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The Catholic Homeschool -- March 2002
Catechism for Today’s Teens
by Evann Duplantier
One of the curriculum choices I am most pleased with is my high school religion program. The Catholicism Series, co-authored by James J. Drummey, Msgr. Paul J. Hayes, and Fr. Edward Hayes, is an excellent four-volume Catechism program, ideal for homeschooled high school students. Written in a straight forward journalistic style, this series presents the fundamental structure and reasoning underlying our faith and reaffirms the convictions by which we, as Catholics, should live.
Catholicism and Reason – The Creed and Apologetics offers a systematic examination of the Creed that will prepare your student to be a knowledgeable and articulate defender of the faith.
Catholicism and Life – Commandments and Sacraments discusses the moral code handed down to us in the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount and touches on moral dilemmas facing individuals today.
Catholicism and Society – Marriage, Family, and Social Law offers insights and advice on the role of marriage and family in building a good and just society and how to combat the anti-family evils of contraception, abortion, and euthanasia.
Catholicism and Ethics – A Medical/Moral Handbook sets forth guidelines for arriving at sound ethical and moral decisions, including forming a correct conscience, and applies these guidelines to vital health-care issues such as artificial insemination, cloning, test-tube babies, and so on.
Each book is thoughtfully divided to provide a full-year course. The companion teacher’s manuals summarize the purpose of each chapter, and include tips, topics for discussion, questions and answers, and references for further study.
Constant reference is made to statements of Vatican II Council, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and recent papal statements, bringing to our modern youth the unchanging teachings of Christ and his Church. The series consistently displays fidelity to the Magisterium of the Church, and solid doctrine underlies every line.
For me, one appealing aspect of this series is its handling of “real world” topics like honesty, sexual ethics, and birth control. These touchy (and sometimes avoided) topics are handled with great respect and modesty. Exposure to this type of subject matter will prove invaluable to our homeschool highschoolers, who are so close to entering college and/or the “real” world. Catholic homeschoolers must never forget that most of the population is neither homeschooled nor Catholic. We owe our children this faith-filled preparation.
Catholicism Series is available from C.R. Publications, 345 Prospect St., Norwood MA 02062 or www.crpublications.com.Vol. 1-4 - $9.95 each, Teacher’s Manuals - $4.95 each, plus shipping.
“Of old it was said to the needy and suffering people in the kingdom of Egypt: ‘Go to Joseph, and do all that he shall say to you.’ (Gen. 41:55).
“The same is now said by the Sovereign Pontiff to all needy and suffering people in the kingdom of the Church: Go to Joseph . . .
“What was truly said of the first Joseph, as to his future, and as to his goodness, his chastity, his patience, his wisdom, his influence with the king, his power over the people, and his love for his brethren, is verified much more perfectly, even to this day, in the second Joseph.”
–Herbert Cardinal Vaughan,
Archbishop of Westminster
Viva San Giuseppe!
by Evann Duplantier
The penitential nature of Lent makes finding inspirational family activities somewhat difficult. Forty days is a very long time to the smaller members of the household. One bright spot in our Lenten journey is the March 19 Feast of St. Joseph. In the tradition of the St. Joseph Altars of New Orleans, we prepare our own small Altar on our dining room table in honor of St. Joseph for his feast day each year.
The St. Joseph Altar is Sicilian in origin. During a terrible famine, the people of Sicily pleaded to St. Joseph, their patron saint, for relief. St. Joseph answered their prayers, and the famine ended. In gratitude, they prepared a table with foods they had harvested. After paying homage to St. Joseph, they distributed the food to the less fortunate.
The Altar is set up in three tiers, representing the Holy Trinity. A statue of St. Joseph is placed on the top tier, usually surrounded by flowers, greenery & fruit.
No meat is prepared for the Altar. This is probably because St. Joseph’s Feast falls in the Lenten Season and also because meat was a rarity to the Sicilian peasants. Breads, cakes and cookies, baked in symbolic Christian shapes, are prepared for artistic placement on the Altar. Pastries in the shapes of monstrances, chalices, crosses, doves, lambs, fish, bibles, hearts, wreaths and palms adorn the tiers of the Altar. Symbols of St. Joseph - such as lilies, staffs, sandals, ladders, saws, hammers and nails - are also used. There is symbolism in many of the items on the Altar. Breadcrumbs represent the sawdust of St. Joseph the Carpenter. Twelve whole fish represent the apostles. Wine is symbolic of the Miracle at Cana.
The Altar is a medium of petition and thanksgiving. Petitions of the faithful are written on pieces of paper and placed in baskets on the Altar. Photos of deceased relatives & friends may decorate the Altar as well.
As with any tradition, our St. Joseph Altar has evolved and gathered life from each member of our family. Certain children have certain cookies or cakes they prepare each year. In addition to our traditional dining room table Altar, we now have the first and only interactive St. Joseph Altar on the world wide web – The Virtual St. Joseph Altar at www.politickles.com/thankevann/stjoseph. A few adaptations have been made, but the Virtual Altar still offers many of the basics, not to mention a clean kitchen.
St. Joseph is our good friend. He has answered our prayers many times and I am confident that he will continue to do so. Viva San Giuseppe!
For more information on the St. Joseph Altar tradition visit The Virtual St. Joseph Altar.
Evann Duplantier, homeschooling mother of six, is editor of The Catholic Homeschool & webmaster of The Virtual St. Joseph Altar.
St. Louis Catholic Homeschool Association teens, Theresa Hannegan and Clare Robidoux, joined thousands of pro-lifers for the January 22, 2002 March for Life in Washington, D.C. Clare and Theresa are active high schoolers in our Wednesday Co-op. This was their second trip to D.C. for the Annual March for Life.
Be Brave in Your Conviction
by Clare Robidoux
Tens of thousands of Americans march in Washington D.C. every year on January 22. They go to stand up for their fellow Americans who are not yet born. They go because they know that the decision to make abortion legal is contrary to the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness that our great nation is founded on.
Some people do not go on the march because they think that it will not help overcome abortion; the only way to increase respect for life, they think, is to change hearts. It’s true the march may not directly change anyone’s heart, but that does not mean it is useless. I have gone on the march the past two years. It is very encouraging to see so many people there, and I am sure that all of the members of the government who are pro-life are encouraged to have so many people from their districts come and give them support. The march strengthens all the people who go in their fight against the killing of the unborn.
The march is a good time to stand up for what is right. Both times I have gone, I knew that I was standing up for the right thing and that I would have to do it again the next year. Everyone who is pro-life should be brave in his conviction and should face every challenge to life without fear.
A Day In the Life of a Pro-Lifer
by Theresa Hannegan
A few weeks ago I made the bus trip to Washington D.C. for the annual March for Life. We left St. Louis on a sunny Monday morning after participating in a brief prayer rally at the St. Louis Arch. We drove almost nonstop from St. Louis to D.C., stopping at rest stops and once in Indiana at a Knights of Columbus Hall for dinner. We arrived in D.C. at 5 a.m. Tuesday. Since we hadn’t gotten much sleep on the bus, we reclined against the pillars in the Russell Senate Office Building, while waiting for the “Big Meeting” to start.
During the “Big Meeting,” the mistress of ceremonies asked people how old they were. It was amazing: there were a few in their eighties. The majority, however, were teenagers. Several political leaders spoke and demonstrated their support for life.
Later that afternoon we participated in the culmination of our trip to the capital: the pro-life march. As I watched the march go by, I marveled at the great number of people and how different they all were. It was very encouraging to see how many people believed in life strongly enough to come and demonstrate their belief.
Although the trip was exhausting, it was definitely worth it, and I plan to go again. I would encourage anyone interested in the pro-life cause to make the trip next year.
Since we have received this life freely, we must in turn offer it freely to our brothers and sisters. This is what Jesus asked of the disciples when he sent them out as his witnesses in the world: “You received without paying, give without pay.” And the first gift to be given is the gift of a holy life, bearing witness to the freely given love of God. May the Lenten journey be for all believers an unceasing summons to enter more deeply into this special vocation of ours. As believers, we must be open to a life marked by “gratuitousness,” by the giving of ourselves unreservedly to God and neighbor.
– John Paul II
excerpted from the Holy Father’s
Message for Lent 2002
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