You are the salt of the earth
You are the light of the world.
(Matt. 5: 13-14)
Contents of this
session
[i]Structure Strategy what this meeting might look like:
[ii]Materials needed for this first meeting and things to remember:
[iii]Pilgrimage Preparation Session Five Fitness
[iv]Opening Prayer
[v]Ice Breaker
[vi]Topic of the Night
[vii]Prayer Journal Activity
[viii]Reflections on Community and Social Service Project
[ix]Questions and Answers
[x] Closing Prayer
[xi] Activity Chart
Structure
Strategy: what this meeting might look like:
1. Opening
Prayer: This section can be led by anyone in the group. There is a prayer provided,
but it can be changed or intentions and reflection time can be added as well. At this
point, a candle should be lit and kept lit somewhere in the room with an open Bible.
2. Icebreaker:
(First off; have each person fill out a name tag.) This icebreaker activity is designed to
create bonds through affirmation. Examples of what one might put on another's sheet could
be "You are outgoing." or "You cheer up those around you.
3. The topic of the night: For this meeting, the topic is fitness. It is
important that each person is fit for what is ahead for us in Toronto. It might be a good
idea to have a guest speaker to emphasize the importance of fitness. It could be someone
who knows the benefits of healthy living or someone who experienced WYD in Rome and knows
the heat and the endurance needed. Photocopy and distribute the chart found at the back of
this package for people to trace their progress in developing an exercise routine.
4. Prayer
Journal Activity. Invite people to reread the passage in their Bibles
and allow for reflection time in their journals.
5. Reflections on our Community and Social
Service Project: In this section, the group members can share stories experienced
during their service.
6. Questions
and Answers: This is the part of the evening here the people in your group can field
questions and concerns that they may have about the coming year and the activities in
Toronto. If you don't know an answer, you will have everyone's phone numbers and if need
be, you can call people with answers.
7. Closing
Prayer: This prayer remains constant throughout all 9 meetings.
[ii] Materials needed for this first meeting and things to
remember:
2. Candle,
Matches, and Bible: To be lit and left on a table for the duration of the meeting.
These are to help keep the minds and hearts of each person focused during the meeting
3. AVs:
Pictures or a video. If you want to, draw up a chart for each member in your group, to
help trace his or her routine development in exercise.
4. Announcement:
Make an announcement in the church bulletin and/or phone people to remind them to come.
Include the time, location, and duration of the meeting. Ask people to bring their Bibles.
Remind everyone to bring their journals and pens. (Be sure to bring extras, just in case.)
Invite others to come as well.
5. Meeting
Place: Be sure to book a room in the church (or hall) in which the meeting will be
held. Arrive there early so that you can set chairs, tables, and such in the manner that
you like.
[iv] Opening
Prayer:
The response is: Christ, You are our light.
Leader: Loving God, You became one of us to show us our worth.
-Response.
Leader: Loving God, You became one of us to teach us that love
alone will last.
-Response.
Leader: Loving God, You became one of us to show us how much You
love us. Help us to love ourselves and one another with the same love.
-Response.
Leader: Loving God, You became one of us to show us You are at
the center of human life. Help us to pray to You in times of joy and in times of sorrow.
-Response.
Leader: Lord, You have come to help us overcome the dark places
in our lives. May we experience You as our friend who struggles with us in life. Help us
to trust that You may be our direction and our light in all of life's unexpected struggles
and pain.
We ask this through Christ our Lord -
Amen.
-Intentions and Personal Reflections
[v] Icebreaker: Hunting for
Compliments
This hunt involves finding good things in others. The object of
the game is to sincerely compliment as many people in the group as possible. Each person
starts off with a blank piece of paper. With crayons and markers, each person will write
his or her name on the top of their sheet. Sitting in a circle, the group will
simultaneously pass their sheet to the person sitting to their left. As the sheet is being
passed around, each person, anonymously, will write an encouraging note about the person
whose name is on the sheet.
The purpose
is the formation of community
[vi] Topic of the Night: Fitness
Talk to anyone who went to Rome for WYD 2000 or any other WYD
event and find out how much their group had to walk. Ask about the heat. Ask about the
transportation problems. Ask about standing in lines or sitting on the ground. Whether it is Rome or Toronto, there will still be
variable weather, a lot of people, and a lot of walking. Fitness is an important factor in
the World Youth Day activities and it is important to be able to keep up with your group
and to not become physically exhausted, which could drain your enthusiasm.
Few people can change their lifestyle with a simple
resolution at New Year's or the turning of a calendar page, and even fewer people can
maintain that change for any appreciable length of time. Change is a process. There are
five steps that a person can follow in order to enact a change.
The first step is precontemplation. The goal
here is to simply educate yourself and to become aware of the problems you may encounter
and their effects. Also, it is important to identify family and friends who will give you
unconditional support. Try to make this a priority in your life and to schedule activities
around this.
The second step is contemplation. You've
acknowledged the problem, but you arent yet ready to change it. In this step, a
person will sometimes make a list of pros and cons of changing - and understandably, there
will indeed be some valid cons. However, the pros will outweigh the cons.
The third step is preparation. People in this
stage are planning to make changes. Small changes are made initially, for example, buying
a pair of walking shoes. Setting realistic, short-term goals is an important component of
this stage.
The fourth step is action. You're actively
practicing your lifestyle change. However, this is the stage in which you're most likely
to relapse into your old behavior. Having the support network from your family and friends
is important as well as posting reminders to exercise.
The fifth step is maintenance. This refers
not only to adhering to the new behavior, but also continually reinforcing the techniques
of the Action stage to prevent a relapse.[vi]
Now, we are not trying to kick a bad habit. This is simply a guideline to starting a new good
habit: regular exercise. Possible ideas would be to start with a 15-minute walk, twice a
week. Gradually, you can extend this to 30 minutes and make your walks more frequent.
Swimming is also an excellent way of exercising. It is important to realize that we will
be walking lots in Toronto and being fit will bring more enjoyment to our experience.
For Your
Information: The Health Care Apostolate:
The Catholic Health Association of Canada in its
newly revised "Health Ethics Guide" identifies several "key principles and
values" that are fundamental to our Catholic identity as a people redeemed by Christ.
In her recent article in the Catholic Health Association of Canada's "Review"
magazine entitled "Health Care in Contemporary Canadian Society and Catholic
Vision," Amalia M. Iss, Ph.D., Bioethicist at McGill University, quotes several of
these key principles that characterize our Catholic approach to health care. Here, two of
the key principles are shared:
1. A passionate
commitment to respect for human dignity that translates into compassion, integrity and
confidentiality lies at the core of Catholic health care. Theologically, the notion of the
dignity of the individual arises from the belief that each human person is made in the
image and likeness of God [Genesis. 1:26] and the redemptive action of Christ on behalf of
each person [Ephesians I:101. This appeal to dignity translates into respect and promotion
of human life from the moment of conception through acute and chronic illness and up to
the time of death. The notion of providing total, holistic care in catholic hospitals
stems from this basic value.
In "Pacem in Terris", Pope John XXIII
appeals to this basic vision of human dignity: "...every person has a right to life,
to bodily integrity, and to the means which are necessary and suitable for the proper
development of life. These means are primarily food, clothing, shelter, rest, medical
care, and finally the necessary social services. Therefore, a human being also has the
right to security in cases of sickness, inability to work, widowhood, old age,
unemployment, or in any other case in which he or she is deprived of the means of
subsistence through no fault of his or her own." [Pacem in Terris, art. 11]
The current health care delivery field that
emphasizes the "technological imperative" is not overtly attentive to what human
dignity entails or the intrinsic value of the individual. Thus, Catholic health care
institutions serve to remind the wider community that moral reflection must guide
contemporary medicine with all its technological possibilities.
2. Health care
is enriched by the Church's social teaching on the "common good." According to
the Catechism of the Catholic Church, common good is to be understood as the sum total of
social conditions which allow people, either as groups or individuals, to reach their
fulfillment more fully and more easily. The common good concerns the life of all. The
common good is oriented toward the progress of persons.
In their "Resolution on Health Care
Reform", the Roman Catholic bishops of the United States captured the essence of this
hallmark of Catholic social teaching; "More than anything else, the call to the
common good is a reminder that we are one human family, whatever our differences of race,
gender, ethnicity, or economic status. In our vision of the common good, a crucial moral
test is how the weakest are faring. We give special priority to the poor and vulnerable
since those with the greatest needs and burdens have first claim on our common efforts. In
protecting the lives and promoting the dignity of the poor and vulnerable, we strengthen
all of our society. "[vi]
I am grateful to God when I remember you constantly
in my prayers. I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your
sincere faith and I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is in you by the power of
the Spirit, for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power
and of love and of self-discipline. (Adapted from Paul's letter to Timothy, 1:3-7.)
- Take 10 minutes to reflect.
[viii] Reflections
on our Community and Social Service Project
This is a time to share our experiences.
[ix] Questions and Answers Session
You can field any questions, comments, or calculators that anyone
has.
[x] Closing
Prayer:
Prayer for World
Youth Day 2002
Heavenly Father, bless us as we patiently await World Youth Day
2002.
Help us make our hearts and minds open to your love as we
prepare.
Lord, give us strength and ingenuity to serve and make way for
the visit of the Holy Father.
Make us ready for the challenges and sacrifices of this
pilgrimage over these next months.
Allow us to grow in our love for you and as a community
journeying together in hope.
Guide us, Lord, so that by your teachings we may be ready to
prepare worthily.
Bestow upon us your light so that we may follow your path and
receive all your
blessings.
Let us be filled with the Holy Spirit as we share our faith and
love with our friends, families, communities, and all the people of the world.
Grant us the grace that we will forever be dedicated to you and
follow you always.
Amen.
[xi] Instructions: If you have
exercised 15 minutes today, color the picture blue. If you have exercised 20 minutes,
color the picture orange. If you exercised 30 minutes today, color the picture green.
Goal:
To have two green pictures each week by the end four weeks.
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