Sample Lesson Plan 1 Title: Audience: Christian Morality: What Does Love Look Like?

Level 2 High School Confirmation students

Time Period: Sunday morning class from 10:30AM-12:30PM Objectives: 1) To help the Confirmation candidates understand the moral life that Jesus calls us to in greater depth 2) To explore with the candidates the concept that for Christians, to live a moral life is to respond to the Gospel mandate to love as Jesus loved 3) To encourage the candidates to examine the Sermon on the Mount and other scriptural sources for living a life of love Ynez Lizarraga

Created By:

Adapted From: Brown, Therese, Provencher, Maureen, Tamberino, Tony, and Zanzig, Thomas. Confirmed in a Faithful Community. Minnesota: St. Marys Press. 2006. Print. Catholic Church. Catechism of the Catholic Church. 2nd ed. Vatican: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2000. Print. Time: 10:30-10:45 Length: 15 min Content: Introduction, Attendance, Community-Building, Overview Begin with Opening Prayer. Welcome everyone to class. Take attendance. Ask students to pair-up with other students, describe how their week was, and discuss if there were instances during which they witnessed love in action. Explain an overview of todays topic: Today we will be learning about what Christian love looks like. We will be exploring the way that Jesus loved and what he meant when he told us to love as he has loved us. Group Discussion: Love is Have the pairs of students join other pairs to form a group. Give each group strips of paper that have statements on them, such as Loving is sharing a smile, Love is not counting costs, and Love is never being angry. Ask students to discuss each statement in greater depth and have them decide the one definition that they believe best describes what love really is. Presentation: The Meaning of Christian Love

10:45-11:00

15 min

11:00-11:20

20 min

We, as Christians, find our definition of love from the Bible. (Share John 15:9-12 and Mark 12:29-31 with the candidates). Love is the highest lawthat directed towards God, our neighbors, our selves, and to all of creation. As we talked about in previous classes, the Kingdom of God is the rule of Gods love over the hearts of people and a new social order based on unconditional love of God and others. Love means being deeply concerned about the dignity and welfare of other people. It means respecting all life because we are in relationship with all life. The thing that separates us from God and from other people is sin. It is when we deliberately fail to follow Gods command to love others. We all sin, but we are obliged to follow the moral law, and can move away from sin and towards God with the help of the Holy Spirit (The nature of sin will be covered in greater detail during another class). One thing we can do to make it easier for us to love and avoid sin is to practice the four cardinal virtues. Prudence- the habit of thinking before acting. The prudent person uses reason to figure out the good in every situation and then to choose the right way to achieve it. Justice- the virtue of giving to God and to our neighbors what they are due. The just person thinks about the needs of other people, recognizes their God-given dignity, and reaches out to them with love. Fortitude- the strength to live morally even in difficult situations. A person with fortitude is able to resist temptations and make sacrifices in order to do good. Temperance- the self-control that keeps ones appetite for pleasure from becoming extreme. It doesnt mean we cant have fun. The temperate person develops the habit of setting limits, however, because too much of a good thing can get in the way of the moral life and can separate us from God. When we listen to the message of creation and to the voice of conscience, every person can come to certainty about the existence of God. This means that the foundational moral orientation of every person toward the moral good is, in a sense, built into our very being. Gods law is present in the heart of each person and is called natural law. The Catechism of the Catholic Church also tells us about natural law: natural law is nothing other than the light of understanding placed in us by God; through it we know what we must do and what we must avoid. God has given this light or law at the creation. (Catechism, no. 1955).

11:20-11:30 11:30-11:45

10 min 15 min

Break Presentation: The Moral Vision of Jesus Point out the Ten Commandments that are presented in the candidates handbooks. Explain that the Ten Commandments were presented by Moses on Mount Sinai during the Sermon on the Mount and are known as the Sinai Covenant. These are particularly helpful to us in determining Jesus vision of love as they are starting guidelines for how to live out the law of love. Jesus told his followers not to disregard or forget these commandments, but to go beyond them to fulfill the great commandment of love. (Read each one to the students). While each of these tell us what we should avoid doing, the Beatitudes guide us by giving us insight into the actions and attitudes that characterize Christian life. They challenge us to make moral choices about earthly goods so that we may learn to love God above all things, and so that one day, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, we may enter into the joy of divine life. (Read the Beatitudes to the students). Activity Have the students form groups and distribute Bibles. Assign each group to a different passage (Matthew 5:13-16, Matthew 5:17-26, Matthew 5:38-48, Matthew 6:1-15). After they are finished reading, ask them to describe how Jesus demonstrated love in the passage. With a large paper posted on the wall, ask students to come up and write words that describe what our world would be like if everyone loved like Jesus did. After they are finished, ask the group the following questions: What are some of the words you see here? What makes it difficult to love the way that Jesus loved? Is it worth it? Why? What steps are needed for the world to look like this? Tell the candidates that if they feel they are ready to make a change in the world by loving as Jesus did, they can come up to the poster and sign their name on it as a form of personal commitment to fulfilling Jesus call. Journal Writing Ask students to reflect on what theyve learned today in their journal while soft instrumental music plays. Closing Prayer

11:45-12:05

20 min

12:05-12:15

10 min

12:15-12:30

15 min

Students form a circle and are asked to share their intentions during the prayer.