SEVENTH YEAR

Doctrine.

• Comprehend that Jesus Christ is the full revelation of God the Father and that he comes in faithful service to his Father to redeem humanity.
• Recognize that Jesus is both God and Man.
• Understand what it means to call Mary the Mother of God.
• Explain life-long Jesus' role as the faithful servant of his Father on our behalf.
• Realize and explicate the prime importance of Jesus a the redeemer.
• Emphasize Jesus' command to imitate his model of selfless service, utilizing our particular God-given gifts.
• Recognize that while the coming of Christ's kingdom is entirely according to God's time-table and initiative, we can participate, nonetheless, as his instruments in making divine goodness, justice, and mercy more present in the world.
• Recognize that the praise of God as Creator also implies a respect for all life.
• Acknowledge that each believer's manner of life proclaims the vitality and substance of his faith.
• Appreciate the various vocations as differing ways to render service in the Church.
• Recognize the saints as those who have responded with distinction to the call to follow Jesus. Mary's "fiat" was the perfect response.
• Recognize the failure of sin: to respond to God's loving call; to serve the needs of our neighbor; and to respond to what a properly informed conscience judges as right.
• Recognize that within the mystery of divine election, we are called to have a faith in Jesus that is actualized in works of love. Within the framework of divine providence, our acceptance or rejection of the gift of salvation points to our eternal destiny beyond the grave: heaven (possibly by way of purgatory) and hell.

Scripture.

• Image of the Father (John 1:15-18).
• Nativity Narratives: (Luke 2:1-20; Matthew 1:18-2:23).
• Annunciation (Luke 1:26-38).
• Presentation in the Temple (Luke 2:22-40).
• Purposes of Jesus' Coming (Luke 19:9-10; John 10:10).
• Passages Demonstrative of Jesus' Helping Role of Service: Cana (John 2:1-12); Healing the Deaf Mute (Matthew 7:31-37); Official's Son (John 4:46-54); Story of Lazarus (John 11:1-44); Story of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10); Servant's Ear (Luke 22:1-14); Washing the Feet of the Apostles (John 13:1-17); Catch of Fish (John 21:1-14).
• Passages Related to Call: Call of the Twelve Apostles (Mark 3:13-19; Luke 5:1-11); Call to Service (John 13:15-16).
• Following Jesus the Way (John 12:23-26; John 14:5-7).
• Witness (Matthew 10:32-33).
• Building Up the Kingdom and Working for Justice (2 Corinthians 11:16-33; Ephesians 5:1-2; Proverbs 21:21).
• Service Through Use of Talents (Matthew 24:14-30; Ephesians 4:11-16; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11).
• Story of the Rich Young Man (Luke 18:18-28).
• Last Judgment (Matthew 25:31-46).
• Narrations of Death and Resurrection Found in the Four Gospels.

Prayer.

• Sign of the Cross, Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be, Prayers Before and After Meals, a Morning Offering, an Act of Contrition, the Apostles' Creed, Acts of Faith, Hope and Love, the Angelus, the Memorare, the Magnificat, and a Prayer for Vocations.
• Recite and/or sing selected communal prayers, including the Psalms.
• Deepen the experience of prayer as a time for communication with the Lord.
• Be at ease with brief spontaneous prayer.
• Experience brief silent meditation.
• Experience such devotions as the Rosary, the Stations of the Cross, prayer to his/her patron saint or important saints on their feast days.

Worship and Sacraments.

• Plan and execute class liturgies or paraliturgies.
• Intensify internal and external participation in the Mass, with the possibility of functioning as a lector.
• Recognize the mystery of the Eucharist as the center and heart of Christian life.
• Experience communal celebration of Penance with individual Confessions.
• Be familiar and comfortable with the procedure for the individual reception of the sacrament of Reconciliation.
• Recognize and describe liturgical seasons and feasts of importance.
• Familiarity with the purposes and rituals of the following sacraments: Penance, Eucharist, and Confirmation.

Moral Development.

• Emphasize the responsibility of forming one's conscience according to Christ's teachings as transmitted by his Church.
• Appreciate that Christians have a particular responsibility in promoting and realizing the Gospel of Life by always conducting themselves with integrity, justice, and mercy.
• Recognize the need for obedience to lawful authority and to evidence this in behavior.
• Intensify the reciprocal appreciation of daily receiving and granting forgiveness, particularly in connection to the appropriate supplication of the Lord's Prayer.
• Acknowledge in rightful conscience our personal fault in hesitating or refusing to answer the divine summons to love God and neighbor through Christian service.

Return to Table of Contents

Last Updated December 25, 1997 by Fr. Joseph Jenkins