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Christ Jesus, the Way
Home and Family
What is My Child Learning?: Seventh Grade
Unit 1
Chapter 1 Who is Jesus?
This year your child is learning more about Jesus as a spiritual and political leader, as a teacher and master, as the Son of God, and as their spiritual guide. He or she is reviewing the fundamental beliefs of the Church about Jesus, as stated in the Nicene Creed: Jesus came into this world through the Holy Spirit and his mother Mary; he suffered, was crucified, died, and was buried; on the third day after his death, Jesus rose again; he ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of the Father, and will come again to judge the living and the dead. The continual profession of these beliefs helps keep alive the powerful awareness of who Jesus was on Earth and who Jesus is today, alive in the Church and in us through the Holy Spirit. How is Jesus manifested to you today?
Chapter 2 The Son
Your child is being reminded that Jesus grew up in a human family, which deeply influenced his life. Just as your family acts as the first educator in matters of faith, Jesus’ life was shaped by his family’s Jewish heritage. As Jesus grew up, the experiences and teachings of his Jewish family were brought to perfection; he grew in wisdom, age, and grace before God. His very name encompasses his mission as the Son of God: the name “Jesus” means “God saves.” How has your family influenced your faith? How has your family been influenced by your faith?
Chapter 3 The Messiah
Young people want to know that their lives have meaning and that they are loved. Jesus, the fulfillment of God’s promises, is God’s answer to such hopes and longings. Your child is gaining an understanding of the meaning and role of Jesus the Messiah, whom God anointed with His own Spirit. The Messiah ushers in God’s reign, or kingdom, of justice and peace. His teachings and actions show young people that God’s reign is here, and as Christians anointed by Baptism, they have a part in fulfilling Jesus’ mission. How has your understanding of Jesus as the Holy One of God changed your life?
Chapter 4 “I Call You Friends”
Human beings are created in God’s image. By their nature, they seek to relate with one another. Jesus understood this and called, and continues to call, ordinary people to be his friends and to carry out his mission. Your child is learning about Jesus’ chosen friends, the Twelve, whom he chose to help spread the Good News and carry out his mission. The Church is apostolic: Jesus’ friends learned from him and proclaimed his message, and disciples today do the same. Christians care for one another with special devotion, following Jesus’ commandment to his friends to love one another. What are some challenges for you as you follow in the steps of Jesus?
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Unit 2
Chapter 5 Light of the World
God’s love is made visible through Jesus, and Jesus is present and active today in the seven sacraments through the Holy Spirit and in the Church. Your child is learning that these seven sacraments are privileged moments of grace in the lives of Catholics. This sanctifying grace is the gift of a deepened relationship with God. While there are many occasions in life when God’s grace and presence are clearly experienced, the sacraments are celebrated in a special way—they have prescribed ministers, words, and actions. Through the sacraments, Catholics celebrate significant events—new life, commitment, service, forgiveness, healing, and nourishment. In what ways do you speak as the voice of Jesus to others?
Chapter 6 Water and Spirit
Adolescents have a desire to belong. They belong to youth organizations, groups of friends, a family, and a school. Your child will be exploring his or her special membership in the Church, the Body of Christ, in which followers of Jesus are born of water and the Spirit. Specifically, followers of Jesus participate in the three Sacraments of Initiation—Baptism (the bringing to new life in Christ), Confirmation (the anointing with the Holy Spirit), and the Eucharist (the nourishing with the Body and Blood of Christ). Moreover, the baptized are called to be priest, prophet, and king. How do the Sacraments of Initiation continue to help you in your efforts to live a holy life?
Chapter 7 Bread of Life
Sharing a meal is more than sharing food; it is about sharing life. Jesus’ ministry included sharing meals with all sorts of people, and thus, Jesus was sharing his life with everyone, including saints and sinners, rich and poor. Your child is focusing on the Eucharist as a sacrificial meal. Jesus feeds his followers with the Bread of Life that is his very presence, his very flesh and blood. At the liturgy, Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist still. Nourished with the Eucharist, Catholics then are sent to be Jesus’ presence in the world. How will you share the presence of Jesus with others today?
Chapter 8 The Vine and the Branches
This chapter focuses on the Body of Christ. Your child is exploring themes of isolation and welcoming, of exclusion and hospitality. He or she is examining the Body of Christ’s community, including the Communion of Saints and all Christians who are united with Jesus and with one another. As part of the Body of Christ, Christians are called to reach out in love to all people, loving their neighbors as they do themselves. Your child also is learning how the Body of Christ needs the gifts of each of its members. Like a green vine, the community of the Church grows and flourishes when each branch and leaf is nourished and fed. How has your membership in the Church changed over the years?
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Unit 3
Chapter 9 I Lay Down My Life
In this chapter, your child is exploring the themes of sacrifice and suffering. He or she is approaching the theme of Jesus’ Passion by first reflecting on heroes and on what makes a hero. Then the focus will shift to the crucifixion and how Jesus freely sacrificed himself for others. This chapter is a reflection on Jesus’ suffering and dying which freed all from sin and death. As followers of Christ, Christians are called to sacrifice, too. In your everyday life, how do you “lay down your life” for others?
Chapter 10 Jesus Risen
Your child is learning about Jesus’ rising from the dead and how his resurrection makes a difference in people’s lives. The followers of Jesus who saw him die were devastated, yet their despair gave way to hope, new life, and the resurrection of Jesus. His resurrection is not only a story told by the disciples, but a story that continues to be told by people who see his saving power at work in their own lives. They celebrate his dying and resurrection at Easter. The Lords’ Day is a little Easter, as well. In what ways do you show that you believe in Jesus and in his promise of resurrection?
Chapter 11 The Holy Spirit
This chapter explores the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church and the life of the young believer. Your child is learning that Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to his disciples, and that the Holy Spirit is God. The qualities of Jesus that reveal the qualities of his Father are lived out in this world by persons touched by the Holy Spirit. There are nine qualities, or fruits of the Spirit, that mark a Spirit-filled person. These fruits of the Spirit include joy, patience, kindness, generosity, love, and faithfulness. The Holy Spirit sustains people at all times and is present in every relationship, in the community, and in the natural world. How are you touched by the Holy Spirit as you reveal the presence of God in your everyday life?
Chapter 12 Go Make Disciples
In this chapter, your child is learning about being a Christian disciple. Just as Jesus sent the Apostles to make disciples of all nations, disciples today are sent to continue Jesus’ mission and testify to his life, death, and resurrection. Christians are guided by the Holy Spirit, then and now: God the Father and the Son sent the Holy Spirit to the disciples, and nowadays, Catholics receive the Holy Spirit in Baptism and Confirmation. Who is a witness or a modern-day disciple of Jesus for you?
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Unit 4
Chapter 13 Jesus Remembered
This chapter explores how Jesus’ saving message is revealed to the Church through Sacred Scripture and sacred Tradition. Your child is learning that Jesus is the Word, and that Jesus’ teaching is recorded in the New Testament, written from the perspective of those who lived in the years immediately following Jesus’ resurrection. Your child also is exploring the meaning of revelation in the context of the Church’s Tradition and the magisterium. The memory of Jesus is kept alive in those who learn about, remember, and respond to his call. Who are some of the people who have handed on their faith to you?
Chapter 14 The Good Shepherd
In this chapter, your child is exploring the authority of Jesus and the moral implications of following his teachings. Jesus Christ teaches with the authority of the Father and passes moral authority to his Apostles and their successors. In addition, the disciples received the Holy Spirit, who continues to guide the Church. Your child also is learning that God gives each person free will but also a conscience to help evaluate the person’s moral decisions. What criteria do you use to determine right from wrong?
Chapter 15 Jesus Forgives
It is not always easy to forgive others, and it is not always easy to ask for forgiveness. In this chapter, your child is exploring the healing power of God’s forgiving love. Jesus forgives sinners, and he gave the Church power to absolve sin and celebrate God’s forgiveness through the sacrament of Reconciliation. Your child is recalling Jesus’ presence in the sacrament, and is learning to look to Jesus for the strength and the courage that it takes to forgive those who have brought pain, suffering, and hurt. When in your life has it been difficult to forgive? Why was it difficult?
Chapter 16 Come Follow Me
This chapter focuses your child’s attention on the Christian call to serve others. He or she is discovering that everyone is born with a mission, or purpose, in life and that through Baptism, they answer God’s call to a vocation of loving service. Each person who listens carefully and thoughtfully to the message of Jesus chooses a path in life that best reflects that message for him or her. Your child is recognizing people in their own lives who live Jesus’ call of service and exploring the various vocations in which Catholics are called to serve. For example, the sacraments of Holy Orders and Matrimony bless the vocations of the ordained ministry and marriage. What helps you remain faithful to the vocation you have chosen?
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Unit 5
Chapter 17 Servant
Jesus served others and calls his followers to serve. In this chapter, your child is examining what it means to serve the world as Jesus did; he or she is exploring his perspective on happiness and power and on what it means to be a servant-leader. The chapter also covers how society views service and how these world views contrast with what Jesus teaches about service. In your everyday life, what form does your loving service take?
Chapter 18 One in Christ
Jesus prayed for unity—that all be one as he is one with the Father. In this chapter, your child is studying the concept of unity in diversity as it applies to the Body of Christ, the Church. He or she will recognize that a central sign of unity for the Church is the Eucharist. In spite of differences in background and cultures, all Christians are called to work for unity and interfaith understanding. Unity is so important that division in the Body of Christ is a sinful wound. Jesus’ prayer that all may be one is a prayer directed at the heart of the young adolescent, for they long to be united with others; they long for a world of peace and harmony. In what ways are you called to bring unity among the diversity of your own family, community, or parish?
Chapter 19 Witness
Christians are called to be living witnesses to Jesus, in both word and action. In this chapter, your child is exploring what it means to be a Christian witness. He or she will be introduced to Saint Stephen as one who lived his baptismal call by witnessing to Jesus’ message even to the point of death. He is remembered as the first Christian martyr but certainly is not the last witness to Jesus who gave up his life. When have you taken an active stance n your witness to faith? When have you taken a quiet, unassuming stance?
Chapter 20 Peacemaker
Jesus preached a message of justice and peace and called his followers to work for the realization of this message. In this chapter, your child is exploring peace, not as an intangible concept, but as a reality that is central to the teachings of Jesus: God’s kingdom is a kingdom of justice and peace. Your child also is practicing peace—peace as a verb—by exploring peaceful solutions to problems in your community. Through such efforts, Christians can become the peace of Christ in the world. In your everyday life, how do you work for peace and justice?
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Unit 6
Chapter 21 Christian Life
This chapter teaches your child about the key virtues that he or she received through Baptism. These gifts from the Holy Spirit open the door to a life of Christian discipleship. Christian life is guided by the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love, as well as by the cardinal (or moral) virtues of prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude. Your child is learning how to be more like moral followers of Christ who apply these virtues in their daily lives. They use their gifts to make the world a better place, praising and thanking God for calling them into the light of life. What do others see in you that identifies you as a follower of Christ?
Chapter 22 Living Faith
In this chapter, your child will explore the heart of the matter: faith. Christians are called to live their faith through works. Your child is being challenged to consider the integral connection between the two by discovering ways in which what he or she believes can be lived out in what he or she does. Your child also is learning that Christians are given the gift of faith in Baptism; they are encouraged to be consistent in their lives as they take ownership of what is to be believed about God. They look to Mary as the Christian model of faith. In what specific ways has faith in God made a difference in your life?
Chapter 23 Christian Hope
In this chapter, your child is reflecting on Christian hope. He or she will learn that hope is a gift from God, and that Christian hope resides in the person of Jesus and in his promise of eternal life to those who follow him. Again and again, Christians are reminded of Jesus’ commandment to love another “as I have loved you,” and thus, are called to share hope with others. Christians see that through the power of God’s Spirit working through them, they can bring new heart into situations of discouragement and despair. In what specific ways do you live out Christian hope?
Chapter 24 Love One Another
Young people are surrounded by images of love, both as it defined by society and as it is defined by God. In this chapter, your child is exploring true Christian love. He or she will see that God is love and that love is the fullness of Christian life. Thus, Christians are judged by how well they love one another. They are called to an eternal life of love and happiness with God. By learning to recognize loving behavior, your child will observe God at work and see glimpses of heaven. In what ways do you serve others with the love of Jesus?
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