My Marriage/ Family Goals
FamilyDecember 8th, 2019Purpose: To discuss family life and how we can try and mimic the Holy Family. Reminders before class:Be prepared to talk about your family and your upbringingMake sure you can get the YouTube videos working on your SmartTVRemember to give out candy to help encourage participation!What Devyn will Provide:Construction paper and supplies for cardsOutline:5:30-6:30pm: Youth Mass6:30-7:00pm: Snacks, candy question, opening prayer in dining room 7:00-7:10pm: Gather Time in classroomWelcome the teensTake attendance7:10-7:20pm: Prayer Intentions & Bible ExplorationBring out the prayer intention journal Ask the teens if any of their prayers were answered. Talk about why we think God said “Yes” or “no” to our needs.Pray the following,Lord, thank you for gathering us here in this space. Please protect us and make us feel safe in our group. Please hear our prayers that we ask of you today. Discuss any new prayer intentions. Ad-lib any prayers or say “We pray to the Lord” with the response afterwards. Pray over the intentions in the journal with a group “Our Father.”Bible ExplorationHave the teens open their Bibles to the beginning of Matthew.Explain that the first passage of Matthew talks about the genealogy of Jesus.Go around the room and read Matthew 1:1-17, having each teen read just 1 verse out loud, so the names of Jesus’ ancestors are ready by many different voices.After you read the names discuss the following questions:Why do you think Matthew included Jesus’ genealogy in his writings?Why is it important that we know where Jesus came from?How can knowing our own family history help us discover our own identity? 7:20-7:25pm: Introduction to the night & opening questionsAsk the teens a few questions about what they did over Thanksgiving break.Ask if any of them if they feel closer to their families after celebrating the holidays with them? Did any of them travel to be near family? Tell the teens that tonight we will be talking about:Our families and how meaningful they are to usHow we can use the Holy Family as a modelWhy Catholics get married and why it’s important to do so in the churchWhy we believe Mary is a virginHow Christmas is a family holiday.7:25-7:35pm: Signature SquaresHave the teens go around the room and find someone to sign each of their “signature squares” from the worksheet in their packet.After the class has gotten as many signatures as possible discuss the responses as a class. Examples:Who has twins in their family? Who are they? Would you want to be a twin?Who has a family member born outside the country? Where were they born?7:35-7:45pm: The Family StructureSay the following in your own words:We know that families come in all different shapes and sizes. Many of you may come from split households or share your time with your parents. Some of you have siblings from other marriages.Know that every family is a blessing! Just because yours looks different from someone doesn’t mean you should feel ashamed. There is beauty in every family.Because we will be talking about marriage and different aspects of the family today I want to get a gauge on what your families look like.In a second I will ask you to close your eyes and raise your hand if I say something that describes your family.This is just a simple poll so I can know what questions to address when presenting today. Everyone will have their eyes closed the whole time.Poll activityTell the teens to put their head down on the table and to close their eyes. Tell them that if you say something that describes their family they can raise their hand quietly. They are not to look up at ANY time.Family Descriptions:Raise your hand if your parents are marriedRaise your hands if your parents are divorcedRaise your hands if your parents were never marriedRaise your hands if your parents are married to different peopleRaise your hands if you have never met your fatherRaise your hands if you only see one of your parents a few times a yearRaise your hands if one of your parents has passed awayRaise your hands if you have siblings that don’t live with youRaise your hands if you think your family dynamic is very different from a lot of your friends.Thank the teens and let them open their eyes. Use their responses to help gauge how you should address some of the upcoming topics. Say the following:Some of you may be hurting because of a lack of a parent in your life. You may be tempted to feel incomplete because your family doesn’t look like your friends or your neighbors.It is ok to hurt because of an absent parent. I am sorry if you don’t have the family dynamic that you want. But there will always be people there to help and support you, especially with your Parish Family.We can always look to our Mother Mary for support when we aren’t getting along with our mom or to Joseph or God the Father when we need a man to support us.There are also great parent figures here at the church. If you are missing a dad in your life than get involved more with youth ministry and enjoy the father figures there. We are here to support you.If you think your family is crazy and no one can fathom what happens behind your front door, just know that every family is crazy! We all have weird things about us that make us individuals. There are pros and cons to every family relationship and it’s important to figure out what those are in your life.Discuss the following questions (Catechists and aides are encouraged to share too):Does anyone have a “crazy aunt” or “whacky uncle” that they think is the weird one in their family? What are some of the things that they do? Does anyone have a father-figure or mother-figure in your life that you want to talk about? How have they helped you in your life? Do you ever feel like you are the only sane one in your family? Why?Watch the video “Sunday Morning” by IgniterMedia (3:30) Tell the teens to remember that all families are crazy, and you should never judge the people in the pew in front of you. 7:45-8:00pm: The Holy FamilyTell the teens that we will continue to talk about marriage and family in a bit, but for now we will focus on the Holy Family.Say the following in your own words:The Holy Family of Nazareth are Mary, Joseph and Jesus. Mary was young, only about 14, when she was betrothed to Joseph. To be betrothed to someone means that you’re engaged. However, in the Jewish Tradition, a betrothal was very serious. There was a contract and if the grounds of the contract were broken (like if the woman was with another man) there were consequences as if with a real divorce.We are going to read the Bible story about Mary conceiving Jesus and Joseph finding out. It is always good to go back and read the original story!Take turns (popcorn style) reading Luke 2:26-45 and Matthew 1:18-25.Read the footnotes for Matthew 1:18-25 and Matthew 1:18 out loud.Discuss the following questions:If you were Joseph and you found out that your fiancé was pregnant, what would you do? Do you think it was hard for Joseph and Mary to believe the Angel when he appeared to them? What would you do if that happened to you?Why is it important that Mary is a virgin? Why would Matthew point that out in the Gospel? [Answer: because Mary is the mother of us all. She was the perfect tabernacle for Jesus. Her body held the Son of God and remained in that perfect state even after He was born.]Do you think we take the infancy narrative (this story about the conception and birth of Jesus) for granted since we hear it so much? What do you think it’s like for people who hear it for the first time?Play the video “He is Near” by Lifeteen (2:04) Discuss the following questions:What did you think about this video?Have you ever wondered what other people’s reactions were to Mary’s pregnancy?How do you think Mary and Joseph would be treated today? How was Joseph a good Father and a good husband for adopting Jesus and marrying Mary?8:00-8:15pm: MarriageSay the following in your own words:Now that we have talked about Joseph and why it was so important for him to marry Mary we are going to talk about marriage in the Catholic Church.Some people don’t see getting married as important. They see it as a part of a checklist or a government document.In reality, marriage is a 3-part bond between the man, woman and God. Catholics take marriage very seriously, as we believe it should be for life. There are some conditions that would make a marriage invalid, and can be “annulled” but for the majority of people those promises they make in front of God are permanent and lasting.Because of this we have some extensive marriage preparations to help couples really make the right decision about who they are going to marry. This is not another hoop for people to jump through at church, but it’s a way to help them really discern their calling.We are going to watch a video that explains this a little more!Play the video “Sacraments 101: Matrimony (why make it Catholic). the teens if they have any questions about the video.If the topic of homosexuality is brought up use the following bullet points to help answer their questions. All of these answers are bullet points from the Catechism, paragraphs 2357-2359.:Homosexuality is the relations between men or women who are attracted to the same sex.Why some people are homosexual is still unexplained.Homosexual acts close the sexual act to the gift of life, which the Catholic Church believes is one of the main purposes of this union.There are many homosexual people, and they must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity. They should never be unjustly discriminated against. The church believes that their same-sex attraction is a cross for them to bear, and they can still fulfill God’s will in their lives. Homosexual people are called to chastity. The Catholic Church defines marriage as the union of a man and woman that is open to children and life. Therefore, gay marriage does not fall into this definition. This is why homosexual people cannot marry in the Catholic Church. If the teens still have questions refer them to Devyn or to Fr. Joe. Tell the teens that even if their parents weren’t married in the Catholic Church they can go through a process to get their marriage convalidated. Encourage them to talk about it! Marriage/ Family GoalsGive the teens a few minutes to work on their Marriage/ Family Goals Worksheet.If you have time discuss them as a class. 8:15-8:25pm: Family Letters Hand out construction paper and markers to the teens. Tell them they can make a card or write a letter to a member of their family.Their letter should talk about why they enjoy having them as a family member and what they appreciate about that person.Encourage them to make the card for someone whom they often overlook.8:25-8:30pm: Closing PrayerTogether pray the following prayer for family:Father,?help us to live as the Holy Family,?united in respect and love.?Bring us to the joy and peace of your eternal home.?Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,?who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,?one God, for ever and ever.Tell the teens to give their letters to their family members when they get home. Tell them to have a great week!Signature Sheet!Get a signature from each person in the room in a square that describes their family. After you have talked to each person you can start doubling signatures. The person who gets the most signatures wins!My family has a set of twins:My Godparents live near me:I am the youngest child:I am an only child:I am the oldest child:My extended family lives close to me:My mom is older than my dad:My whole family is from Texas:My parents met in college:My parents have been married more than 10 years:A family member was born out of the country:My grandmother lives with us:I already have a niece or a nephew:I have 3 or more siblings:I am adopted:I am the middle child:My Marriage/ Family GoalsName:Date:Something I really enjoy about my family is:Something that I hope for my future spouse is:I see these people as inspiration for my future marriage (if that is where I am called):I am closest to these family members:I want to grow closer to these family members:I know that this person prays for me often:My family members that I want to pray for are: Prayer for the FamilyFather,?help us to live as the Holy Family,?united in respect and love.?Bring us to the joy and peace of your eternal home.? Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,?who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,?one God, for ever and ever. Amen.center13106800 ................
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