| Christ Jesus, the Way
Home and Family
What is My Child Learning?: Eighth Grade
Unit 1
Chapter 1 Fitting In
Your child is learning that the sense of fitting in with others is an important part of human experience. Individuals desire to be part of a group. As privileged members of God’s creation, they are drawn to one another. Nevertheless, Christians must balance their need to fit in with the obligation to be truthful. A relationship with God helps one to judge the healthiness of friendships and to serve others. Giving to others has everything to do with fitting into a group; the more we give, the more others will make room for us. In your daily life, what experiences provide you with a sense of belonging?
Chapter 2 Follower of Christ
Young people should not wait until adulthood to follow Jesus. In this chapter, your child is being encouraged to be a follower of Jesus, which entails making choices about how to treat others. He or she is being asked to seek out Jesus, who touches people’s lives through Scripture, the sacraments, and the teachings of the Church. The more often one encounters Jesus, the easier it becomes to model one’s behavior on his. The saints, too, are models for people of any age. It may seem unrealistic to be able to imitate the actions of the Son of God, but the saints are reminders that ordinary people can transform their lives by adopting Christlike behavior. What is Jesus asking of you at this time in your life?
Chapter 3 Body of Christ
Like most Christians, young people are not as aware as they could be of the effects of their actions on others. Just as injury to one part of the physical body results in injury to the whole body, harm done to one member of the Church, the Body of Christ, causes harm to the entire Church, the whole Body. References to the Church as the Body of Christ underscore how intimately Christians are bound to one another. They have a responsibility, rooted in Baptism, to build up the Body of Christ. Thus, your child is learning that it is important to realize his or her full, God-given potential through active participation, including celebrating the Sacraments of Initiation. In what ways does your faith community help you respond to the invitation of Jesus?
Chapter 4 Member of the Church
Baptism calls on all believers to share and to hand on the gift of faith to future generations. In this chapter, your child is being reminded that all believers are united in a faith that is based on the teachings Jesus handed on to the Apostles. In turn, every baptized Catholic helps to hand on that apostolic faith. The Church calls this living faith Tradition. Together with family traditions, the Tradition of the Church offers a sense of identity. In your parish, how do the many voices of faith speak to you? How do you respond?
Back To Top
Unit 2
Chapter 5 Be Yourself
Every human being is both unique and evolving. Everyone grows and develops in many ways throughout life, and in the same way, the faith of adults does not remain static. In this chapter, your child is learning that becoming holy is a process and that a life of holiness involves living the moral virtues. Living out the virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance makes it easier to turn away from sin and easier to make good choices. Making such good choices brings one closer to God. How have you lived the moral virtues and become closer to God?
Chapter 6 Family Life
The family is responsible for meeting the emotional, spiritual, and physical needs of its members. In this chapter, your child is learning that a Christian family also has the responsibility to teach its children about life-sustaining faith. By teaching children about love and prayer, the family prepares them for life in the Church and the world beyond. It is within the family that one first learns of Christ and experiences his love. A family’s love for one another mirrors the love that unites the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These bonds of love unite members of a family. How are the members of your family a model of the Church to one another and to the world around them?
Chapter 7 Christian Friendship
In this chapter, your child is being asked to think about the qualities of a true friend and good friendships. He or she is seeing that the qualities of true friendship are Christian qualities. Also, learning how to be a better friend to others comes from having a friendship with Jesus—Christian friendship that involves responsibility and accountability. Exploring the connection between friendship and faith enables your child to nourish his or her relationship with Jesus and to establish a more reliable standard to measure other friendships against. In what specific ways do your friends bring you joy?
Chapter 8 Community of Believers
God created people to live in community with one another. This chapter emphasizes how members of the faith community, even those who feel isolated or abandoned, are never truly alone—they are joined to one another through Baptism. Both the living and the dead are joined to one another in the Communion of Saints. Your child is learning to value their communities of faith and realizing that people have a responsibility to contribute to their communities. How are you involved in building up your faith community?
Back To Top
Unit 3
Chapter 9 A New Way
Your child is learning that changes in life can cause a person to grow emotionally and that the Church experiences changes, too: the Catholic Church has evolved from a small group of disciples of Jesus to a worldwide institution that touches and affects the lives of people everywhere. Your child also is learning about how early Christians often gave witness to their faith by suffering martyrdom. In addition, Christian leaders faced heresies—false teachings that led many believers away from the truths of the faith. How have you responded to the changes in the Church during your lifetime?
Chapter 10 Spreading the Good News
Young people may be surprised to learn that since Baptism, they are called to be missionaries—people who share the Good News with others. However, your child is learning that he or she does not have to do full-time missionary work in order to be a missionary; sharing one’s gifts with people already is a way to spread the Gospel. He or she also is learning about great missionaries. Out of love for God, monks and nuns brought the Good News to others and helped strengthen civilization. These men and women were stirred by a deep passion for proclaiming Christ to the world, and they wished for others to undergo the same transformation. What might keep you from spreading the Good News to nonbelievers?
Chapter 11 The Church Renewed
Through selfish and irresponsible behavior, members of the Church can damage the unity of the Body of Christ. In this chapter, your child is learning how the Catholic Church, an institution that is both human and divine, is in constant need of reflection and renewal which ultimately brings about repentance, change, and transformation. Such reflection and change demonstrate how God sometimes subtly takes people off one path and puts them on another. The Church periodically renews itself through an ecumenical council, which the pope calls into session to deal with important issues. Through the ecumenical council, the Church promotes greater understanding among Christians. How has the Church changed in your lifetime?
Chapter 12 The Church Today
All human beings, who have one heavenly Creator, are connected to one another. The pope, the universal pastor, helps to remind Catholics everywhere that they are all members of one community—one Body of Christ. Your child is learning that the Church, although universal, promotes justice at the local and national levels. Even in a place as culturally and racially diverse as the United States, Catholics embrace their diversity to build a Catholic identity that is still connected to the universal Church. Your child also is learning that Catholics have a mission to evangelize, which is as urgent today as it was in apostolic times. As a Catholic American, how can you be a positive influence in your local community?
Back To Top
Unit 4
Chapter 13 Make a Difference
Each Christian is called to make a difference in the lives of others. In this chapter, your child is learning that even young people can make a difference despite their age. Whenever they improve a situation or help other people, they are making a difference; Christians can sometimes make a difference by taking a stand that challenges others. The scale on which young Christians give to people and communities, including the Church, will grow as they themselves grow. By making a difference as members of the Church, they are living out God’s will, for God continually calls upon the Church to transform the world. What gifts do you bring to the task of transforming the world?
Chapter 14 Show Compassion
Your child is learning that every human being possesses the capacity to show compassion. People demonstrate compassion because they choose to, for compassion involves a conscious choice to care for others. It also involves identifying the needs of others as your own. Catholics are members of a church of service, so it is crucial that they reach out to help others. It is part of Jesus’ commandment for people to love one another. Moreover, a person must feel compassion for other people in order to experience God’s compassion. Who in your life has shown compassion to you?
Chapter 15 Seek Justice
Justice involves seeing another person as oneself. Promoting justice strengthens the bonds between people and helps unify the community. In this chapter, your child is recognizing the Christian call to tear down the walls that divide people and keep them separate from one another. Christians are called to see those in need as their brothers and sisters and to reach out to them. The call to justice is one that cannot be ignored; human beings will be held accountable for what they say and do to others. In what specific ways do you extend God’s justice to those who are in need?
Chapter 16 Promote Peace
During the Liturgy of the Eucharist, worshippers exchange a sign of peace with another, often saying, “Peace be with you.” In this chapter, your child is learning the meaning of peace. Specifically, peace is not the absence of violence but the product of working for justice. Your child is being reminded that his or her commitment to peace and justice can be strengthened by prayer, the Eucharist, and regular participation in their faith community. Peacemaking is an obligation for Christians, as well as part of their faith; God’s reign on Earth began when Jesus came into the world to bring peace. In what ways are you a peacemaker?
Back To Top
Unit 5
Chapter 17 Prayer
Prayer is a faith-sustaining, life-fulfilling practice that your child can engage in throughout life. In this chapter, he or she is learning that a regular prayer life can deepen a person’s relationship with God. It is important to understand that prayer is communication between oneself and God and sometimes involves more listening than talking. Listening in silence for the voice of God can be a bit daunting for young people, so your child is learning to become more aware of God’s role in his or her life and the variety of prayer forms that exist. These different prayer forms are vocal prayer, meditation, and contemplation. When in the course of your day do you find time to listen to God in prayer?
Chapter 18 Praying the Scriptures
The inherent power of the Scriptures can thoroughly transform a person. In this chapter, your child is experiencing firsthand that the Word of God is a bottomless well that everyone can draw from to enrich both their private and communal prayer. It clears and focuses the mind, which helps a person make better choices and decisions. Your child is also learning that the Scriptures, particularly the Book of Psalms, are the foundation of the Church’s liturgical prayer. What specific words of Jesus challenge you? How do you respond?
Chapter 19 Eucharist
In this chapter, your child is exploring the Eucharist and the liturgy’s communal dimension. He or she is reminded that the Eucharist unites a person to Christ and to the rest of the community. It also nourishes the Christian community and transforms it into the Body of Christ. Your child also is discovering how the People of God have had a specific and important role to play in the liturgy since ancient times. How does the liturgy in your parish nourish you and give you strength to “go forth” in the name of Jesus?
Chapter 20 Healing and Forgiveness
Your child is learning the importance of the sacraments of Penance and Anointing of the Sick in building and maintaining healthy relationships within a faith community. A person’s relationship with God and others is repaired through Penance. Also, a person’s capacity to receive forgiveness mirrors his or her capacity to offer it to others. Your child is learning that the sacraments of Penance and Anointing of the Sick have firm scriptural foundations—they continue the healing ministry of Jesus and the Apostles. How do the sacraments of healing bring comfort and peace to you?
Back To Top
Unit 6
Chapter 21 Proclaiming the Kingdom
In this chapter, your child is learning that the kingdom of God exists right in this world, though not in its fullness. Jesus’ healing ministry showed the kingdom of God, and his coming again in glory at the end of time will perfect it. By carrying on Jesus’ healing ministry, Christians build up God’s kingdom. A person’s words and deeds, if modeled on those of Jesus, are a sign that the kingdom of God is upon us. How is the kingdom of God present today in your parish?
Chapter 22 The Church in Action
This chapter explains how to build God’s kingdom and provides examples of people making such efforts. Your child is learning that choosing to do the will of God—which means focusing more on the needs of others than on one’s own needs—is the most effective way to build the kingdom of God. He or she also is recognizing the link between effectiveness and one’s attitude: kingdom builders are motivated by love to help others. Ultimately, people’s values and actions will determine whether the present world will be transformed into the City of God. In what ways do you participate in bringing about the reign of God?
Chapter 23 You in Action
There is perhaps no greater proof of the kingdom of God in our midst than people helping each other. In this chapter, your child is recognizing God’s call for people to use their gifts to help and serve others. In this way, they become living, breathing signs of the kingdom by their good words and deeds. However, words and deeds done without good intentions are not enough; people must consciously choose to do God’s will. What is God’s will for you today?
Chapter 24 Leading the Way
One way to lead is to encourage hope in others. In this chapter, your child is learning how hope is essential to Christian life: no committed Christian can live for very long without hope. One reason is that it allows Christians to remind themselves that life is a work in progress. An abundance of hope also guards against the frustration that comes with seeing situations change slowly or barely at all. In essence, hope—together with the other theological virtues, faith and love—empowers people to work for change and to build the kingdom of God. Consequently, those who live hope on a daily basis are signs of God’s kingdom in the world. Just the example of one person making a difference will lead others to do the same. In what ways do you see yourself as a leader in Christ?
Back To Top
|
