Basic Catechesis

Catechetical Renewal
Elementary Catechesis
Junior High Catechesis
High School Catechesis

Benziger's comprehensive programs will make your catechetical ministry more effective--day in and day out.

On Good Soil offers a perfect way to introduce your staff to the central, yet practical themes of the General Catechetical Directory through a series of conversations that focus on the following groups:

• Reaching Our Children
• Forming Our Catechists
• Involving Our Families
• Teaching Our Whole Parish

For more information, visit On Good Soil Program Resources.

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ELEMENTARY CATECHESIS

Come, Follow Me
Share the Joy
Always Remember Video Reviews

One Catechetical Ministry, Two Outstanding Programs, both in Conformity with the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Benziger fulfills a single catechetical ministry with two basal programs:

• Come, Follow Me (K-8) for both School and Parish. Come, Follow Me's design is for the traditional classroom model of religious education. It is ideal for the parish with a parochial school and a traditionally structured religious education program. It is a familiar textbook program with strong family support.
• Share the Joy (K-6) exclusively for the Parish. Share the Joy's design is an alternate model of parish catechesis and is unique in its inclusion of the family in the ministry of catechesis. It has been developed for parishes seeking a program with a contemporary approach and a more flexible format.
• Always Remember Videos (1-8) for Come, Follow Me and Share the Joy help classes review the basic Catholic content in both of Benziger's outstanding basal programs.

	Come, Follow Me K-8, Second Edition For Parochial Schools
School	Student Text	Teacher's Edition
Kindergarten	0-02-655964-1	0-02-655965-X
Grade 1	0-02-655967-6	0-02-655968-4
Grade 2	0-02-655972-2	0-02-655973-0
Grade 3	0-02-655976-5	0-02-655977-3
Grade 4	0-02-655981-1	0-02-655982-X
Grade 5	0-02-655985-4	0-02-655986-2
Grade 6	0-02-655989-7	0-02-655991-9
Grade 7	0-02-655994-3	0-02-655995-1
Grade 8	0-02-655998-6	0-02-655999-4

For Parish Schools of Religion

Features

• Come, Follow Me, Second Edition, is in full conformity with the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It is the most complete, teacher-friendly, child-centered, classroom-based program on the market. Come, Follow Me delivers what other series only promise.
• The following passage from the Holy Father thoroughly describes the mission and method of Come, Follow Me, Second Edition.

  "Catechesis describes the whole of the efforts within the Church to make disciples, to help people to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, so that believing they might have life in his name, and to educate and instruct them in this life and thus build up the Body of Christ."

  Catechesi Trandendae

• Come, Follow Me users have come to expect excellence from this program. Their expectations are met in many of the familiar features and benefits of the Second Edition as well as a new, attractive, and dynamic presentation:
  • A complete catechesis in conformity with the Catechism of the Catholic Church
  • The same scope and sequence
  • The same rich Catholic cultural heritage
  • The same clear development of religious literacy
  • The same treasures of liturgy, art, and history
  • The same (and even improved) cultural diversity
  • The same stories from the lives of the saints

Student Text

• New, simplified three-part lesson plan

  INVITATION -"Come, follow me."
  LEARNING - "Learn from me."
  RESPONSE - "Here I am, Lord!"

• An interactive text with exciting expanded activities, interesting features, and engaging stories
• Special visual/verbal lessons on Mary, the Mass, and Catholic devotions
• New and practical connections to the family and the parish
• "I Am A Catholic" - A new catechism and handbook that summarizes the Catholic Faith and follows the outline of the Catechism of the Catholic Church

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Teacher's Edition for School
Catechist's Edition for PSR/CCD

• A Teacher's Edition for each grade that is specifically designed for the needs of the parochial school classroom
• A Catechist's Edition for each grade that is specifically designed for the needs of the once-a-week catechetical program
• A clear, concise, and streamlined teaching plan
• New at-a-glance teacher and catechist preparation
• A Catechism Workshop for the teacher--in every chapter

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Also available

• Activity Book for each grade

• Teacher's Resource Book for each grade that provides:
  • Assessment Program
  • Student Prayer Services
  • Lectionary Key
  • Family Letters
  • Family Prayer Services
  • Music Resources
• Family Magazine for each grade from the Come, Follow Me, First Edition
• Music Program Kit, containing cassettes for grades 1-8 and Director's Guide for Grades 1-8. Music Cassettes for grades K-8 can be purchased separately, as well as a Music Director's Guide for grades 1-6 or for grades 7-8.
• Always Remember Videos for grade levels 1-8 that provide active reviews for each unit. Each of the eight videos is hosted by the patron saint of that grade level.

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	Share the Joy K-6 For Parish Schools of Religion
School	Student Pack	Catechist's Resource*
Kindergarten	0-02-655873-4	0-02-656065-8
Grade 1	0-02-655880-7	0-02-656066-6
Grade 2	0-02-655887-4	0-02-656067-4
Grade 3	0-02-655894-7	0-02-656068-2
Grade 4	0-02-655901-3	0-02-656069-0
Grade 5	0-02-655907-2	0-02-656071-2
Grade 6	0-02-655914-5	0-02-656072-0

*contains grade-level Catechist's Edition & cassette tape and management box

Features

• Share the Joy is in conformity with the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It has become the number one alternative catechetical model. The program now provides an At Home component and a Spanish track, too, with En Casa and Mi Fe Católica.
• Share the Joy brings the joy of salvation to this generation and their children in the spirit of the Gospels and echoes the sentiment of Pope John Paul II:

  "The coming of God is an outward, visible, audible, and tangible event. It is thus appropriate that every sign of joy at this coming should have its own outward expression. This will demonstrate that the Church rejoices in salvation and invites everyone to share that joy!"

  John Paul II
  Tertio Millenio Adveniente, #16

• Share the Joy invites both the catechist and the child to creative and dynamic catechesis of the Catholic Church. It is rich in scripture and filled with the authentic deposit of faith. It is a true expression of an alternate model of catechesis.
• Share the Joy is a perfect fit for the creative parish. It was designed in the great "timesaver" tradition specifically for parishes where time and the number of sessions are a factor.
• Share the Joy is easy to implement and easy to teach. It has 20-plus self-contained lessons per year, a separate Catholic identity booklet for every grade (in English and in Spanish), a Catechist's Resource, a special at-home component to build family faith (in English and in Spanish), and a unique Parish Promotional Package.

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Student Pack

• The Student Pack for each grade level contains twenty Lesson Booklets for the year, as well as My Catholic Faith, a mini-catechism booklet with prayers, traditions, vocabulary, etc.
• Cycled throughout the grades are the key content issues articulated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. While the students may not see that the key content is derived from the Catechism, they are receiving a complete catechesis in a contemporary manner.

Catechist's Resource

• For the convenience of ordering and organization, the Catechist's Resource for each grade level includes the grade-level Catechist's Edition and music cassette as well as the Management Box.
• The Catechist's Edition for each grade level contains:
  • program introduction
  • built-in catechist formation
  • four-step lesson process (Discover, Learn, Live, Celebrate & Pray)
  • simple lesson plans
  • special lessons encouraging prayer and celebration
  • enrichment activities
  • lyrics for the program cassettes
  • reproducible resources
  • parent letters
  • family messages
• The grade-level music cassette contains songs for use throughout the year.
• The Management Box organizes the entire year in one place. It is designed to hold the Catechist's Edition, My Catholic Faith booklets, and the Lesson Booklets in the order that they are going to be used.

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Also Available

• Saints in Action is a show-and-tell book that introduces children to the women and men who have lived lives of historic virtue in the name of the Lord Jesus. Stories about events in the lives of saints are presented to be read aloud to children.
• Share the Joy At Home/Share the Joy En Casa These are booklets for each grade level which guide families in further developing the individual Lesson Booklets of Share the Joy right in their homes. The English and Spanish booklets can be purchased in single copies or ten-packs.
• Parish Promotional Package is offered for the Program Director or Coordinator. The package helps to implement the program at the parish level. The package contains:
  • Promotional Manual
  • colorful posters
  • Testing and Assessment sheets
  • Clip Art
  • overview Video
  • drive-time Audiocassette for a program overview
  • desktop Scope and Sequence
  • Sacrament information
  • Adolescent Catechesis information
• Parish Promotional Manual is available separately.
• Posters are available separately.
• Management Box Additional management boxes are available for purchase.
• Catechist's Edition Additional copies for each grade level can be purchased separately.
• My Catholic Faith/Mi Fe Católica Additional copies of My Catholic Faith or copies of Mi Fe Católica can be purchased for each grade level. Also available are ten-packs of My Catholic Faith or Mi Fe Católica for each grade level.
• Always Remember Videos
  Videos for grade levels 1-6 that provide active reviews for each unit. Each of the six videos is hosted by the patron saint of that grade level.

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	Always Remember Video Reviews For Come, Follow Me and Share the Joy
School	Student Text	Teacher's Edition
Grade 1	St. John Neumann	0-02-656031-3
Grade 2	St. Thomas Aquinas	0-02-656091-7
Grade 3	St. Frances Cabrini	0-02-656095-X
Grade 4	St. Francis of Assisi	0-02-656099-2
Grade 5	St. Teresa of Avila	0-02-656104-2
Grade 6	St. Paul the Apostle	0-02-656108-5
Grade 7	St. Frances Xavier	0-02-656113-1
Grade 8	St. Thérèse of Lisieux	0-02-656118-2

Features

• Each video is hosted by the patron saint of that grade level-come to life on the screen. (Yes, there is a special saint for each grade of Come, Follow Me and Share the Joy!)
• The video review sessions will help the youngsters experience solid Catholic Content and soak up Catholic culture.
• Each video for grades 1 through 6 provides four review sessions. Grades 7 and 8 provide six review sessions.

Also Available

• Set of 6 Videos (Grades 1-6)
• Complete Set of 8 Videos (Grades 1-8)

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JUNIOR HIGH CATECHESIS
Real Life: Living My Faith Every Day

Real Life: Living My Faith Every Day is a junior high religion program that combines the caring attitudes of youth ministry, the dynamics of youth evangelization, and the content of adolescent catechesis!

Real Life Living My Faith Every Day Junior High Religion Program
	Student Edition	Facilitator's Guide
Catholic Character	0-02-658294-5	0-02-658295-3
Church	0-02-658285-6	0-02-658286-4
Conscience	0-02-658287-2	0-02-658288-0
Discipleship	0-02-658283-X	0-02-658284-8
Hurting and Healing	0-02-658281-3	0-02-658282-1
Popular Culture	0-02-658279-1	0-02-658280-5
Relationships	0-02-658277-5	0-02-658278-3
Sexuality	0-02-658289-9	0-02-658290-2
Spirituality	0-02-658291-0	0-02-658292-9

Features

• Real Life: Living My Faith Every Day is a fresh approach to catechesis and spirituality for the younger adolescent. Having been shaped by the United States Catholic Conference document Vision of Youth Ministry, as well as the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Real Life recognizes, calls forth, and celebrates the giftedness of each person.
• In Real Life, young people develop a sense of Christian identity in the world. They work to build healthy relationships with family, peers, and their faith community. Each meeting in the Real Life program is a challenge to put their faith into practice. Real Life helps young adolescents form solid Christian virtues and skills as well as imparts practical information on faith, worship, and prayer. Throughout, Real Life is Christ-centered and grounded in Sacred Scripture.
• Real Life is a flexible series of mini-courses and need not be taught in sequence. There is enough in the nine courses for two years of programming. Real Life is the ideal catechetical component for parish youth ministry. It can be used successfully as part of a parish program or as a youth ministry program in the parochial school.
• Real Life responds to the eight developmental needs of adolescents:
  • Physical activity - Real Life encourages active learning, engaging youths in high action games and activities.
  • Competence and achievement - Real Life develops usable skills, inviting youths to share their gifts with the parish community.
  • Self-definition - Real Life helps teens understand and cope with the physical and emotional changes they experience.
  • Creative expression -Real Life involves young people in tasks and projects that nurture creative and problem-solving skills.
  • Positive interactions - Real Life helps teens build trusting relationships with adults and peers.
  • Structure and clear limits - Real Life invites youths to understand and develop personal standards and to follow moral principles.
  • Meaningful participation - Real Life teaches the skills of active participation in the Faith.
  • Religious experience - Real Life develops skills related to personal and communal prayer and worship.

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Student Edition

• Nine Real Life mini-courses are offered in full-color magazines for the young people.
• The mini-courses explore the following themes with adolescents:
  • Catholic Character helps youth to understand the language, attitudes, and actions that signify being a Catholic.
  • Church invites participants to consider how the Church provides the foundation of Christian belief and how membership in the Church shapes their lives.
  • Conscience encourages youths to recognize the relationship between values and action and offers practical ideas for living according to Christian values.
  • Discipleship helps young people understand Christian discipleship, and their role in the community.
  • Hurting & Healing encourages youths to turn to Jesus during times of pain, loss, and loneliness.
  • Popular Culture points to the influences of popular culture on personal choice and shows youths how to become critical consumers.
  • Relationships develops adolescents' relationship skills.
  • Sexuality helps youths understand the physical and emotional changes they experience while providing practical ways of responding to their sexual feelings.
  • Spirituality offers teens the chance to practice private and communal prayer and expand their understanding of sacramental faith.

Facilitator's Guide

• The Facilitator's Guide for each mini-course contains the following:
  • The Real Life Facilitator's Handbook
  • Detailed Meeting Maps--simple three-step session plans for each meeting
  • Full-color reproductions of the young people's magazine
  • Youth Ministry Resources--special material for retreat experiences, service projects, community events, worship, and prayer

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HIGH SCHOOL CATECHESIS
The Catholic Faith: An Introduction
Discovering God's Word: An Introduction to Scripture
Marriage & Life Choices
Light of the World, Revised
Water and Spirit

• The Catholic Faith: An Introduction introduces students to the teachings and practices of the Catholic Church. It is excellent for use in Parish High School Confirmation classes.
• Discovering God's Word: An Introduction to Scripture is solid in content, lively in presentation, and rich in spirituality. It makes Sacred Scripture come alive for high school students.
• Marriage & Life Choices is pastoral in approach and helps high school students see marriage and the other vocational choices in a faith context.
• Light of the World is a complete, in-depth, comprehensive high school religion curriculum.
• Water and Spirit is a confirmation program for high school students and young adults.

The Catholic Faith An Introduction Student Text 0-02-662345-5 Teacher's Edition & Resource Pack 0-02-662346-3

Features

• Building upon the structure of the Apostle's Creed and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, students are invited to explore what Catholics believe about God, Jesus, the Church, and the sacraments.
• Faith-imbedded stories call students to use life experience to mature in their understanding of their own beliefs and practices.

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Student Text

• The Student Text is referenced and quoted throughout to the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
• The Catholic Faith invites students to deepen faith understanding in the following chapters: Searching, Faith, Love, Jesus, Christ, Gospel, Spirit, Church, Sacraments, Initiation, Eucharist, Healing, Ministry, Marriage, and Spirituality.

Teacher's Edition and Resource Pack

• The Teacher's Edition and Resource Pack is an all-in-one sourcebook designed for the busy teacher. Plans for teaching each lesson wrap around the reduced Student Text page. Additional lesson ideas and resources are found at the bottom of each page.
• In addition to the lesson plans, the teacher's wraparound edition provides the teacher with alternative activities and the answers to all of the questions found in the Student Text.
• Blackline master resources recommended in the teacher's wraparound edition can be found in the Resource section at the back of the spiral-bound book.

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Discovering God's Word An Introduction to Scripture Student Text 0-02-662334-X Teacher's Wraparound Edition 0-02-662335-8

Features

• Discovering God's Word, using the best in contemporary biblical scholarship, makes Scripture come alive for students. Starting with the people of Israel, students follow the history of salvation from Sinai to Calvary.
• The Gospel, Acts, Paul's letters, and the catholic letters are highlighted to introduce students to the New Testament.

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Student Text

• Timelines, maps, photos, and an engaging narrative help students navigate their way through the Bible.
• Each chapter contains a story that introduces the chapter theme, a glossary, reflection questions, and a features box highlighting special aspects of Bible study.

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Teacher's Wraparound Edition

• The Teacher's Wraparound Edition provides the teacher with detailed lesson plans and suggestions for using the Student Text and the Bible together.
• Chapters include Scripture workshops and Bible projects that reinforce chapter themes and offer the opportunity for hands-on learning.

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Also Available

• Teacher's Resource Book
  The Teacher's Resource Book provides resources correlated to the Teacher's Wraparound Edition, including abridged lesson plans, enrichment articles, chapter tests and answers, and student and teacher journal formats.
• Map Transparencies
  Full-color map transparencies accompany each chapter.

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Marriage & Life Choices Student Text 0-02-655911-0 Teacher's Wraparound Edition 0-02-655912-9

Features

• What are my talents? What am I interested in doing? These are some of the important questions that teens explore in Marriage and Life Choices, a career and vocational development program for high school students.

• Marriage & Life Choices introduces practical steps of career and vocational planning within the following four units: The Freedom to Be You, At the Crossroads, For a Lifetime, and Always Evolving.

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Student Text

• The Student Text offers practical information and ideas to help students with issues of health, family living, and the media.
• Personal accounts of individuals living out their life vocations are included in each chapter, as well as Scripture passages connecting life choices to Christian values.

Teacher's Wraparound Edition

• The Teacher's Wraparound Edition provides a complete teaching package-objectives, lesson overviews, background information, and suggestions for incorporating discussion starters, role-playing activities, and projects into each lesson.

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Also Available

• Teacher's Resource Book
  Correlated to the Teacher's Wraparound Edition, this book provides blackline masters, abridged lesson plans, chapter tests, feature profiles, and student retreat ideas for each unit.

	Light of the World Revised Student Text Teacher's Annotated Ed.
Jesus of Nazareth:
The Mystery Revealed	0-02-655821-1	0-02-655822-X
The Hebrew Scriptures:
Called by the Father	0-02-655831-9	0-02-655832-7
Living a Moral Life:
Gifted and Growing	0-02-655824-6	0-02-655825-4
Worship and Sacraments:
We Celebrate, We Praise	0-02-655837-8	0-02-655838-6
Peace Through Justice:
Faith Active in the World	0-02-655827-0	0-02-655828-9
The Church:
A Spirit-Filled People	0-02-655834-3	0-02-655835-1

Features

• Light of the World imparts the essentials of Catholic faith and prepares participants to live as responsible members of the Church.

• There are six courses in this series:
  • Jesus of Nazareth: The Mystery Revealed
    Students learn about the formation of the Gospels, are introduced to the central themes of Christology, look at Catholic doctrine, and practice devotion to Jesus. The Gospel of Mark is considered in detail.
  • The Hebrew Scriptures: Called by the Father
    The stories of the Hebrew people are the starting point of this program. While becoming more familiar with these ancient stories, students learn the importance of salvation history in the Catholic faith.
  • Living a Moral Life: Gifted and Growing
    Students learn the importance of conscience, law, and Christian moral principles while examining the Covenant relationship with God. In class, students find solutions to critical moral issues and discover the consequences of personal action.
  • Peace Through Justice: Faith Active in the World
    Starting with a review of Church teaching on social justice, this course demands critical reflection on current social justice issues from a global as well as a personal perspective.
  • Worship and Sacraments: We Celebrate, We Praise
    This course reviews the roots of the liturgy and traces the development of the Eucharist and Reconciliation through the centuries. Students expand their understanding of the role of worship in their own lives and in the life of the Christian community
  • The Church: A Spirit-Filled People
    The only course for high-school students that combines the historical and the theological aspects of the Church. Students examine important periods in Christian history and development of religious imagery from biblical times to today.

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Student Text

• Each chapter of the Student Texts includes all the materials essential to support students' learning experience: Learning Objectives, Discussion Questions, Definitions, Special Features, Summaries, Checkpoints, and Chapter Reviews.

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Teacher's Annotated Edition

• In the Teacher's Annotated Editions, lesson outlines appear in the margin of the annotated student pages along with step-by-step lesson suggestions for ease in preparation.
• Key teaching points are summarized in handy chapter overviews.

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Also Available

• Teacher's Resource Book
  Both beginning and experienced teachers benefit from the easy-to-use resources in the Teacher's Resource Books: Doctrinal Focus, Personal Focus, Teacher Observations, Abridged Lesson Plans, overhead masters, quizzes, tests with answer keys, and much more.

Water and Spirit Be Born Again (Level 1) Student Text 0-02-655921-8 Teacher's Annotated Edition 0-02-655924-2

Features

• Water and Spirit is an RCIA-based catechesis for Confirmation. This flexible program represents a new approach to the preparation of older candidates for the sacrament.
• Water and Spirit is presented in two volumes: Be Born Again (Level 1) and Of Water and the Spirit (Level 2).

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Student Text

• The two-year program follows the structure and process of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.
• Materials are structured around the liturgical year, with Scripture readings, prayers, and activities appropriate to each stage of the RCIA.

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Teacher's Annotated Edition

• The Teacher's Annotated Edition for each volume--with easy-to-follow lesson plans annotated in margins of student pages, background materials, sample rites and prayer services, notes for parents, and other resources--helps to simplify teacher preparation.
• The Teacher's Annotated Edition for Level 2, Of Water and the Spirit, features cycling-in lessons so parishes with a one-year Confirmation program can use this volume as a complete preparation.

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