MOOD · 2020-07-10 · 8 MOOD 9 at the doors and in the parking lot during pick up, passing out the Parent Letter and looking out for the safety of the teens. The Parent Letter is

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SERIES

MOOD A LIFE NIGHT SERIES ON THE HUMAN

EMOTIONS OF JESUS

CONTENT

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture passages have been taken from the RevisedStandard Version, Catholic edition. Copyright ©1946, 1952, 1971 by the Divisionof Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in theUSA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Quotes are taken from the English translation of the Catechism of the CatholicChurch for the United States of America (indicated as CCC), 2nd ed. Copyright©1997 by United States Catholic Conference – Libreria Editrice Vaticana.

Author: Lisa Hunt, Jose Rodriguez Rivera

Design: Ryan McQuade, Miguel Cervantes

Copy Edit: Elizabeth Bayardi, Colleen Stepanek

Hispanic Inculturation Team: Stephanie Espinoza, Diana Arizmendi, Yazmin Mani, Selina Nunez, Joshua Rosa ©2020 Life Teen, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book, including interior design, cover design, and/or icons, may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means (electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without prior written permission from the publisher.

The information contained herein is published and produced by Life Teen, Inc. The resources and practices are in full accordance with the Roman Catholic Church. The Life Teen® name and associated logos are trademarks registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Use of the Life Teen® trademarks without prior permission is forbidden. Permission may be requested by contacting Life Teen, Inc. at 480-820-7001.

LOWKEY UPSETSADNESS Pg. 32

LITERALLY DEADHAPPINESS Pg. 10

CLAP BACKANGER Pg. 54

STANLOVE Pg. 74

ABOUT THIS SERIESIMPORTANT DETAILS ABOUT THIS SERIES Pg. 4

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ABOUT THIS SERIES

ABOUT THIS SERIESEmotions can be empowering, crippling, and overwhelming. At times, they can be all three. Whether we experience triumphant peaks or deflating lows, the emotions we feel are never sinful; rather, they are a part of the human psyche. What we do with our emotions defines our morality. Since Jesus became fully human, He experienced the same emotions we feel. The difference is that Jesus took these emotions and gave us an example of how to order them for the good of all. Mood is a Life Night series that presents the emotional responses of Jesus during His earthly ministry. It challenges teens to use Jesus’ example to understand their emotional responses and order them toward their spiritual good.

STRUCTURE AND METHODMood is a four-part series and is best implemented when the Life Nights are executed in order. If this is the first programming of your semester, implement a Social or Kick-Off Life Night before beginning this series. The Life Nights in this series flow easily from one to the next. However, if you would like to take a certain topic further, you can either schedule an additional mid-week Life Night or add a Life Night to the series itself. Between Mood and the next Life Night series or curriculum guide, offer a Social Life Night to add variety.

CORE PREPARATIONIn order to have a clear mind and heart, encourage the core members to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation prior to each night. This will enable the core members to gracefully navigate possible intense emotions with teens during small group discussions.

INTRODUCTORY MATERIALEach Life Night begins with a Goal, Key Concepts, Key Terms, and Scripture and Catechism references. These sections provide an overview of the content and themes of the Life Night.

ABOUT THIS LIFE NIGHTAbout This Life Night briefly describes the Gather, Proclaim, Break, and Send. It provides a step-by-step framework for the Life Night.

ENVIRONMENTThe Environment section offers ideas on how to create a meeting space that supports the content and main themes of the Life Night. Not only can the environment be a part of the evangelization and catechetical process, but the effort and creativity put forth can also make the teens feel valued and welcomed. Environment images for each Life Night can be found on the May 2020 Life Teen USB and online at lifeteen.com under Life Support: May 2020.

MEDIA SUGGESTIONSMedia Suggestions provides music and video clip suggestions that creatively support the content and main themes of the Life Night. While planning, take a look at the media suggestions and consider weaving a video clip or song into the Life Night. Media communicates with our hearts and minds in a unique, powerful way — especially the hearts and minds of teens.

FLOCKNOTEFor those parishes who also subscribe to Flocknote, Parent Updates and text messages are loaded into the interface. Simply log in to schedule and send these communications. Find more information about subscribing to Flocknote at flocknote.com.

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AS YOU GET STARTEDAs You Get Started offers adaptations to keep in mind as you plan the Life Night.

HISPANIC INCULTURATIONThe Hispanic/Latino population in Catholic parishes across the United States is large and growing. According to the National Study of Catholic Parishes with Hispanic Ministry, 38 to 40 percent of adult Catholics self-identify as Hispanic. Additionally, Hispanics account for 71 percent of growth of the Catholic population in the United States since 1960. According to the USCCB’s survey, Hispanics in the United States and the Catholic Church, 54 percent of Catholic millennials (those born in 1982 or later) are Hispanic. To meet this growing need, Life Teen has added a Hispanic Inculturation section to Life Nights. This section was developed by a group of dedicated youth ministers who serve at largely Hispanic/Latino parishes throughout the United States and Mexico. We recognize that not all Hispanic/Latino communities are the same. However, it is our hope that this section assists youth ministers in adapting to the needs of their specific community by providing insight into the Hispanic/Latino culture.

PROCLAIM In this series, you will find two versions of the Proclaim for each Life Night. The Proclaim Outline lays out the key terms and main points quickly so the person giving the Proclaim can expand upon them with their own insight and ideas. The Proclaim Details offers a more robust version of the teaching with examples, ideas for personal testimony, and suggested expansion on the key points. Use them both to write a Proclaim that fits your youth group and local community.

SMALL GROUPSIn order to hold the teens accountable in attending all of the Life Nights in the series and to build a sense of trust and community, it is recommended that the teens are divided into small groups on the first Life Night of the series and stay with those groups for the duration of the series. This allows for deeper conversations and a greater sense of openness among the teens. If possible, have the same core members lead the same small groups for each Life Night. This will lead to greater trust and deeper small group discussions. HANDOUTSAll of the Life Night handouts can be found on the May 2020 Life Teen USB and online at lifeteen.com under Life Support: May 2020. The handouts are formatted for you to easily print on standard letter-size paper. Be diligent in accessing the handouts while planning the Life Nights.

SOCIAL MEDIA RECAP AND PACKAGEThe Social Media Recap and Package provides Instagram images, hashtags, and tweets that both you and your teens can use to engage social media throughout the week. They recap the main themes and remind the teens of the important aspects of the Life Night. They can be found at the beginning of every Life Night and on the May 2020 Life Teen USB.

PARENT LETTERThe Parent Letter contains Content Overview and Conversation Starters for each Life Night. The Parent Letter not only includes the parents in the formation and catechesis of their teens, but also provides them an opportunity for ongoing conversion and catechesis. The Parent Letter can be emailed to parents before or after a Life Night. It can also be printed and handed out at the end of a Life Night. Consider having core members

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at the doors and in the parking lot during pick up, passing out the Parent Letter and looking out for the safety of the teens. The Parent Letter is available in both English and Spanish. If you have a bilingual community, we recommend double-sided printing the Parent Letter in both English and Spanish. Teens, and sometimes even core members, have a tendency to grab any handout, not necessarily the right one. We want the right handout to get into the hands of parents. Also, if the word gets out in your community that you are handing out bilingual materials, the Spanish speaking community will feel more welcomed and encouraged to become involved.

USCCB FRAMEWORKFor parishes using the USCCB framework for high school catechesis, this series will work with your Person of Jesus semester.

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LIFE NIGHT OVERVIEW

LITERALLY DEADHAPPINESS

GOAL

The goal of Literally Dead is for teens to examine why they seek happiness and present knowing Christ as the true path toward joy and fulfillment.

KEY CONCEPTS

• Every person desires happiness, fulfillment, and peace. The pursuit of happiness is often the driving motivation behind many of our decisions because we were intentionally made to seek fulfillment.

• Happiness is different from joy as it conflicts with other emotions, while being joyous can be congruent with other emotions.

• A relationship with Jesus is the key to fulfillment and lasting joy and peace. Within this relationship, we can also come to understand our human emotions and how to order them toward our spiritual good.

KEY TERMS:BeatitudesJoy

SCRIPTURE:Matthew 5:2-11, 19:13-15, 21:12-13; Luke 10:20-21

CATECHISM:464, 1716-1719, 1767-1770

ABOUT THIS LIFE NIGHT

The Gather is a real-life version of the board game Life, using party hats and coins. The Proclaim dives into our desire for happiness and presents Jesus as the fulfillment of that desire. The Break is a journal activity that gives the teens an opportunity to reflect on their happiness. The Send is an active reflection that focuses on the core human emotions.

ENVIRONMENT

As a standard environment for this series, use cardboard to create the word “MOOD” as a large upfront piece/stage background. Make sure to construct each letter so it is able to stand on its own.

Set up a space for the teens to gather for the Proclaim. Project the Literally Dead environment image, which can be found on the May 2020 Life Teen USB and online at lifeteen.com under Life Support: May 2020.

For this Life Night, paint the letter “M” yellow and decorate it with images of people laughing from magazines, printouts of smiling faces from famous GIFs, and cutouts of grinning emojis. Surround the letter with toys, sports equipment, and balloons. Leave the remaining letters white, black, or uncolored.

To prepare for the Gather game, set up a table at the entrance of the main meeting space. Gather five different colored party hats, making sure there is one hat for each teen, and place them on the table. Collect seven to eight real or fake coins for each teen and put them in individual cups.

For the Send, set up six distinct stations on the walls for each core emotion: sad, mad, scared, joyful, powerful, and peaceful. Place multiple images that display the particular emotion at each station. Include multiple types of people, sizes, and colors to add variety.

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MEDIA SUGGESTIONS

lifeteen: “LS - Mood” (spotify:user:lifeteen)

Life Support May 2020: “Happy Illusions” (lifeteen.com)

SOCIAL MEDIA HASHTAGS:#LT_LiterallyDead

AS YOU GET STARTED...

For an alternate Gather, play a rotation of various childhood games (e.g., musical chairs, red rover, hide-and-seek, hopscotch). Tie these games into the Proclaim by emphasizing how much laughter and happiness they brought us when we were children and how we still seek that childlike happiness now.

For an alternate Break, use the questions from the Literally Happy? handout as a small group discussion for teens who have a difficult time journaling. However, start the discussion by asking the teens to share their thoughts on the Proclaim, rather than the first question from the handout.

For an alternate Gather on a digital platform, inform the teens that they will be playing a multiple-round scavenger hunt using items in their home. In the first round, the teens have 30 seconds to find something that is a specific color. Roll a six-sided die to determine the color (e.g., 1=Red, 2=Purple, 3=Yellow, 4=Green, 5=Blue, 6=Black). The teens who manage to find an item in the allotted time receive one point. For the second round, the teens have 60 seconds to find something that is a specific color and shape. Roll the die twice to determine the requirements (e.g., 1=Rectangle, 2=Square, 3=Triangle, 4=Circle, 5=Oval, 6=Pentagon). The teens who manage to find an item in the allotted time receive two points. For the third round, the teens have 90 seconds to find something that is a

specific color, shape, and texture. Roll the die three times to determine the requirements (e.g., 1=Scratchy, 2=Soft, 3=Wet, 4=Rough, 5=Smooth, 6=Fuzzy). The teens who manage to find an item in the allotted time receive three points. The teen with the most points at the end of the third round is the winner. For variation, do not allow the teens to use the same item twice.

To adapt the Break for a digital platform, consider having the teens share their responses from the Literally Happy handout with the group after they have finished journaling. This handout can be found on the May 2020 Life Teen USB and online at lifeteen.com under Life Support: May 2020.

To adapt the Send for a digital platform, create six slides with collages that represent the six core emotions: sad, mad, scared, joyful, powerful, and peaceful. Include multiple images that display the particular emotion, and incorporate diverse images of people. Share your screen and then project each slide while leading the reflection.

HISPANIC INCULTURATION

By Stephanie EspinozaContributors: Diana Arizmendi, Yazmin Mani, Selina Nuñez, Joshua Rosa

Cultural InsightsWhen defining “happiness” in the Proclaim, consider pointing out the various words that are used to communicate “happy” in Spanish (e.g., alegre, gozoso, contento, feliz). Share how the variations for “happy” in Spanish help us understand the different nuances and kinds of happiness, while also revealing just how complex happiness can be.

Help the teens draw on the heritage of joy found within

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Hispanic/Latino culture by highlighting the different celebrations in Latin American countries that cultivate joy around circumstances that are not always readily associated with joy. For example, Carnaval in Brazil is a loud and colorful celebration of life before the penitential season of Lent. Similarly, Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) in Mexico is a way to bring light into the darkness of death. Connect examples like these when discussing how joy can coexist with other emotions during the Proclaim.

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LIFE NIGHT: LITERALLY DEAD

GATHER

Welcome and Opening Prayer (5 min)As the teens enter, give them a hat and a cup of real or fake coins. Core members also need a hat and coins. Welcome the teens to the Life Night, introduce any teens or core members who are attending for the first time, and begin in prayer.

Game of Life (15 min)Play upbeat background music, and instruct the teens to walk around the room and play rock, paper, scissors with other teens. The teens who win take a coin from their opponent. If the teens tie, no coins are exchanged. After a match, the teens find another person to play rock, paper, scissors. Have a core member randomly stop the music. When the music stops, present a scenario (like the ones below) and have the teens follow the instructions in the scenario. Continue to present scenarios to the teens. If at any point a teen runs out of coins, they are eliminated from the game. Once all of the scenarios have been read, have the teens count their coins. The teen with the most coins wins. Utilize a hat with slips of paper that correspond to each of the hat colors and randomly draw one to fill in the scenario. Add more scenarios based on the parish, location, or youth group’s culture.

• Everyone wearing a ____ hat left for a vacation with your best friends. Take a coin from a person with a ______ hat because they had to stay at home and work on a project.

• Everyone wearing a ____ hat is overwhelmed by their upcoming midterms/finals. Give a coin to the closest person with a ____ hat.

• Everyone wearing a ____ hat got a new puppy. Find a core member, and take two of their coins.

• Everyone wearing a ____ hat can cover their cup during the next scenario, so nothing can be taken from you.

• Everyone wearing a ____ hat just got accepted to their dream college. Find a core member, and take three of their coins.

• Everyone wearing a ____ hat is experiencing some tension in a friendship. Find a person with a ____ hat, and give them two coins.

• Everyone wearing a ____ hat failed their calculus exam. Find a core member, and give them one coin.

• Everyone wearing a ____ hat became state football champions. Find a person with a ____ hat, and take two of their coins.

PROCLAIM

“Literally Dead” Teaching (10 min)The Proclaim Outline and Proclaim Details can be found on pages 20 to 29.

BREAK

Literally Happy? (10 min)Invite the teens to spread throughout the main meeting space and take a seat. Play soft, instrumental music in the background. Give each teen a pen and a copy of the Literally Happy? handout, which can be found on the May 2020 Life Teen USB and online at lifeteen.com under Life Support: May 2020. Instruct the teens to use the handout to journal about happiness. During this time, encourage the teens to think deeply about what makes them happy, what inhibits them from feeling happy, and how they can order their happiness toward a relationship with Jesus.

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SEND

The Core Emotions (35 min)Prior to the Life Night, use the instructions from the Environment to create six core emotion stations around the main meeting space (sad, mad, scared, joyful, powerful, and peaceful). Divide the teens into six evenly-sized groups with one core member in each group, and instruct the groups to rotate to each of the stations. Have the core member use the Emotions Walkthrough handout to lead a reflection on each emotion. Handouts can be found on the May 2020 Life Teen USB and online at lifeteen.com under Life Support: May 2020. Once the groups have rotated through each station, close the Life Night by praying a Hail Mary and Glory Be.

Use the following to transition into the activity:

In His divine wisdom, the Father created us with the ability to feel. Upon seeing His creation, He proclaimed that what He created was “very good” (Genesis 1:31). Our emotions are part of who we are, and happiness is merely one of six core emotions we will experience throughout our lives. There will be times when we also feel angry, peaceful, scared, powerful, and sad. When we understand these emotions, we can identify where we need to channel and direct them for the good of ourselves and others.

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PROCLAIM OUTLINE

LITERALLY DEAD

KEY TERMS

Beatitudes: The teachings of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount on the meaning of and way to attain lasting joy.

Joy: A feeling derived by the expectation of God’s love and goodness.

PROCLAIM OUTLINE• Ask the teens where they hope to be in the next ten

years and give them time to discuss this question with their neighbors. After a few moments, allow the teens to share some of their answers with the whole group.

• While the pursuit of happiness is not inherently bad, these experiences cannot bring us fulfillment or lasting happiness.

• Tell a story about a time when you thought you were going to be fulfilled by something but, ultimately, were not (e.g., joining a particular friend group, getting into the college you wanted).

• It is important to recognize and understand that happiness is like all emotions — it is fleeting.

• Since happiness is a core desire of all people, we understand that there is something that will lead us to experience lasting fulfillment and peace.

• Saint Augustine said, “In seeking you, my God, I seek a happy life, let me seek you so that my soul may live, for my body draws life from my soul and my soul draws life from you. God alone satisfies” (CCC 1718).

• Consider playing the video, “Happy Illusions,” found in the Media Suggestions.

• Our desire for happiness comes from God, and it is only in Jesus — the divine embodiment of God — that we will find the true happiness we are seeking.

HAPPINESS VS. JOY• Happiness is a hormonal reaction to pleasure based on

elements outside of ourselves.

• Happiness is often linked to our experience of what feels good, which is why we may continuously seek things that will cause us to feel enjoyment or bliss.

• Give examples of happiness that are relevant to your group of teens.

• Joy, however, is an internal feeling derived by the expectation of God’s love and goodness.

• Joy can exist simultaneously with emotions like sadness where happiness cannot.

• Share an example of when you felt joy and peace in the midst of sorrow.

• Jesus teaches us how to live a life filled with joy during the Sermon on the Mount.

• Project and read Matthew 5:2-11.

• Living the Beatitudes on Earth helps us to receive the Kingdom of Heaven and see God — this should bring us great joy.

EMOTIONS MAKE US HUMAN• Emotions are neither good nor bad; they just are.

• Even Jesus, who was fully man and fully divine, felt emotions.

• When Lazurus died and Jesus saw Lazarus’ sisters weeping, He also felt sorrow and wept.

• Project and read John 11:32-35.

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• When Jesus saw the money changers in the temple, He was angry.


• When Jesus encountered people who were suffering, He loved them by giving them time, attention, preference, and healing.


• Jesus rejoiced when He talked to the disciples about their names being written in heaven.

• Project and read Luke 10:20-21.

• Although emotions are neither good nor bad, the way we express our emotions can be positive or negative.

• As Christians, we can learn how to view our emotions through the lens of Jesus’ experiences and see authentically human emotions lived in a perfectly ordered way.

ULTIMATE FULFILMENT• Joy and peace come from having a relationship with

Jesus.

• Return to the example you shared when you felt joy and peace in the midst of sorrow, and explain how Christ was present in that experience. Share how your relationship with Christ allowed you to feel joy and peace.

• By looking at Jesus’ life, we will learn about emotions as a human experience that Jesus redeemed.

Notes: _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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PROCLAIM DETAILS

LITERALLY DEAD

TEACHING

Where do you hope you will be in ten years?

Give the teens time to discuss this question with their neighbors. Then, ask the following questions and have the teens share some of their answers with the group or raise their hands in agreement. Allow time for the teens to answer or raise their hands before moving to the next question.

How many of you said something about getting your dream job? How many of you thought about receiving a college degree from your dream school? What about having a family? Did anyone say you wanted something expensive: a nice car, house, boat, etc.? How many of you said you wanted enough money to live comfortably?

Why do we want these things? Each of us wants to be happy, which is why all of our dreams end with us reaching our happily ever after. We often think that getting into the college of our choice, playing in the NFL, or getting our dream job will finally make us happy. This pursuit of happiness is often the driving motivation behind everything we do. While these experiences that make us happy in the moment are not all inherently bad, they cannot bring us fulfillment or lasting happiness. It is problematic when we focus on the pursuit of happiness with the false notion that it will bring us lasting peace.

Tell a story about a time when you thought you were going to be fulfilled by something but, ultimately, were not (e.g., joining a particular friend group, getting into the college you wanted).

It is important to recognize and understand that happiness is like all emotions — it is fleeting. This is why we move from one source of happiness to the next. We experience happiness from moments of laughter with friends and getting the grade we hoped for on a test, but we also experience that feeling leave after the moment is over. If happiness is a core desire of all people, there must be something that will lead us to experience lasting fulfillment and peace.

The desire for happiness is not new. In A.D. 388, St. Augustine wrote, “We all want to live happily,” even if we do not know what this looks like in our lives (CCC 1718). Saint Augustine continued by saying, “In seeking you, my God, I seek a happy life, let me seek you so that my soul may live, for my body draws life from my soul and my soul draws life from you. God alone satisfies” (CCC 1718).

Consider playing the video, “Happy Illusions,” found in the Media Suggestions.

As Christians, we understand that our desire for happiness comes from God, and it is only in Jesus — the divine embodiment of God — that we will find the true happiness we are seeking. The reason we are not fulfilled when we reach a goal or achieve something new is because it is only in Christ that we are truly fulfilled.

HAPPINESS VS. JOY

“Happiness” is a word that gets thrown around quite a bit, but what does it actually mean? Happiness is an emotion. It is a hormonal reaction to pleasure after dopamine and serotonin are released in the brain. It is typically related to something external, based on elements outside of ourselves. Our happiness often relies on other people, places, or things. You might feel happy when you pass an important test, when you get moved up to the varsity team for a big game, or when you get a lot of likes on a social

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media post. Happiness is often linked to our experience of what feels good, which is why we may continuously seek things that will cause us to feel enjoyment or bliss.

Include other examples of happiness that are relevant to your group of teens.

Joy, on the other hand, is internal. It is not caused by an external event but is experienced internally when we feel at peace. Joy is a feeling derived by the expectation of God’s love and goodness. A person can be joyous even when the world around them is in chaos. Happiness and joy are different because happiness conflicts with other emotions like sadness and anger. Joy can exist simultaneously with emotions like sadness. A person may feel joy and peace when their grandma passes away, even though they may be sad to not see her again, because they know she lived a long, faithful life. Another person might feel joy and peace after getting a mediocre grade on a science test because they are confident they studied and prepared to the best of their ability. We can still feel joy and peace when experiences or people that allow us to experience pleasure are taken from us or when something has not gone our way.

Hebrews 10:34

Share an example of when you felt joy and peace in the midst of sorrow.

Jesus teaches us how to live a life filled with joy during the Sermon on the Mount.

Project and read Matthew 5:2-11.

When we hear the Beatitudes, we may think they are contradictory to us. We do not often equate poor in spirit or mourning as experiences that make us feel blessed. But Jesus is telling us that if we live out the Beatitudes

on Earth, we will receive the Kingdom of Heaven and see God — this should bring us great joy.

Pastoral Note: Be aware that many teens who struggle with depression and anxiety also struggle with the concept of joy and happiness. Many believe that happiness is impossible to obtain or “make happen” because of the way it has been portrayed societally. Therefore, be sure to point out that everyone has a different baseline for happiness and it will not always resemble their peers’ at school or on social media.

EMOTIONS MAKE US HUMAN

During the upcoming Life Nights, we will explore different emotions. The Church teaches that our emotions are neither good nor bad; they just are. We are humans, and we have emotions. We feel happy, sad, angry, fearful, powerful, loving, and peaceful. We cannot change this, nor should we. Even Jesus, who was fully man and fully divine, felt emotions.

CCC 464, 1767-1768

When Lazurus died and Jesus saw Lazarus’ sisters weeping, He also felt sorrow and wept.

Project and read John 11:32-35.

When Jesus walked into the temple to see that people had turned a place of worship into a place where they could make money, He was angry.


When Jesus encountered people, especially the poor, afflicted, and children, He showed His great love for them by giving them time, attention, preference, and healing.


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Jesus rejoiced when He talked to the disciples about their names being written in heaven.

Project and read Luke 10:20-21.

When we read the Bible and see Jesus’ emotions, we learn how to be human. We learn that our emotions are not bad; they are, in fact, part of what makes us human.

Although emotions are neither good nor bad, the way we express our emotions can be positive or negative. Feeling angry can lead to us gossip about someone else, even though we know we should not gossip. Feeling sad can lead us to focus more internally and not be charitable toward others. As Christians, we can learn how to view our emotions through the lens of Jesus’ experiences and see authentically human emotions lived in a perfectly ordered way.

CCC 1769-1770ULTIMATE FULFILLMENT

When we think back to the difference between happiness and internal joy, it is important to remember that we can experience joy and peace when our external circumstances are not ideal, as joy and peace come from having a relationship with Jesus.

Return to the example you shared when you felt joy and peace in the midst of sorrow, and explain how Christ was present in that experience. Share how your relationship with Christ allowed you to feel joy and peace.

When we nurture our relationship with Jesus, we are able to order our emotions and use them for good. Throughout this Life Night series, we will look at Jesus’ life in the Gospels and discover how He responded to the different emotions He felt. By looking at Jesus’ life, we will learn about emotions as a human experience that

Jesus redeemed. We do not have to be afraid of the way we feel; we can turn to Jesus as the source of grace to become integrated people who live holy and joyful lives.

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CORE TEAM OVERVIEW

LITERALLY DEAD: Happiness

GOAL: The goal of Literally Dead is for teens to examine why they seek happiness and present knowing Christ as the true path toward joy and fulfillment.

GATHER (20 MIN):Welcome and Opening Prayer: ____________________Game of Life: ___________________________________

PROCLAIM (10 MIN):“Literally Dead” Teaching:__________________________

BREAK (10 MIN):Literally Happy? Journal Questions:

• Am I happy?• What makes me happy?• What keeps me from being happy?• Do I look to Jesus as my source of joy? Why or why

not? What can I do to intentionally turn to Jesus for joy?• Can I be joyful even when I am not happy? How?

SEND (35 MIN):The Core Emotions:_____________________ __________

Notes: _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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LIFE NIGHT OVERVIEW

LOWKEY UPSETSADNESS

GOAL

The goal of Lowkey Upset is for teens to understand the emotion of sadness through the lens of Christ, His suffering, and, ultimately, the hope of our redemption and resurrection.

KEY CONCEPTS

• Sadness is a common human emotion that we should not run from; however, we should not consistently remain trapped within sadness.

• Jesus experienced sadness during His life. Jesus felt compassion over people and situations, felt grief at the death of a friend, and even experienced sadness when confronted with the sins of other people amid His suffering.

• Joy, even in sadness, is found in Christ and the promise of comfort, companionship, and relief from suffering in our current situation as well as in eternal life. Joy is found in the promise of resurrection.

KEY TERMS:SadnessGrief

SCRIPTURE:Matthew 11:28-30, 16:24-28; John 11

CATECHISM:164-165, 1508, 1521


The Gather is a variation of tag, encouraging the teens to do their best to avoid sadness. The Proclaim explores sadness and how Christ’s suffering leads to redemption. The Break gives the teens an opportunity to identify Jesus’ presence in suffering. The Send is a large group lectio divina that focuses on the events in John 11.

ENVIRONMENT


Set up a space for the teens to gather for the Proclaim. Project the Lowkey Upset environment image, which can be found on the May 2020 Life Teen USB and online at lifeteen.com under Life Support: May 2020.

For this Life Night, paint the letter “O” blue and decorate it with images of people who are visually upset from magazines, printouts of crying faces from famous GIFs, and cutouts of sad emojis. Surround the letter with tissue boxes, diaries or journals, and rain clouds made from construction paper or poster board. Leave the remaining letters white, black, or uncolored.

MEDIA SUGGESTIONS


Marcell Sipos: “Inside Out - Sadness helps Riley” (youtube.com)

SOCIAL MEDIA HASHTAGS:#LT_LowkeyUpset

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For a more elaborate Gather, make a rain cloud hat out of polyester batting (using a plastic hat and glue gun) and have the first teen who is designated as “sadness” wear it.

For an alternate Gather, divide the teens into small groups and have them choose a sad song. Invite the teens to perform an upbeat, dramatic, and overly positive skit to the song in front of a panel of core member judges. Connect this activity to the Proclaim by reminding the teens that we may put on a façade of happiness even though we feel sad or melancholy.

For a deeper Send, have the music minister lead a session of solemn worship, and conclude the Life Night with Veneration of the Cross. For an alternate Gather on a digital platform, ask for one volunteer to come up with a scenario where they are completely alone and facing a crisis (e.g., they are a lone astronaut and all of their fuel for the return trip home has leaked). Encourage the teen to be as creative and elaborate as they wish, and invite them to change their background to suit the situation. The rest of the teens must remain on mute while the volunteer describes their scenario. Once the volunteer is finished, the rest of the teens have 30 seconds to find a single object in their home that the volunteer can use to solve their problem. Once all of the teens have an item, they each have 20 seconds to describe how their item will assist the volunteer. However, the teens must remain muted and find a way to communicate non-verbally. After each teen has presented, the volunteer picks one item and describes the solution to the best of their ability. Award one point to the volunteer if they closely described the use of the item. Award three points to the volunteer if they are able to accurately describe the solution. The teen whose solution is picked is awarded two points. Once all of the teens have had an opportunity to volunteer, the teen with

the most points is declared the winner.

To adapt the Send for a digital platform, consider having the teens share their thoughts on the passage and the word that stood out to them during each of the meditatio, oratio, and contemplatio sections.



Cultural InsightsThe Hispanic/Latino tradition of the reenactment of the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday is often more graphic than non-Hispanic traditions and calls attention to the sadness and suffering Jesus endured. For example, many communities go to great lengths to cover the actor who is playing Jesus in blood. Consider mentioning this as an additional example of how Jesus is not shy to sadness and suffering in the Proclaim. Help the teens recognize how the tradition of the reenactment of the Stations of the Cross in Hispanic/Latino communities is a response to the invitation to approach sadness and suffering with Christ.

Additionally, be aware that there are prevalent gendered standards within Hispanic/Latino culture regarding sadness. This could mean that, for many Hispanic/Latino boys, it is not strongly encouraged by their family members or peers to express sadness in the same way as girls. Ensure that core members are aware of these standards as a potential barrier when discussing sadness with the Hispanic/Latino (male) teens during or after this Life Night.

Notes for Pastoral CareHispanic/Latino teens have a tendency to exhibit the risk behavior of sadness and hopelessness, which is often a

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predictor of suicide risk. A 2017 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that half of Latina (female) teens reported they experience sadness and hopelessness, and one in ten Hispanic/Latina (female) teens reported they attempted suicide. Consider sharing this statistic with core members before this Life Night, encouraging them to listen to and validate Hispanic/Latino teens’ experiences of sadness or hopelessness and reminding them of the appropriate procedure if/when a teen exhibits signs of depression or expresses risk for suicide.

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LIFE NIGHT: LOWKEY UPSET

GATHER

Welcome and Opening Prayer (5 min)Gather the teens in the main meeting space. Welcome them to the Life Night, introduce any teens or core members who are attending for the first time, and begin in prayer.

Sadness Go Away (15 min)Divide the teens into small groups of six to eight with one core member in each group; these will be their small groups for the remainder of the series. Instruct the teens to stand in a circle and remain stationary while in the circle. Choose one teen from each small group to be “sadness” and begin the game in the center of the circle. Instruct “sadness” to try to tag the remaining teens. Since the teens who make up the circle cannot move, their only defense is to say, “Sadness, sadness, go away, go to __________today” to direct “sadness” to someone else. If a teen is tagged without saying the phrase, they also enter the circle and become “sadness” along with the original teen. The last teen to remain untagged wins. For variation, try this game as a large group and have multiple teens start as “sadness.”

PROCLAIM

“Lowkey Upset” Teaching (10 min)The Proclaim Outline and Proclaim Details can be found on pages 42 to 51.

BREAK

Light in the Darkness (25 min)Divide the teens into their Mood small groups. Instruct the core member to ask the teens for three numbers

between one and ten. Based on the numbers the teens selected, challenge them to identify where Jesus is in the respective situations below. Have the teens describe where Jesus comforts and is a companion in those situations and how they would do the same. Some teens may find it difficult to identify where Jesus is in these situations. In order to be prepared for teens who have a difficult time with the material, instruct the core members to read the following list and reflect on Jesus’ presence in these situations prior to the Life Night.

1. Poverty in the surrounding neighborhood2. Famine in an underdeveloped country3. Your personal anxiety4. A gruesome injury to a college athlete5. Not getting accepted to your dream school6. Viral epidemic on the other side of the world7. A mass shooting at a school8. Catastrophic hurricane in the Caribbean9. Sudden passing of a beloved friend10. Parents’ divorce

SEND

Jesus Wept (20 min)Gather the teens in the main meeting space. Project John 11:14-44 and lead the teens through lectio divina. Begin in prayer and explain the significance of each part of lectio divina using the following:

• Lectio: to read the Scripture• Meditatio: to meditate on the Scripture and discover

its meaning in our lives• Oratio: to give a prayerful response to the text via

thanksgiving, praise, or a request for grace, healing, or forgiveness

• Contemplatio: to turn toward God and experience Him through the Scripture

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Invite the teens to get into a comfortable position, close their eyes, and place themselves in God’s presence. LectioInvite the teens to listen for the context of the story as it is read aloud. What is happening? Who is present? Slowly read John 11:14-44. If the teens would like to read along, allow them to do so. Otherwise, they can simply listen. Pause for a moment. MeditatioBefore reading the passage a second time, ask the teens to listen for and choose a word or phrase that stands out to them. Read the passage again and then spend a few minutes in silence, so the teens can reflect on their word or phrase. OratioRead the passage a third time and then ask the following questions, pausing between each so the teens can silently reflect:

• How does this word or phrase make me feel? Peaceful? Anxious? Confused? Convinced?

• What does this word or phrase bring to mind? Is a memory attached to this word or phrase? Is there hope for the future in this word or phrase?

• How have I seen this word or phrase act in my life? ContemplatioAt this time, encourage the teens to engage in a deeper conversation with Christ by silently reflecting on the following questions:

• Why does this word or phrase strike me?• What are you trying to teach me, Jesus?• What are you saying to me, Jesus?

After a few minutes of reflection, invite the teens to focus on God’s presence and silently thank Him for this time of prayer. Conclude the Life Night with the following prayer:

Jesus, true God and true man, you felt and experienced all of the emotions there are when you humbled yourself to become one of us. You experienced sadness while knowing you were going to raise Lazarus from the dead. You help us understand that it is OK to be sad when we know the outcome will work out. Thank you for giving us permission to lean into these times of genuine grief and sorrow, for it is in these moments that the hope of your love continues to shine through. Even in our most distressed moments, you have the victory. Amen.

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PROCLAIM OUTLINE

LOWKEY UPSET

KEY TERMS

Sadness: Pain caused by the awareness of some personally experienced loss, disappointment, or misfortune.

Grief: The feeling of deep distress that is usually caused by someone’s death.

PROCLAIM OUTLINE

• Sadness is a common human emotion of pain caused by the awareness of some personally experienced loss, disappointment, or misfortune.

• We experience sadness for a variety of reasons and to various degrees.

• Explain how we often try to avoid sadness as we did in the Gather, but our sadness is not something we should run from.

• Some people run from sadness because it makes them feel uncomfortable, they do not like to show emotion, or it makes them feel weak.

• Rather than spending our lives trying to avoid sadness or make sadness “go away,” we can learn more about it and how to process our experience healthily.

DEALING WITH OUR EMOTIONS• Instead of acknowledging the way we feel, we turn

to things that give us temporary enjoyment to mask our real feelings.

• While the things we turn to are not inherently bad, they become problematic when we use them excessively as a means of escapism.

• When those activities no longer provide the escapism we desire, it can then lead to coping with more harmful activities such as the abuse of drugs and alcohol.

• Some deal with sadness by going to the opposite extreme and dwell on sadness to the point of becoming trapped inside it.

• Either of these extremes can lead to depression, a clinically diagnosed mental illness that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest that can impair daily life.

• If we think we are experiencing depression, the best thing we can do is speak to someone we trust who can help us determine how to take care of our mental health best.

THE STORY OF LAZARUS• Jesus also felt sadness during His life when

confronted with the sins of others and witnessing injustice.

• Jesus experienced an even deeper sadness known as grief, the feeling of deep distress that is usually caused by someone’s death.


• Even though Jesus knew He was going to raise Lazarus from the dead, He was present at the moment and mourned with those around Him.


• Even as Jesus deals with His emotions, He speaks to and thanks His Father.

• Jesus’ resurrection of Lazarus foreshadows His own Resurrection and fills us with the hope that we too will rise again in eternal life.

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• Throughout Scripture, Jesus saw the pain and sorrow of others, and He entered into it.

• Jesus calls us to encounter others’ sadness by acknowledging the emotions they are feeling, mourning with them, and reminding them of God’s glory and saving power.

• Expressing sadness, regardless of the form it takes, permits Jesus to enter into our pain and begins the process of healing.

THE JOY OF THE CROSS• We are not called to run from our sufferings or pain.

• God calls us to face those trials as a means to heal, mature, and grow in our relationship with Jesus.

• We are not abandoned on our journey. When we allow others to share our pain, we allow Jesus to work through them.

• The place where Jesus asks us to take our cross is the same place where He invites us to share His cross — and in that, there can be considerable joy.

• Uniting our suffering with Jesus does not mean our sadness will go away; we will still feel these emotions.

• We can have hope that Jesus’ Resurrection promises comfort in eternal life where we will no longer experience sadness and suffering.

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PROCLAIM DETAILS

LOWKEY UPSET

TEACHING

We have all experienced sadness. It is a common human emotion that everyone feels. Sadness is the pain caused by the awareness of some personally experienced loss, disappointment, or misfortune. We feel sad when a friend says something that hurts our feelings. We feel sad when we do not make the team, even though we practiced really hard. We feel sad when we do not get into the college of our choice, even though we did the most we could to make that happen.

Each of these experiences of sadness are real, but each one affects us to varying degrees. We do not feel the same degree of sadness when we miss out on seeing a movie with our friends as we do when we encounter suffering in the world.

Explain how we often try to avoid sadness like we did in the Gather, but our sadness is not something we should run from.

The emotion of sadness itself is neither good nor bad. Some people run from sadness because it makes them feel uncomfortable, they do not like to show emotion, or it makes them feel weak. Rather than spending our lives trying to avoid sadness or make sadness “go away,” we can learn more about it and how to process our experience in a healthy way.

DEALING WITH OUR EMOTIONS

No one likes to feel sad; one way we might deal with sadness is to run from it. Sometimes, we put on a happy face, even though we feel deep sadness inside. We tell everyone it is OK when we do not feel like it is OK. Sometimes, we think the right answer is to say, “I trust God, so it is going to be OK.” It is true that we should trust God, but we are allowed to feel sad while we try to trust in His plan.

In our world today, there are many coping mechanisms that can help us mute or dull our emotions. Instead of acknowledging the way we feel, we turn to things that give us temporary enjoyment to mask our real feelings. We may turn to social media, gaming, music and movie streaming, or check things off our massive to-do list so we do not have to sit with our thoughts. These things are not inherently bad; they become problematic when we use them excessively as a means of escapism. When those activities no longer provide the escapism we desire, it can then lead to coping with more harmful activities such as the abuse of drugs and alcohol. This is not a healthy way to deal with our sadness because — as we know — ignoring the problem never fixes the issues.

Sometimes we deal with sadness by going to the opposite extreme. Instead of running from it, we dwell on our sadness and become trapped inside of it. We feel like nothing will ever get better, and we worry we are going to be stuck in sadness forever. When we fall into this kind of sadness, it can be difficult to get out. We might feel like no one understands us or what we are going through. We might compare our lives to others, especially toward their social media persona, and it might feel like their life is perfect and ours just keeps spiraling downward to the point of experiencing depression.

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According to the American Psychiatric Association, depression is a clinically diagnosed mental illness that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest that can impair daily life. There is not one specific cause for depression, as it depends on a person’s unique genetic makeup and personal experiences. Depression may be caused by hormonal changes in the brain, genetic disposition, traumatic experiences (e.g., abuse, failure, loss of a loved one), or side effects of medicine. Regardless of how or why a person experiences depression, it is nothing to be looked down upon or ashamed of. If we think we are experiencing depression, the best thing we can do is speak to someone we can trust like a school counselor or core member, who can help us determine how to best take care of our mental health.

Pastoral Note: Be mindful of teens who may be experiencing lengthy stints of sadness. While it is not the case for all teens, depression is a reality for young people that must be handled delicately at this stage of their mental development. Be mindful of teens who may want to talk to the youth minister or core members about their depression. Listen intently to what they are going through and reinforce that what they are feeling is valid. Have some referrals of local counselors on hand for any teens who deem it necessary.

THE STORY OF LAZARUS

Even Jesus felt sadness during His life. He felt sadness when confronted with the sins of other people and when He witnessed people experiencing injustice due to the sins of others. Jesus experienced an even deeper sadness known as grief. This is when we feel a deep sorrow or distress after the loss of a loved one. We see Jesus’ grief in the story of Lazarus.


The Gospel of John tells us that Lazarus was one of Jesus’ friends and Jesus loved Lazarus. When Jesus first hears that His friend is ill, He turns His focus to God and says, “It is for God’s glory” (John 11:4). This simple sentence tells us that Jesus knows what is coming.

When Jesus gets to Bethany, Lazarus’ sister Martha comes out to meet Him. Even in the sorrow and grief everyone is feeling, Jesus continues to preach the truth. He says, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die” (John 11:25-27).

When Jesus sees Lazarus’ other sister Mary weeping, Jesus also begins to weep. He knows God will be glorified through Lazarus’ death, but He also sees the pain it is causing those He loves. His sorrow is real, and He allows those around Him to see it. Even though Jesus knew He was going to raise Lazarus from the dead, He was present in the moment. He still mourned.


As Jesus reaches the tomb, He is overcome with emotion again. Even as He deals with His emotions, He speaks to and thanks His Father. Then He calls His friend, Lazarus, by name. “Lazarus, come out” (John 11:43). Immediately, He instructs the people to free Lazarus and unbind him. Here Jesus foreshadows His own Resurrection, where He destroys death forever and fills us with the hope that we too will rise again in eternal life.

Lazarus was not the only person Jesus had immense compassion toward. He continually placed Himself in the shoes of those who were suffering. His encounter with the woman who suffered from a hemorrhage for 12 years, the woman who was going to be stoned because she had committed adultery, and the blind man who was forced to be a beggar are just a few examples of people who

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Jesus empathized with. He saw their hurting and sorrow, and He entered into it.

Matthew 9:20-22John 8:1-11, 9:1-12

Jesus calls us to encounter others’ suffering and sadness in the same way. We are called to acknowledge the emotion they are feeling, mourn with them, and remind them of God’s glory and saving power. We all deal with sadness differently. However, the most important thing we must do, after acknowledging our sadness, is express it. This expression looks different for everyone. For some, it may be journaling or listening to music. For others, it is crying with a friend or family member. Creative people continually use art as an outlet for expressing their sorrow, as well. What allows one person to express sadness may not necessarily work for another person. Regardless of the form, expressing sadness gives Jesus permission to enter into our pain and begins the process of healing.

THE JOY OF THE CROSS

We are not called to run from our sufferings or pain. While God does not actively will our sadness or hurt, He calls us to face those trials as a means to heal, grow, and mature. We can do this by looking at each of our circumstances as an opportunity to grow in our relationship with Jesus. We can also acknowledge that Jesus has not abandoned us on our journey, for we were never meant to carry our burdens alone. For some of us, this means asking our friends or family to listen to our burdens and sadness. For some this might look like asking others to help mend or even be present in an upsetting situation. When we allow others in to share our pain, we allow Jesus to work through them. We then come to recognize that, when we pick up our cross, Jesus is also there carrying it with us. The place where Jesus asks us to take our cross is the same place where He invites us to share His cross — and

in that, there can be considerable joy.

CCC 1508, 1521Matthew 11:28-30, 16:24

The paradox of the cross is that it led to Christ’s Resurrection. The tragedy and suffering of the cross ultimately led to Christ’s glory. If we can unite our suffering with Christ, we can find joy in the sadness. Jesus will point us back to His glory, just as He did when He experienced deep sadness at Lazarus’ death.

Uniting our suffering with Jesus does not mean our sadness will go away; we will still feel these emotions. However, it does mean we can be filled with joy and hope when we are sad. We can have hope that Jesus’ Resurrection promises comfort in eternal life. For it is in heaven that we will no longer experience sadness and suffering. So, as we continue to experience suffering on Earth, may we unite it with Christ’s suffering and hope that one day we will suffer no more.

CCC 164-165

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CORE TEAM OVERVIEW

LOWKEY UPSET: Sadness

GOAL: The goal of Lowkey Upset is for teens to understand the emotion of sadness through the lens of Christ, His suffering, and, ultimately, the hope of our redemption and resurrection.

GATHER (20 MIN):Welcome and Opening Prayer: ______________________Sadness Go Away: _______________________________

PROCLAIM (10 MIN):“Lowkey Upset” Teaching: _________________________

BREAK (25 MIN):Light in the Darkness: ____________________________

SEND (20 MIN):Lectio Divina:____________________ _______________

Notes: _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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LIFE NIGHT OVERVIEW

CLAP BACKANGER

GOAL

The goal of Clap Back is to challenge teens to lean into experiences of righteous anger and call upon the grace of God to avoid occasions where anger will lead to sin.

KEY CONCEPTS

• Anger is an automatic response to a perceived injustice or harm; the immediate experience of anger is a morally neutral emotion.

• The devil uses anger as a moment of temptation to draw us toward rage, hatred, and outbursts that can cause physical, emotional, and spiritual harm to ourselves and others.

• Jesus directed His anger toward what was good, and we are called to do the same, relying on God’s grace.

KEY TERMS:Righteous AngerSatanWrath

SCRIPTURE:Matthew 5:44, John 2:13-17

CATECHISM:391, 395


The Gather puts two pairs of teens in a head-to-head competition to see who can say a key word first. The Proclaim unpacks anger and how it can be used righteously with God’s grace. The Break helps the teens examine scenarios and decipher if the anger is expressed in an outburst or a righteous act. The Send is an artful examination of how the teens express their anger.

ENVIRONMENT


Set up a space for the teens to gather for the Proclaim. Project the Clap Back environment image, which can be found on the May 2020 Life Teen USB and online at lifeteen.com under Life Support: May 2020.

For this Life Night, paint the letter “O” red and decorate it with images of people who are enraged from magazines, printouts of angry faces from famous GIFs, and cutouts of mad emojis. Surround the letter with torn pieces of notebook paper, broken electronics, and cut outs of fire made from construction paper or poster board. Leave the remaining letter white, black, or uncolored.

MEDIA SUGGESTIONS


TheEllenShow: “Melissa McCarthy and Ellen Play ‘Danger Word’” (youtube.com)

SOCIAL MEDIA HASHTAGS:#LT_ClapBack

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For an alternate Gather, play an upfront table flipping game. Select a few teens to attempt to flip a plastic table. To win, the table has to land upright on its legs. Award prizes for “cleanest flip,” “funniest flip,” “most creative flip,” and “epic fail flip” based on the cheers or jeers from the teens in the audience.

To adapt the Gather for a digital platform, have one teen from each team minimize their screen, so they are unable to see the projected words. Project the “winning word” and the “danger word” to the group by sharing your screen.



Cultural InsightsBe aware that some Hispanic/Latino teens may have been on the receiving end of implicit bias that can occur toward people of color when they express anger. For example, they might find that when they communicate anger in the classroom, they are perceived as hostile by their teacher; when a fellow white classmate expresses anger, they are perceived as passionate. Additionally, they may find that an emotionally neutral expression on their face is perceived as one of anger more often than for their white peers. Listen to their experiences with this kind of bias if it comes up, encouraging them to share how this bias impacts their ability to express anger in healthy ways. Remind them that their ability to bring their anger to Jesus is even more critical in times when anger is misunderstood or assumed, and consider inviting them into prayer in that moment to offer up those situations to God and ask for guidance through them.

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LIFE NIGHT: CLAP BACK

GATHER


Danger Word (15 min)For this upfront game, ask for four volunteers and then divide them into teams of two. Have one teen from each team face away from the screen, so they are unable to see the projected words. Project the “winning word” and the “danger word” to the audience and one person from each team. The goal of this game is for the teens to guess the “winning word” without saying the “danger word.” The teens alternate giving one word clues to their partners, without saying the “winning word” or “danger word.” A team earns a strike if the opposing team guesses the “winning word” correctly or if they guess a “danger word” related to the “winning word.” The first team with three strikes loses. Play multiple rounds of this game, inviting new teens to participate in each round. Use the list of “winning words” and “danger words” below, adding more word combinations based on your parish, city, and culture of the group. For an example of this game, refer to the video in the Media Suggestions.

Winning Word/Danger Word Examples:

Flex/MuscleCash/Money Lettuce/SaladRobin/BatmanSoccer/Kick

Sun/MoonJelly/Peanut ButterIron Man/AvengerGod/JesusBook/Read

Cook/KitchenApple/FruitExam/Test

Class/SchoolMary/MotherDoctor/Sick

PROCLAIM

“Clap Back” Teaching (10 min)The Proclaim Outline and Proclaim Details can be found on pages 62 to 71.

BREAK

Outburst vs. Righteous (25 min)Divide the teens into their Mood small groups. Using the Outburst vs. Righteous handout, have the core members read one scenario where a person experiences anger aloud. After the scenario is read, ask the teens the questions below. This handout can be found on the May 2020 Life Teen USB and online at lifeteen.com under Life Support: May 2020. If time allows, read an additional scenario from the handout.

• Based on the scenario, what could cause the main character to become angry?

• How could the main character respond?

• How would you respond?

• How should the main character respond?

SEND

Drawing Meditation (20 min)Gather the teens in the main meeting space and instruct them to spread out throughout the room. Provide the teens with a piece of paper and a marker. Instruct the teens to draw how they are feeling as you read the questions below. Challenge the teens to not lift their pen up from the paper, so the entirety of their drawing is one continuous pen stroke. Pause for a few moments of

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silence between each question to give the teens ample time to express themselves. Conclude the Life Night with a Hail Mary and Glory Be.

Use the following meditation for this activity:

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Jesus, at this moment, we invite you into our hearts and the depths of souls. We ask you to fill our minds with your wisdom, so we may know the instances of reckless anger we have experienced. Grant us your grace to acknowledge them fully during this prayer.

Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, the mirror of patience and tranquility and the refuge of all children, pray for us through the Passion of your Son, Jesus, that we may obtain the grace to acknowledge where we have fallen.

• Have I harbored resentment, grudges, and hatred in my thoughts?

• Have I given people the benefit of the doubt, even though they may have done something hurtful to myself or others?

• Am I slow to forgive?• Have I been willing to forgive? • Is there a pattern of who I am more patient with? • Have I treated my family with less patience? • Have I lost my temper? • Have I remained calm when I could have lost my

temper?• Am I easily frustrated with people? • Have I been patient with others?• Have I channeled my anger into constructive outlets?• Have I taken any anger out on myself through self

harm instead of talking to someone?• Have I allowed myself to feel angry toward injustices,

especially those against me?

• Have irritations or frustrations caused me to snap at my loved ones?

• Have I spitefully let people carry their burdens on their own?

• Have I apologized when I have lost my temper?

Slowly lift up your marker and place it aside. Take a few moments to look at how you have expressed yourself after recalling times of anger.

Pause for a few moments.

When were those times of anger justified? When were they not?

Pause for a few moments.

In times when we are frustrated, in times when we lose our patience, and in times when all we feel is anger, we are called to let Jesus into our hearts. Even in moments of darkest rage, Jesus is waiting to supply us with the grace we need to direct our anger toward what is good. Jesus, give us the grace to remember that you are always walking with us, no matter how distressed we are. Amen.

Notes: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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PROCLAIM OUTLINE

CLAP BACK

KEY TERMS

Righteous Anger: A display of justifiable displeasure that serves to acknowledge and correct the harm or wrongdoing of another.

Satan: A fallen angel or devil who continually lurks as a seductive voice in opposition to God.

Wrath: The sin of uncontrolled rage, hatred, and outbursts that can cause physical, emotional, and spiritual harm to ourselves and others.

PROCLAIM OUTLINE

• Anger is a common, natural response to a perceived injustice or harm to someone or something.

• Just like happiness and sadness, this response is a morally neutral emotion, neither good nor bad.

• Our body also responds physically when we are angry: our heart rate increases, our muscles tighten, and adrenaline shoots through our body.

• There are many examples of times when one would be justified to feel anger.

• Anger can be a great force of expression and can lead to effective change. For that change to occur, we must learn how to evaluate our anger to make the best decision to move forward.

IT’S A TRAP!• If we have not taken time to understand our personal

experiences of anger, we may express it in unhealthy ways.

• Although the feeling of anger itself is not a sin, our response to anger can lead to sin and spiral into hate.

• The temptation to allow our anger to be uncontrolled comes from the influence of Satan, who continually lurks as a seductive voice in opposition to God.

• It is easy for Satan to manipulate our anger because we can spiral out of control when we feel angry.

• Sometimes wrath is the easier path because it takes time to evaluate the cause of our anger and make decisions that lead to good.

• Satan tempts us with wrath because he wants us to act rashly without relying on Jesus.

• If we recognize that our anger is coming from an experience where our pride has been hurt, it is not of God.

• Lashing out can feel justified because it makes us feel good about ourselves and our actions. This is the opposite of love and is not how Jesus intended us to use our anger.

RIGHTEOUS ANGER• Project and read Matthew 5:44.

• Jesus calls us to order our anger toward love by relying on God’s grace to objectively look at what makes us angry in the first place.

• This requires daily, honest reflection to create a change within ourselves.

• Other times, Jesus calls us to “righteous anger,” which is a display of justifiable displeasure that serves to acknowledge and correct the harm or wrongdoing of another.


• Jesus displayed “righteous anger” when He discovered that the temple — a place of prayer — had been turned into a marketplace.

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• Jesus expressed His anger vehemently, but without malice or spite.

JESUS IS THE WAY• Through our baptism, we share in the divinity of

Christ, giving us the grace to use our anger for good just as Jesus did.

• This does not mean people need to know every time we are angry; however, it is important that we do not repress our anger.

• Through prayer and reading Scripture, we learn how to deal with our anger in healthy ways.

• When we first feel anger, it is good to stop and take a few deep breaths or go for a walk to cool down to help determine how God is calling us to act.

• Additionally, expressing why we are angry to someone we trust helps us understand if what we are feeling is righteous anger and what part of our anger is unjustified.

• Anger does not contradict love; if it is righteous anger, it comes out of love and our desire for good.

Notes: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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PROCLAIM DETAILS

CLAP BACK

TEACHING

For some, playing Danger Word can come with a bit of frustration, as we cannot help but think of a specific word when we hear another that is so closely related. When people hear the word “anger,” they often think of other words like “upset,” “crazy,” “rage,” and “outburst.” However, anger is not inherently good or bad. Anger is a natural response to a perceived injustice or harm to someone or something. We have all felt angry at some point. Just like happiness and sadness, this response is a morally neutral emotion, neither good nor bad.

If you have seen a cartoon character get angry, what usually happens? Steam comes from their ears, they clench their fists, and their face gets red in an attempt to portray anger. Our body also responds physically when we are angry: our heart rate increases, our muscles tighten, and adrenaline shoots through our body. This is our natural response to the emotion. Feeling this way is not a sin. In fact, there are times when we should be angry about a situation.

There are many examples of times when you would be justified to feel anger. It is OK to feel angry when you see someone being bullied at school, when someone is being mistreated or treated with less dignity because of their ethnicity, when someone gossips about a friend, or when a teacher does something that is unfair.

When we encounter a situation that makes us angry, we may be conditioned to think we should stifle it or release it in an unhealthy way. Anger can be a great force of

expression and can lead to effective change. In order for that change to occur, we must learn how to evaluate our anger to make the best decision to move forward.

Pastoral Note: Typically, males and females have different experiences of how they express anger and how others respond to that anger. Males typically experience the pressure to release their anger in the following two polarizing and unhealthy ways. Some male teens, in their upbringing, have been affirmed in their expressions of unnecessary anger. On the other hand, some male teens have been encouraged to suppress their anger (even in righteous situations) for fear of having their behavior labeled as “toxic masculinity.” For females, expressions of anger are more often than not considered irrational or blamed on the hormonal realities of their body. Women are less likely to be taken seriously when feeling angry and are more socially conditioned to stifle anger because it is deemed as less “feminine.” Be aware of this reality, and take into account the demographics of the teens prior to creating a Proclaim that speaks more closely to those specific teens.

IT’S A TRAP!

If we have not taken time to understand our personal experiences of anger, we may express it in unhealthy ways. Out of control anger can take the form of losing our temper and, in extreme instances, blind outrage. These moments of uncontrolled anger can stem from previous experiences of being wronged, personal biases, or current levels of stress. Although the feeling of anger itself is not a sin, our response to anger can lead to sin and spiral into hate.

The temptation to allow our anger to be uncontrolled comes from the influence of Satan, the fallen angel or devil who continually lurks as a seductive voice in opposition to God. Satan wants to use our morally neutral emotions

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against us. He wants to take our experiences of anger and draw us toward wrath. This is the sin of uncontrolled rage, hatred, and outbursts that can cause physical, emotional, and spiritual harm to ourselves and others. It is easy for Satan to manipulate our anger because we can spiral out of control when we feel angry. Sometimes wrath is the easier path because it takes time to evaluate the cause of our anger and make decisions that lead to good. Satan tempts us with wrath because he wants us to act rashly, without relying on Jesus.

CCC 391, 395

We can understand when our anger is sinful if we understand where our anger stems from. If we recognize that our anger is coming from an experience where our pride has been hurt, it is not of God. When anger arises from jealousy, impatience, and self-righteousness, we use our anger for our perceived gain and not for the righteousness of God. When confronted with this reality by others, we may begin feeling defensive and lash out. This typically results in us hurting ourselves, others, or both in the process. At times, this reaction can feel justified because these outbursts make us feel good about ourselves and our actions. This is the opposite of love and is not how Jesus intended us to use our anger.

James 1:20

RIGHTEOUS ANGER

Project and read Matthew 5:44.

Satan wants us to use our anger to harm ourselves and others, but Jesus calls us to order our anger toward love. To do so, we have to rely on God’s grace to objectively look at what makes us mad in the first place. This requires daily, honest reflection in order to create a change within ourselves. For example, recognizing why we yell at our siblings when they

annoy us, why we snap at our parents when they ask us to do something, etc. Reflection is needed in order to know when to take action within a situation. Our anger can be misplaced when a situation simply calls for patience and understanding. Explaining what annoys you about your siblings will go much further than yelling. Other times, Jesus calls us to an action that is known as “righteous anger.” Righteous anger is a display of justifiable displeasure that serves to acknowledge and correct the harm or wrongdoing of another.


This story can seem a bit confusing at first. Why would Jesus get so angry about people selling their goods? Without the context of the story, it seems like His anger is not justified. Jesus came to the temple to pray like all Jews did during Passover. When He got there, He found something that made Him furious.

People in the temple had turned His Father’s house — a place of prayer — into a marketplace. The merchants were not only trying to make money off people who were showing up to pray, but they were taking advantage of them by inflating the prices of sacrificial animals and temple taxes. Jesus was angry because He wanted all people to be able to pray in His Father’s house. Jesus’ anger was justified, and He expressed it vehemently without malice or spite.

JESUS IS THE WAY

Through our baptism, we share in the divinity of Christ; this means God gives us the grace to use our anger for good instead of bad. We can exercise the same control Christ did when He felt angry. This does not mean people need to know every time we are angry; however, it is important that we do not repress our anger. Through prayer and reading Scripture, we learn how to deal with our anger in healthy ways.

CCC 1264-1265

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When we first feel anger, there are a few things we can do before we take action. Depending on the circumstances, it is good to stop and take a few deep breaths or go for a walk to cool down. Sometimes this pause allows us to realize we are angrier than we should be based on the situation. It also helps to take these feelings to prayer or journal about our feelings. Remember this does not mean we should repress our feelings, but taking the time to process our feelings can help us to determine how God is calling us to act.

Sometimes simply expressing our anger to someone we respect and trust will help us uncover what is causing us to feel that way. This might be a friend, teacher, or core member. Saying why we are angry out loud helps us see what part of the feeling is righteous anger and what part of our anger is unjustified. It is important that we choose someone who will help us process what we are experiencing, rather than someone who will push us toward rage and hatred.

Other times, we need to do more than just talk about our anger. Sometimes, like Jesus did in the temple, we need to take action against injustice. If we see someone being bullied, we should assess the situation. Maybe standing up for the person would be enough. But maybe we need to do more and be intentional about getting to know the person who is being bullied. Occasionally, the best solution is to go straight to a trusted adult so he or she can take care of the situation.

If we are angry about a policy at school that we do not think is justified, we might start by respectfully asking a teacher why the rule was put in place. If we still do not think the rule is justified, we might try talking to the administration about our concerns. If we feel like we are not being heard, we might challenge our peers to take up the cause to respectfully ask for a more just policy.

Jesus always calls us to love, first and foremost. Anger does not contradict love; if it is righteous anger, it comes out of love and our desire for good. We must act as Christ did and use our anger to bring about God’s Kingdom.

Notes: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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CORE TEAM OVERVIEW

CLAP BACK: Anger

GOAL: The goal of Clap Back is to challenge teens to lean into experiences of righteous anger and call upon the grace of God to avoid occasions where anger will lead to sin.

GATHER (20 MIN):Welcome and Opening Prayer: _____________________Danger Word: ___________________________________

PROCLAIM (10 MIN):“Clap Back” Teaching: _____________________________

BREAK (25 MIN):Outburst vs. Righteous: ___________________________

• Based on the scenario, what could cause the main character to become angry?

• How could the main character respond?• How would you respond?• How should the main character respond?

SEND (20 MIN):Drawing Meditation: ______________________________

Notes: _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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LIFE NIGHT OVERVIEW

STANLOVE

GOAL

The goal of Stan is for teens to understand the depths of love by encountering Jesus as the personification of love.

KEY CONCEPTS

• Love is beyond an emotional response, though it may include intense feelings. Feelings alone, however, cannot be the full experience of love.

• Jesus reveals to us what authentic love looks like through an act of self-gift. This lens can be applied to our relationships and reveals how we appropriately and authentically love others. • Love orders all of our emotions toward the good of ourselves and others.

KEY TERMS:CharityThe Passion

SCRIPTURE:1 John 4:9-10, Galatians 2:20

CATECHISM:1766, 1822


The Gather challenges the teens to recreate images using various paper cutouts. The Proclaim aims to challenge the teens’ understanding of love by looking at Jesus as the perfect example of love. The Break helps the teens evaluate how they display love in their most important relationship. The Send invites the teens into meditative prayer using the Stations of the Cross.

ENVIRONMENT


Set up a space for the teens to gather for the Proclaim. Project the Stan environment image, which can be found on the May 2020 Life Teen USB and online at lifeteen.com under Life Support: May 2020.

For this Life Night, paint the letter “D” purple and decorate it with appropriate images of people in romantic settings from magazines, printouts of lovable celebrities from famous GIFs, and cutouts of the “heart eye” emoji. Surround the letter with heart-shaped candies, roses, and big “I love you” signs made from construction paper or poster board.

MEDIA SUGGESTIONS


SOCIAL MEDIA HASHTAGS:#LT_Stan

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AS YOU GET STARTED

For a Send with a smaller group, use the Stations of the Cross that are hung in the church. This will help connect the teens’ Life Teen experience with their parish at large.

For a deeper Send, convert the Life Night into an XLT with Eucharistic Adoration.

For an alternate Gather on a digital platform, ask for a brave volunteer. Instruct the teen to go the furthest room in their house with the device they are using. Once the teen is settled in their new spot, ask them to blindfold themselves, point their camera outward, and spin around ten times. Everyone else will now be able to see what the individual cannot. Instruct the rest of the teens to guide the individual back to the original room. If time allows, play multiple rounds with a different volunteer each round.

To adapt the Send for a digital platform, create a slide with the name and image of each station as well as the teen response. Share your screen during the Send, so the teens can follow along. HISPANIC INCULTURATION


Cultural InsightsWhen describing the different ways the word “love” is used at the start of the Proclaim, consider pointing out the numerous words for love in Spanish (e.g., el amor, el cariño, el querer, el gusto, el estimar). Share how the different phrases and words used to communicate “love” in Spanish can help us understand the complexity of love as both an emotion and an act of self-gift. Point out how different words describe love for a person verses love of an object. Encourage bilingual Hispanic/Latino teens to share what Spanish they would use

to say, “I love pizza” compared to how they would say, “I love my grandma” to help illustrate this concept.

Notes for Pastoral CareBe aware that Hispanic/Latino culture often presents a kind of gendered socialization around the concept of love. Hispanic/Latino boys are often taught that their love is proven through their ability to provide, and Hispanic/Latino girls are frequently taught that their love is proven by their ability to nurture. Ensure that core members are aware of this reality as a potential barrier when discussing love with Hispanic/Latino teens. Encourage them to help teens recognize that, while self-giving love can be found in either of those characteristics (among many others), it is not a call that is gendered in any way. Notes: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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LIFE NIGHT: STAN

GATHER


Depths of Love (10 min)Prior to the Life Night, invite core members to help cut out five shapes for each teen. The stencils for the cutouts are on the Depths of Love handout, which can be found on the May 2020 Life Teen USB and online at lifeteen.com under Life Support: May 2020.

Divide the teens into their Mood small groups. Provide each teen with the five cutouts. Concealing the order of the shapes, arrange the shapes into a single shape and project it. Instruct the teens to recreate the projected shape. The first small group to have all of the teens replicate the shape receives one point. Continue to play multiple rounds with different shape arrangements. Refer to the handout for more shape ideas or come up with your own. The small group with the most points at the end of the game wins.

PROCLAIM

“Stan” Teaching (10 min)The Proclaim Outline and Proclaim Details can be found on pages 80 to 89.

BREAK

Lenses (20 min)Divide the teens into their Mood small groups. Give each teen a pen and a copy of the Lenses handout, which can be found on the May 2020 Life Teen USB and online at lifeteen.com under Life Support: May 2020. Have the teens choose one relationship in their life and evaluate the authenticity of the love in that relationship. After a few minutes, invite the teens to share their reflections with the small group.

SEND

Stations of the Cross (30 min)Gather the teens in the main meeting space, and create an atmosphere of solemn prayer by dimming the lights and maintaining silence. Place a large wooden cross at the front of the room. Using the Stations of the Cross handout, guide teens through the meditation. This handout can be found on the May 2020 Life Teen USB and online at lifeteen.com under Life Support: May 2020. Project the name of and an image for each station, along with the responses for the teens to follow along. After the 13th station, set up an altar at the front of the main meeting space and place a small, portable tabernacle on the altar. In the presence of Jesus, complete the 14th and final station.

Use the following to transition into this activity:

Jesus, thank you for blessing each of us with relationships. We praise you for the times when you have given us the courage to love others unconditionally, and we thank you for the times when you have shown us how we can improve. While we do our best to love, we fail in comparison to your most perfect love. As we dive deeper into your Passion and death, help us have the will to love like you. Amen.

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PROCLAIM OUTLINE

STAN

KEY TERMS

Charity: The theological virtue by which we love God above all things for His sake and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God.

The Passion: The suffering and death of Jesus that fulfills the Paschal Mystery.

PROCLAIM OUTLINE• There is nothing wrong with embracing the things

that bring us happiness. However, loving a person is another ordeal entirely.

• The experience of love toward a person can be accompanied by intense emotions, but that love goes beyond an emotional experience.

MORE THAN WARM AND FUZZIES• Many times love is presented as a carefree and

exclusively blissful feeling, but there are times when love does not feel good in the moment.

• Share about a time when you experienced “tough love,” and explain how, even though it did not “feel good” in the moment, you later realized that it was for your good.

• Intense feelings can accompany love, but love is something you do as an intentional action.

• Project and read CCC 1766.

• Love is focused on asking what is best for the person whom we love: to lead them to eternal life, not just toward immediate happiness.

• We love people in different ways with different boundaries, depending on the relationship we have with them.

• However, our relationships will not always be perfect. We may even find ourselves in situations where people we care about try to manipulate us by inappropriately pushing our boundaries under the guise of “love.” This can distort what love is, leaving us confused as to how to love appropriately.

• Project and read CCC 1822.

• Love — or charity — must first start with loving God. This love allows us to love our neighbors more fully.

ORDINARY THINGS• Jesus’ entire life, even the small, ordinary moments

of living, is an example of how to love.

• He invites us to love others in the same way.

• Provide examples of how teens can display great love in small ways (e.g., listening to someone’s trials or point of view, doing chores around the house without being asked, helping younger siblings with their homework, offering to help a teacher with various tasks).

• When we take time to contemplate Christ on the cross, we may experience sorrow, but we can begin to understand what love should look and feel like.

• Project and read 1 John 4:9-10.

• Jesus’ willingness to go through what He went through during His Passion shows us how much we are worth.

• By praying through Christ’s Passion, we learn that we must be willing to suffer for those we love, like Jesus suffered for us.

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LIFE-LONG PROCESS• All of our emotions can serve our experience of love,

because love orients all of our emotions and how we act out of them toward the good of others and ourselves.

• As we allow love to order our emotions, we must understand that this process will take our entire life.

• We will fail in the process, but the love of God will always be victorious, leading us to reorder our emotions so that they serve Him, ourselves, and others.

Notes: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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MOOD 8584

PROCLAIM DETAILS

STAN

TEACHING

We use the word “love” a lot. We love people — our parents, siblings, and friends — but we also say we love things. Some of us may say we love pizza, or ice cream, or candy. We might say we love our favorite TV show or musician. We associate the word “love” with these things because they bring us varying levels of satisfaction and enjoyment. While there is nothing wrong with embracing the things that bring us happiness, loving a person is another ordeal entirely. While the experience of love toward a person can be accompanied by intense emotions, including happiness, we understand that love actually goes beyond an emotional experience.

MORE THAN WARM AND FUZZIES

Many times love is presented as a carefree and exclusively blissful feeling. However, there are times when love does not feel good in the moment. Think back to a time in your childhood when you had a lot of candy in front of you. You probably wanted to eat every piece, as it all looked so appetizing. However, your parents, with love in their hearts, likely limited the amount you could eat at one time. They probably knew you would be upset, but they also knew if you actually ate all that candy, you would become sick. They were thinking about your wellbeing, instead of your short-term happiness.

Share about a time when you experienced “tough love,” and explain how, even though it did not “feel good” in the moment, you later realized that it was for your good.

Love can be accompanied by intense feelings, but love is something you do. Love is an intentional action.

Project and read CCC 1766.

The Catechism says, “Love is to will the good of another” (CCC 1766). This means true love is always focused on good. It is focused on asking what is best for the person whom we love. No matter who the people are — our parents, friends, or classmates — what is best for them is always the same: to lead them to eternal life, not just toward immediate happiness. This does not always mean we explicitly tell them this is our intention. Sometimes loving someone looks like a simple invitation to a Life Night or Sunday Mass. Other times love requires that we call out a friend who is going down the wrong path. Regardless, the intent of love should always be to light the spark that will lead them to eternal life.

We love people in different ways with different boundaries, depending on the relationship we have with them. How we love those in our immediate family is not going to be the same as how we love our friends, and how we love our friends is not going to be the same as how we love random people we encounter at the store. While the foundation of love is the same, the expression takes different forms.

Because we are not perfect, our relationships will not always be perfect. We may even find ourselves in situations where people we care about try to manipulate us by inappropriately pushing our boundaries under the guise of “love.” This can distort what love is, leaving us confused as to how to love appropriately.

Pastoral Note: Be aware that some teens may be in abusive or harmful relationships. Be sure to explain that respect is an essential component of a loving relationship, which means people do not have a right to treat us poorly. Most of the time, if a person is mistreating us, the best way for

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us to love that person is to set appropriate boundaries with them. We cannot make the mistake of thinking that letting someone treat us inappropriately is a loving act. In fact, staying in an abusive or inappropriate relationship with someone because we are worried about hurting them is actually not good for either person. We must take strides to acknowledge how this relationship is harmful (e.g., talking to a trusted adult) and distance ourselves from that relationship. This might even mean choosing to end the relationship entirely. By separating ourselves from a bad situation, we actually give room for the other person to learn how they should treat others.

Project and read CCC 1822.

Above all else, understanding perfect love — or charity — must first start with loving God. We must love God simply because He is God and is worthy of our love. This love allows us to love our neighbors fully and appropriately. In order to show us how to love perfectly, God gave us the example of Jesus.

ORDINARY THINGS

Understanding how to love others as Jesus loves us may seem daunting because He is perfect and loves perfectly. But Jesus’ entire life, even the small, ordinary moments of living, is an example of how to love. He loved perfectly as a child who enjoyed time with His parents, obeying them and learning from them. He loved others in His public ministry by walking with them, showing them compassion, and treating those who are marginalized with respect and dignity. He even loved the people who eventually put Him to death by not shying away from truth in daily conversations where they challenged Him to compromise the mission His Father sent Him to accomplish. He invites us to love others in the same way.

Provide examples of how teens can display great love in small ways (e.g., listening to someone’s trials or point of view, doing chores around the house without being asked, helping younger siblings with their homework, offering to help a teacher with various tasks).

If most of these tasks seem small or like something you would do anyway, do them with intention. Live intentionally out of love and not just because you feel like you have to. That is how Jesus loved, and He shows just how far we are meant to go with His ultimate example of love: His Passion and death. When we take time to contemplate Christ on the cross, we may experience sorrow, but we can begin to understand what love should look and feel like. When we look at a crucifix, we look at Christ’s greatest act of self-gift. He died because of His love for us.

Project and read 1 John 4:9-10.

Jesus was sent by the Father to live with us and, ultimately, die for us on the cross, so we might live with Him in heaven for all eternity. That is love. His willingness to go through what He went through during His Passion — being mocked and scourged and dying one of the most painful deaths — shows us how much we are worth in His eyes; we are worth more than death. By praying through Christ’s Passion, we learn that we must be willing to suffer for those we love, like Jesus suffered for us. However, this does not necessarily mean we have to literally die for them. As St. Teresa of Calcutta said, “Do ordinary things with extraordinary love”; this is our mission.

LIFE-LONG PROCESS

Love is often mislabeled as an emotion, but when we couple that word with an understanding of it as “willing the good of another” (CCC 1822) through the example of Jesus’ life, Passion, and death, we realize that it is

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much more than a feeling. We also realize that all of our emotions can serve our experience of love, because love orients all of our emotions and how we act out of them toward the good of others and ourselves.

Love orders our sadness by helping us remember that God alone will deliver us from our grief. It directs our anger by helping us understand where injustice is present and drives us to find solutions. Love orders our fear as it fills us with the desire to place our doubts at the foot of the cross. It orders our sense of peace as it enables us to rest comfortably in God’s affection. Love places the emotion of feeling powerful into perspective as it helps us recall our worth and fills us with humility in comparison with God’s power. It orders our happiness as it reminds us that our ultimate desire is for eternal happiness with God.

Psalm 34:19

As we allow love to order our emotions, we must understand that it will take our entire life. In this process, we will stumble and continue to face the temptation to let our emotions run rampant. There will be times when we only latch on to the created things that make us happy, the successes that make us narcissistic, overwhelming stress, paralyzing fears, circumstances that enrage us, and traumatic events that fill us with sorrow. We will fail in the process, but the love of God will always be victorious, leading us to reorder our emotions so they serve Him, ourselves, and others.

CCC 2000Notes: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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CORE TEAM OVERVIEW

STAN: Love

GOAL: The goal of Stan is for teens to understand the depths of love by encountering Jesus as the personification of love.

GATHER (15 MIN):Welcome and Opening Prayer: ______________________Depths of Love: __________________________________

PROCLAIM (10 MIN):“Stan” Teaching: ________________________________

BREAK (20 MIN):Lenses:________________________________________

SEND (30 MIN):Stations of the Cross:____________________ _________

Notes: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Documents

MOOD · 2020-07-10 · 8 MOOD 9 at the doors and in the parking lot during pick up, passing out the Parent Letter and looking out for the safety of the teens. The Parent Letter is