the images to enlarge
Copyright notice*

bullet Dappled Things is, according to the "About" page on the Web site,

"...a new literary magazine dedicated to providing a space for young writers to engage the literary world from a Catholic perspective. The magazine is committed to quality writing that takes advantage of the religious, theological, philosophical, artistic, cultural, and literary heritage of the Catholic Church in order to inform and enrich contemporary literary culture. Dappled Things pledges complete faithfulness to the teachings of the Catholic Church as expressed by the Bishop of Rome and the Church's Magisterium."

I find the wonderful mix of fiction, poetry, essays, art, and photography make of this magazine a delightful place to visit and rest a while... And the quality of the works presented is indeed high.

Gilles

bullet ChristArt offers free Christian clipart and art for Web sites and for print material. There are certain conditions so read the terms of use.

One of the features on the site is quite innovative and and could be fun to use in creating resources for your students. Under the Clip Art section of the site, there is a page called "My Name". On that page you can write the name of one your students in a form and simply click on "Create Image" and the name you have written will be integrated in a graphic that says "Name" loves Jesus. I have done this with my first name in the graphic above. You could do that for all of your students, and save the images to use on individualised worksheets or any handout for that matter.

bullet interparole-catholique-yvelines.cef.fr - This French Web site has all you need to build a beautifully illustrated yearly liturgical calendar to color, cut ut and assemble with your students. If you cannot read French, it would still be worthwhile to use a an online translator to make out the meaning of the sections "Pourquoi un calendrier liturgique ?" (Why a liturgical calendar) and "Tableau récapitulatif de l'année liturgique" (Summary table of the liturgical year). Both of these provide useful and interesting background information on how to help children understand the different liturgical seasons and feast days and their meanings.

bullet Catholic Social Teaching Resources

I was recently invited to take a look at http://www.educationforjustice.org. I was quite impressed with the amount and quality of the resources available on this Web site. The press release I include below gives a good description of what it offers.

A small donation is normally requested to access most of the material on the site, but upon request by email (see details in the press release), you can obtain a 30 free trial period. I highly recommend that you take advantage of this offer. It is well worth the small
effort required.

PRESS RELEASE:

Educational Website Offers Catholic Social Teaching Resources

Education for Justice (EfJ) is an online Catholic Social Teaching resource library with thousands of pages of resources on more than 50 justice topics, such as poverty, peace, environmental issues, and current events. All resources are based on Catholic social thought and the statements of the Vatican and the U.S. bishops on current issues are utilized in all materials.

The member-based website, which requests a small donation for use of the site, is offering 30 days free for new member who would like to try the website out. They can sign up simply by emailing efj@coc.org.

Catholic school teachers, religious educators, parishes, colleges, and individuals can access articles, reflection/discussion guides, fact sheets, bulletin inserts, personal prayer experiences, interactive activities for groups, lectionary reflections, and more at www.educationforjustice.org .

The Catholic News Service recently posted the following article about EfJ in its News Briefs on April 3, 2006:

Web site applies Catholic social teaching to contemporary issues

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Those who wonder what the church has to say about issues frequently in the news can get answers by searching through a lot of church documents or they can go to a Web site that does it for them. The Web site, www.educationforjustice.org, lists more than 50 topics from terrorism, refugees and the situation in Iraq to corporate responsibility, HIV/AIDS, globalization and the environment. Web users can click on a specific aspect of Catholic social teaching -- just-war principles, human dignity, option for the poor, rights and responsibilities or care for creation -- to link the current news items to a specific church response. The site is the work of the Education for Justice Project, an outreach of the Center of Concern, a Washington-based social justice think tank. Catholic social teaching links on the Web site provide papal documents and bishops' statements on current issues as well as prayers and questions for discussion.

All Catholics should know about this superb website, which has helped thousands of Catholics become knowledgeable about Catholic Social Teaching, an important but often neglected aspect of the Catholic faith.

See also: Social Justice and Peace - Resources for Catholic Educators

 

 

Online Articles

 

bullet Catholic Devotions: A means of permeating everyday life with prayer, by Ann Maree Whenman, Echoing the Word, Vol. 5 No. 5, 2006

"Popular devotions have developed gradually over years, perhaps centuries, as people sought ways of living out their faith. They have arisen in the encounter between the Catholic faith and the spiritual needs of a culture."

A response to Pope John Paul’s eucharistic desire with this reflection on six stages in the history of the Eucharist in the Western Church.Catholic Update October©2006

 

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In Review


bullet Sheila Hamil — Sheila Hamil is a Christian singer/songwriter from Wallsend, Tyne & Wear, England. Over the last thirty years she has written over 100 songs and has made a number of solo appearances and as a member of the band The United Folk. All profit made from both Sheila's and The United Folk's music has always gone to charity at home or abroad. You can listen to a number of her songs in the Discography section of her Web site and in the Songs and Lyrics sections as well. Three of the songs available on the site are for the Christmas seasons: Songs from the Christmas Story Musical.

bullet The Father Calls Your Name — Songs by Catholic
artist Pat Bickert

1. Some Kind of Love (2.55)
2. Our Lady of Guadalupe (4:07)
3. The Father Calls Your Name (3:40)
4. I Am the Bread of Life (3:50)
5. Don't Be Afraid (5:25)
6. Perfect As You Are (4:13) Play song Play song
7. Yahweh You Are Near (4:40)
8. De Colores (3:02)
9. Our Father (3:10)
10. How Can I Keep From Singing? (3:27)

Sarah Bickert

Sarah Bickert
Photography by Elaine

© Pat Bickert - Sound file and lyrics
used with permission

Perfect As You Are - Lyrics

I remember that winter night
You came in to the world
I laughed out loud when the doctor said,
"It's a new baby girl."

But then I looked in your mother's eyes
She said, "something's not right"
And as I struggled to understand
I laid awake half the night

Beautiful baby, sweet child of mine
You're perfect as you are
Made in God's image, by his design
You're perfect as you are, perfect as you are

You were formed in your mother's womb
By God's very own hands
Who was I in my arrogance
To question His plan?

Every life is a canvas
For His miraculous art
And I thank Him for showing me
You're perfect as you are

And you were there in the Father's plans
From the beginning of time
What a gift He has given me
I thank the Lord you are mine

Contact patbickert@shaw.ca
to order
The Father Calls Your Name CD
$20 CND

A Time to Smile

 

(c) Copyright by Jason Kotecki. www.KimandJason.com

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