CHURCH DOCUMENTS Redemptoris Mater, Encyclical, St.John Paul II
KEY CONCEPTS• St. John Paul II will be
canonized on April 27th, 2014 – the Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday. His life provides an exceptional witness of a modern day saint.
• St. John Paul II was an advocate for youth and families. He had a strong devotion to the Blessed
Virgin Mary and the Divine Mercy of Christ.
• St. John Paul II had a missionary heart that led himtofightforthedignityof all human life; it even led him to forgive a man that tried to assassinate him.
GOALThis Life Night teaches teenagers about St. John Paul II, and challenges them to emulate his witness of faith in the face of life’s challenges.
ABOUT THIS NIGHT This Life Night has been designed for use with a variety of youth groups. Suggestions for adapting this Life Night for your particular group can be found at the end of the Life Night in the “Adapting This Life Night” section.
This Life Night was written for the occasion of the canonization of St. John Paul II. St. John Paul II had
a heart for serving the youth of the Church. Many teenagers may not be familiar with St. John Paul II; this Life Night familiarizes teenagers with his life and also presents some of the challenges that he faced in his life. These challenges are very similar to what teenagers experience in their lives and include atheism, forgiveness, and trusting in God’s plan after a loss.
The Life Night begins with a relay race that highlights the diversity of St. John Paul II’s life. Teenagers will participate in several challenges modeled from the hobbies and interests of the saint. This game transitions to the Proclaim teaching, which is a brief biographical
THE FEARLESS WITNESSA LIFE NIGHT ABOUT SAINT JOHN PAUL IILIFE NIGHT OUTLINE
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overview of St. John Paul II’s life and provides insight into the canonization process. Teenagers will then have an option of three breakout sessions thatfocusonaspecificareaofSt.JohnPaulII’slifeand the insights that we can gain from his witness of faith. The Life Night closes by teaching the teenagers the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, a prayer beloved by St. John Paul II. Teenagers will pray a decade together, and be challenged to pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy sometime during the next week while asking for the intercession of St. John Paul II.
Note: This Life Night was written for use with the canonization of John Paul II. For this reason, he is referred to as “St. John Paul II” throughout the Life Night rather than “Blessed John Paul II.”
GATHERWELCOME AND INTRODUCTION (5 min)
The youth minister welcomes teenagers to the Life Night and introduces any teenagers that are attending for the first time.Heor she leads anopening prayer to begin the Life Night.
ST. JOHN PAUL II RELAY (10 min)
Ask for four volunteers from each class (16 teens total) to come to the front of the room for a competition. Explain to the teens and the audience that they will be competing in a relay race. There are four stations to the relay race that each member of each team must complete in order to win. All the stations have been based on activities that St. John Paul II loved during his lifetime. Set up the four stations prior to the Life Night:
• Fishing – St. John Paul II was an avid outdoorsman that loved to fish. Print andcutoutpicturesoffish.Tapeapapercliptotheback thefish cutouts andplace them into asmall plastic children’s pool or a large basin.
Fasten string to a dowel and place a small magnet on the end of the string. This will be the“fishingpole”andwillpickupthe“fish”withthe paperclip on each end. Once a teen picks upfourfish(oneatatime),heorshecantagateammate in for the next challenge.
• Soccer – St. John Paul II played soccer in his youth as a goalkeeper. Set up a “goal” out of a cardboard box or trash bin. Teens must score a “goal” by kicking a soccer ball into the box or bin.Youcanchoosethedifficultyofthisgameby choosing a larger (easier) or smaller (more difficult) container. Be sure to set up the goalaway from the audience so a soccer ball does not accidentally hit a spectator.
• Acting – St. John Paul II was an actor and a play writer. Find and print an excerpt from one of his plays (available online). In addition to the script, have a “costume” that the teenager completing thechallengemustfirstputonoverhisorherclothing. The teen completing this challenge dress in costume, read the script out loud, andthetakeoffthecostumebeforetaggingateammateinforthefinalchallenge.
• The Keys of Peter – Prior to the Life Night, purchase a padlock with a set of keys. Additionally, find several other keys that willnot open the padlock. Place all of the keys into alargebowlfilledwithshavingcream(St.John
ENVIRONMENTSet up the front of the room for the opening relay challenge (see Gather). In addition, have a large picture of St. John Paul II set up in the front of the room or projected onto a screen. If possible, set up a picture of Jesus of Divine Mercy as well.
If you have a projector and screen, consider creating a slideshow presentation featuring various pictures of St. John Paul II mixed with various quotes from his lifetime.
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• During this time he also was a part of the UNIA, an organization that helped shelter and protect Jews from Nazi authorities during the holocaust. When World War II ended, he attended major seminary and continued his studies for the priesthood.
The Priesthood and Papacy
• After his ordination, he continued to become educated, receiving several advanced degrees. He was present at the Vatican II council, helped draft many important documents, and was ordained a bishop. He was elected as pope on October 16th, 1978 and remained pope for nearly 27 years.
• His papacy was a remarkable one. St. John Paul II had a love and zeal for young people, families, and met with more world leaders and members of the Church than any pope before him. He established World Youth Day, canonized several saints, and had a special devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. His apostolic motto was, “Totus Tuus,” which means, “totally yours.”
• St. John Paul II was instrumental in bringing down communism in the Soviet Union, survived a failed assassination attempt, and strongly promoted forgiveness and God’s Mercy. He joined Christ in heaven on Divine Mercy Sunday. Nearly three million people came to pay their respects to his mortal remains.
• St. John Paul II lived a life of love for God and for neighbor, and practiced heroic virtue in all he did. It was for these reasons that Pope Benedict XVI waivedthenormalfive-yearwaitingperiodforthecanonization process to begin for St. John Paul II.
Canonization?
• So what is the canonization process? In the middle 13th century the Church established a formal process called canonization for declaring a person a saint. A saint is any person that is in heaven; this process recognized people that the Church identified with suretyof faith were, in fact, in heaven. The purpose of our lives is to become saints (YouCat 342)
• Saints are important to the Church – they provide us with models of holiness and
Paul II was also a barber). To complete the final challenge, each teenmust dig throughtheshavingcreamuntilheorshefindsakey.Once they have found a key (they can only take one key out a time), he or she must try toopenthepadlockwithit.Thefirstteentofind the correct key for thepadlockwillwinthe relay for his or her team.
Have a prize for the winning team, or have an award for the winning class (a small snack after the Life Night, a prayer card, etc.). Use this game to transition into the first teaching for the LifeNight.
PROCLAIM“THE FEARLESS WITNESS” TEACHING(10 min)
• St. John Paul II lived his life fearlessly and with tremendous faith in God. He was an avid outdoorsman, athlete, actor, and disciple.Throughouthislifehefacedconflictfearlessly and with hope in Christ. Many of you may remember little pieces of his life through stories when you were younger, but St. John Paul II gave us an incredible witness of faith in the modern world.
• St John Paul II was born in 1920 in Poland, and was the youngest of three children. When he was only nine years old his mother passed away. Shortly after, his brother died, and several years later his father passed away as well. By age 21, St. John Paul II had lost over half of his immediate family.
• Remaining faithful to God despite this hardship, he enrolled in a university and began an education in the drama school. The Nazi’s closed the university in 1939, and he went to work on a quarry where he ran lines of dynamite. His work allowed him to avoid being deported to Germany.
• St. John Paul II stayed in his native country of Poland to attend an underground seminary where he began studying for the priesthood.
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witnesses of heroic virtue. We identify them to strengthen the Body of Christ; the holiness of the Church shines in the saints (CCC 828).
• In order for a person to be canonized they must have lived lives of heroic virtue and great love; after their death they must have two miracles attributed to their intercession and verified by the Church.
• This is how the process works: A martyr or “spiritual figure of fame” is investigatedafter they die. Their writings and witness accounts of their lives are reviewed to find evidence of fidelity to Christ and theChurch, a life of heroic virtue, and a love for God and neighbor. If these things are verified,apersonmaybecalled“venerable.”
• After this, a “venerable” needs a verifiedmiracle due to his or her intercession. After thisfirstmiracle,apersonisdeclared“Blessed”through process called “beatification.”
• After a second miracle, a person may be canonized a saint
• St. John II’s two miracles involved a French nun that was miraculously cured of Parkinson’s disease, and a woman from Costa Rica that was cured of a cerebral aneurysm on the day of St. John Paul II’s beatification.
• It is an exciting moment for the Church as St. John Paul II is canonized. He was a fearless witness to the faith, and often called on the Church to hear the words of Christ, “Be not afraid.” In our journey to sainthood, his intercession and witness is incredibly powerful.
• At this Life Night, we are going to explore three powerful examples of St. John Paul II’s faith in the face of atheism, death and loss, and his witness of forgiveness and love of our enemies.
BREAKST. JOHN PAUL II BREAKOUTS(30 min)
This section of the Life Night will require help from your Core Team. Assign a session to a Core Member to teach and facilitate each breakout. Teenagers choose one of these three sessions based on the life of St. John Paul II. The Core Member leading each session gives a brief teaching, and then leads a large group discussion with the teenagers.
The youth minister will provide a brief description of each session so that teenagers can choose the sessionthatwillfit them.AssignCoreMembersto sessions prior to the Life Night to help lead and facilitate discussions in small groups.
St. John Paul II Against Atheism
• St. John Paul II spent his young adult years living under the tyrannical rule of the Nazi Army in Poland.
• The Nazis were a totalitarian regime. This means that they severely restricted and persecuted religion and religious ideas, heavily regulated education and intellectual discussion, and tried to control public though with violence and propaganda.
• During this time St. John Paul II resisted the regime by holding underground theatre groups that promoted “illegal” plays and art, attended an underground seminary, and helped shelter Jews from the Nazis.
• This early experience of resisting a totalitarian regime prepared him for a bigger fightagainst communism during his papacy.
• Communism in the Soviet Union after World War II was marked by Marxist philosophy; a key component of this philosophy was that the government was the provider for all; the government was the highest authority – higher than God.
• As a result, communism was heavily atheistic and did not allow great religious
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freedoms, intellectual conversation and dialogue about religious matters, and heavily restricted how the Church operated.
• St. John Paul II was an important factor in helping dismantle communism, which also controlled his home country of Poland. In the face of atheism and religious persecution, St. John Paul II spoke out.
• His witness of faith empowered many people, especially in Poland. At an event where he heavily criticized the Soviet government, thousands and thousands of people showed up to support the pope. His witness helped them be fearless, even though they knew the government arrested many priests, religious, and lay people on charges of “religious extremism” and sent them to prison to serve long sentences.
• You may encounter atheism in your school or with your friends and be challenged to confront it, just like St. John Paul II. Many people feared speaking out about their faith because they would be mocked, ridiculed, or even punished.
• It may seem like our world is becoming increasingly more intolerant to religion, and that more and more atheists are outspoken about their beliefs. This can make us fearful of proclaiming Christ as Lord. St. John Paul II gives us a fearless example of what it means to proclaim the Gospel, even in the face of atheism and intolerance.
Discussion Questions: •Have you encountered persecution or ridicule
for your faith? When? What happened?
•Are you afraid to proclaim and live your faith at school or around certain people? Why? How can the example of St. John Paul II help empower you?
•Do you think St. John Paul II was fearful for his life during the Nazi occupation and under the Soviet government? Why or why not? Why do you think he still rebelled against these unjust governments?
•How can you be a fearless witness for others around you?
St. John Paul II and Forgiveness
• On May 13th, 1981, St. John Paul II was shot several times by an assassin in Vatican Square. The man who shot him had been arrested and put in jail for murder already, and a year earlier had escaped and written a threat against the pope’s life.
• The pope was rushed to the hospital and had emergency surgery to remove the bullets and part of his intestine that was hit by the gunfire. He recovered from his woundsand the man who shot him was convicted of attempted murder and put into jail.
• Two years later, the pope requested to visit the man in prison. Upon greeting the man in his cell, St. John Paul II shook his hand, and the man kissed the popes hand. They had a conversation that lasted over 20 minutes, which the pope requested be kept a secret.
• We do know that in the context of this conversation, St. John Paul II forgave the man who two years earlier had tried to kill him.
• St. John Paul II believed strongly in God’s mercy and forgiveness, and took very seriously the words of the Lord’s Prayer that God “forgives us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
• Jesus told his disciples they were to be different; they needed to love theirenemies and the people that persecuted them. St. John Paul II lived this command.
• His witness challenges us; how do we love those people that hurt or wrong us? We are not simply called to forget or ignore them, but to actively forgive and love them. St. John Paul II visited the man in prison and forgave him; he would later request that his prison sentence be shortened and he be released. That is radical forgiveness.
Discussion Questions: • Think of a time that it was easy for you to forgive
someone. What made it easy to forgive that person?
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•When have you needed to ask forgiveness? Was iteasyordifficult?Whatwasthereactionoftheperson you asked forgiveness from?
•Why did Christ ask us to love our enemies? How can we practically do this? How can we live out the Lord’s Prayer in seeking God’s forgiveness and forgiving others?
St. John Paul II, Loss, and Mary
• St. John Paul II lost his mother at a very young age. In subsequent years he would lose his older brother and his father as well. The loss of his mother was especially difficult, as St.John Paul II was only nine at the time. He found comfort and solace in the Blessed Virgin Mary.
• St. John Paul II adopted the apostolic motto, “Totus Tuus,” from the reflections of St. Louisde Montfort in his “Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary.” It means “totally yours.”
• St. John Paul II entrusted his life to Christ through Mary. He looked at Mary as a mother, since he had lost his at such an early age.
• Though the saint struggled with loss in his early life,thecomforthefoundinMarywasreflectedthroughout his ministry. He encouraged young peopletoviewherasamotherlyfigureaswell.
• “Jesus gives his Mother to you so that she will comfort you with her tenderness. She will discharge her ministry as a mother and train you and mold you until Christ is fully formed in you. This is why I now wish to repeat the motto of my episcopal and pontifical service:“Totus tuus.” Throughout my life I have experienced the loving and forceful presence of the Mother of Our Lord. Mary accompanies meeveryday in the fulfillmentofmymissionas successor of Peter. Mary is the Mother of divine grace, because she is the Mother of the Author of grace. Entrust yourselves to her with complete confidence!” ( John Paul II,“Message of the Holy Father John Paul II for the 18th World Youth Day,” March 8, 2003, 3-4.)
• Mary was special to St. John Paul II because she also knew suffering in her life. Shewitnessed her son betrayed, arrested, and crucified. It caused her immeasurable pain,
but she endured to the cross with Christ.
• Mary gives us strength to follow Christ to the cross as well, especially in moments of suffering. St. John Paul II showedus how to find this comfort, and growcloser to Christ through His mother.
Discussion Questions: •Read John 19:25-27. What does this
passage tell us about our relationship with Mary? How can viewing Mary as a mother help us in times of suffering?
• Think of a time you experienced loss; was it easy ordifficultforyoutotrustinGod?Whyorwhynot?
• St. John Paul II recognized the crosses that he would need to carry in his life because of the loss of his family. What are some of the challenges you face in your faith? How can you follow the example of St. John Paul II in having hope in the face of those challenges?
SENDLIFE NIGHT RECAP(5 min)
Gather all of the teenagers back into your parish sanctuary space to close the Life Night. Close the Life Night by recapping the main concepts for the Life Night:
• Blessed John Paul II will be canonized on April 27th, 2014 – Divine Mercy Sunday. His life provides an exceptional witness of a modern day saint.
• Blessed John Paul II was an advocate for youth and families. He had a strong devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Divine Mercy of Christ.
• Blessed John Paul II had a missionary heart that led him to fight for the dignity of allhuman life; it even led him to forgive a man that tried to assassinate him.
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CHAPLET OF DIVINE MERCY(10 min)
Pass out the Divine Mercy Handout found on page 10. Explain the prayer to the teenagers:
A Polish nun named St. Faustina began receiving messages and visions from Jesus. He requested that she create a painting depicting his divine mercy flowing form his sacred heart, and that a feast day for his divine mercy be established on the first Sunday after Easter.
St. John Paul II canonized St. Faustina and declared the first Sunday after Easter to be Divine Mercy Sunday, and promoted devotion that accompanies it. He believed strongly in the mercy of Christ on the world, and asked that people constantly ask Jesus to pour out his mercy on the world.
The Chaplet of Divine Mercy is this prayer. It is a series of short prayers asking for God’s mercy, in the name of the Passion of Jesus Christ. It is a powerful prayer in which we ask mercy for ourselves and for others – including those that have hurt others or us.
Pray a decade of the chaplet with the teens and explain each prayer. Challenge the teenagers to pray a full Chaplet of Divine Mercy during the upcoming week, while asking for the intercession of St. John Paul II. Close the Life Night by praying a Hail Mary and Ave Maria as a group.
ADAPTATION IDEAS
• If you have a smaller youth group, choose one of the breakout sessions to present to the teenagers. Break the teens into small groups for the discussion questions after the teaching.
• Schedule a longer period of time for the Send of the Life Night and invite your parish priest or a deacon to lead a time of Eucharistic Adoration.
