[i] 

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:

       1.   Name Tags:  Each person will require a name tag. 

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. 

[iii]  Pilgrimage Preparation

Session Five 

Time:                 1.5-2.0 hours

[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 aren’t 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]

 [vii]  .Prayer Journal Activity:

 Instruct everyone to read all the compliments that the others wrote. Then read the following passage out loud. 

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.