Help with Trinity for 8th graders

[javelin]

Hello,

I ventured into the world of CCD this year by volunteering to help teach a group of about 18 eighth graders. The materials our parish uses schedules “Church History” as the main topic of the year. During our last class, which covered the period from the end of the Apostolic Era to the beginning of the Dark Ages (c. 100-c. 400 AD), we tried to talk about the Arian heresy (the heresy that claimed Jesus was not divine). After many confused looks and almost more confusing questions, it became clear that the majority of the class did not understand that Jesus is God. The idea of a triune God completely befuddled them, and it was as if they had never heard of that before.

Suffice it to say that my co-teacher and I (both first-timers as teachers) were shocked and dismayed that this fundamental truth of Christianity was lost on these young teenagers.

Not that they should completely understand the Trinity, because it is a mystery of the Church and difficult for even adults to grasp fully (even mostly). But to not know that Jesus is God? Obviously the potential impact of the Arian heresy was lost on them!

My big question is if anyone knows of a good resource I could easily get my hands on for our next class so that I am more prepared to help them come to grips with the reality of the Trinity. Does anyone know of a great way to bring this mystery to the 8th grade mind? The analogies we knew “off the cuff” seemed to help a little, but we need a more comprehensive way to teach this difficult to understand doctrine.

Please take a minute to pray for us, too.

Thanks!

Peace,
javelin

P.S. To give you an idea of their mindest, one of them said “Why did they have to use all these different names and make this so confusing?” She couldn’t really articulate who the “they” was she was referring to, but she apparently thought the early Church made all this up!

 

[InTheWilderness]

From what I can remember of my own time as an 8th grader, doubting the Church and believing in things like science reaches its peak around that time. Usually 8th grade is about when a person comes closest to thinking they know everything, while probably coming closer to understanding nothing, than at any point in life. Odd time to be doing Confirmation prep, as is the case in most places.

I found two explanations that work relatively well for me. However, the explanation based on marital analogies that syncs with theology of the body would probably really confuse an 8th grader.

On the other hand, they all have brains. Those brains can create thoughts, or put another way, words. They can then admire those words or thoughts.

God the Father is the great mind, the thinker, behind all that is.

God the Son is the thought, the living Word, of the Father.

The Holy Spirit is the love exchanged between the Father and the Son.

Then there is of coarse the old shamrock.

Its a mystery. It isn’t really supposed to be clear.

If you can get them to the point where they realize, on an intellectual level, that there is only one God, but that the Father, Son, and Spirit are each a person within the one Trinitarian God, then will have started in the right direction. This is mind boggling stuff.

I find that just about any time I think of an analogy, and then go find a heresy related to the Trinity, my analogy could lead to that heresy. Perhaps you should stick to the basics from the Catechism and Bible and keep the analogies to a minimum. After all, the Catechism with the backing of the Bible (and the Creed) will not lead to error.

Others probably have greater experience and better ideas on this.

 

[puzzleannie]

teens this age are in a period of brain growth, if you will, and have not yet developed the intellectual ability to grasp abstractions, or are just beginning to develop it. So applying to an advanced theologian like Augustine or Thomas may be beyond their ability. What they are struggling with is usually the more fundamental question of who to trust–their parents, teachers, catechists, the priests, the Church, the civil authority etc. It is that struggle that usually defines the questions they ask, the doubts they have and the difficulties we encounter in catechesis of this group.

Reading from the textbook answering the test questions given, and memorizing statements of doctrine is one way to teach. It is not the only way. The reason for memorizing “sound bites” they way we did it in the Baltimore Catechism days is sound as far as it goes, we have a coherent concise statement of doctrine we can remember and call to mind. But it does not address those underlying doubts about the authority behind the doctrine, nor does it address the complexities of the abstaractions that have been encapsulated in those statements.

You will probably find you have to go back to square one, and spend a few lessons on the apostle’s creed every year (in fact this is the first part of confirmation prep).

if they have had OT in 6th grade and NT in 7th grade they should have some background in how God revealed himself to the Jewish people in the OT, and how that revelatory promise was fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ. It is a huge leap for anyone, and especially so for those in these kids’ stage of cognitive development, to go from the human life and actions and personality of the Jesus of the Gospels, to divine Christ, Messiah, Son of God, 2nd person of the Trinity. It was a huge leap for the apostles who were adult men steeped in their own scripture and prophetic tradition.

That is why for instance youth pastors in evangelical denominations stress “personal relationship with Jesus Christ” as the focus of their ministry. That is actually quite sound pedagogically, and the way Jesus taught his disciples. Do not neglect prayer, Mass, adoration, meditation on the mysteries of the rosary (which should always for these beginners be started by proclaiming the scriptures related to the mysteries being prayed). Some catechists feel this is a waste of class time, but it is essential. There cannot be too much scripture or too much prayer in a RE class.

the best resource I have found for presenting the elements of the Creed to this group is the Teen Catechism by Fr. McBride, Our Sunday Visitor, which has a teacher’s guide and lesson plan suggestions also.

the great saints who preached the Trinity, Augustine and Patrick come to mind, used illustrations from nature, like the shamrock. talk about the meaning of the terms “person” and “nature” and make sure you understand them before you start. for teens establishing definitions is essential in any presentation or argument, because they have been exposed to the fuzzy, distorted use of words in our mass media (i.e. “choice”).

My recommendation for any catechist is to prepare for each lesson first by reading and praying with the scripture citation given in your catechist guide. Then read and meditate with the catechist citations given. Only then begin your lesson plan, but do not on any account neglect the first two steps.

The Church History textbooks used in most RE programs have originally been written for Catholic schools where the children get 3 hours or more of RE a week, and adapted for parish use, where the actual work with the text is an hour or less. That puts the burden on the catechist to decide what and how to present the content. Your instinct is quite right that you must establish this Trinitarian foundation before you can proceed.

our textbook publisher, Loyola of Chicago, has just revised its 7th & 8th grade texts in the Christ Our Life series, which are still devoted to the person and mission of Jesus Christ (7th) and Church History and Catholic identity (8th). The catechist guide has also been completely rewritten, and my catechists are extremely enthusiastic about it, and the HS confirmation catechists think it is an excellent prep for pre-Confirmation classes. loyolapress.com is the website, but if you call the phone number given you can get free sample copies for review. We will probably go to this next year, or the next time we buy textbooks, but they are already using the catechist guides with the old books. This is for classes with kids who have been in RE or Catholic schools for several years.

We will probably keep the Teen Catechism for RCIA and uncatechized youth coming for Confirmation.

 

[puzzleannie]

had to go look in the dark for this book
Did Jesus have a Last Name? from Ascension Press, matthew Pinto and Jason Evert
they also have Did Adam and Eve have Belly buttons?

these books pose typical questions asked by young teens and give concise answers they can understand. essential for catechists in this age group, IMO. since a lot of their questions are on the nature of God, the Trinity, and Jesus, these books are perfect for you.

 

[javelin]

From what I can remember of my own time as an 8th grader, doubting the Church and believing in things like science reaches its peak around that time. Usually 8th grade is about when a person comes closest to thinking they know everything, while probably coming closer to understanding nothing, than at any point in life.

…

I find that just about any time I think of an analogy, and then go find a heresy related to the Trinity, my analogy could lead to that heresy. Perhaps you should stick to the basics from the Catechism and Bible and keep the analogies to a minimum. After all, the Catechism with the backing of the Bible (and the Creed) will not lead to error.

Thank you for your insights, especially what I quoted above.

Peace,
javelin

 

[javelin]

What they are struggling with is usually the more fundamental question of who to trust–their parents, teachers, catechists, the priests, the Church, the civil authority etc. It is that struggle that usually defines the questions they ask, the doubts they have and the difficulties we encounter in catechesis of this group.
…
the best resource I have found for presenting the elements of the Creed to this group is the Teen Catechism by Fr. McBride, Our Sunday Visitor, which has a teacher’s guide and lesson plan suggestions also.

the great saints who preached the Trinity, Augustine and Patrick come to mind, used illustrations from nature, like the shamrock. talk about the meaning of the terms “person” and “nature” and make sure you understand them before you start. for teens establishing definitions is essential in any presentation or argument, because they have been exposed to the fuzzy, distorted use of words in our mass media (i.e. “choice”).

My recommendation for any catechist is to prepare for each lesson first by reading and praying with the scripture citation given in your catechist guide. Then read and meditate with the catechist citations given. Only then begin your lesson plan, but do not on any account neglect the first two steps.
…
our textbook publisher, Loyola of Chicago, has just revised its 7th & 8th grade texts in the Christ Our Life series, which are still devoted to the person and mission of Jesus Christ (7th) and Church History and Catholic identity (8th). The catechist guide has also been completely rewritten, and my catechists are extremely enthusiastic about it, and the HS confirmation catechists think it is an excellent prep for pre-Confirmation classes.

Thank you for your response. We are actually using the “Christ Our Life” series as well, and it looks like we may have the latest one. I really have no problems with the series itself. Our trouble is that, for whatever reason, our children don’t seem to have retained the foundation of material prior to this year. The result is much confusion when we really start talking about Church History and Catholic Identity. After all, how could the students possibly appreciate the trials and triumphs of the Church through the ages if they don’t understand who Jesus is? Apparently they didn’t retain much from the previous year, if that was all about the person of Jesus.

I’ll try to get my hands on the resources you mentioned, and will definitely be praying for guidance in how to approach this most crucial topic with them (as I try to do each week).

Peace,
javelin

 

[puzzleannie]

we begin each lesson by spending 15 minutes with the Sunday gospel, proclamation, reflection, a discussion question. the idea being that they are continually bathed in the Gospel, in the words and actions of Jesus. When the lesson begins with a selected scripture, we use that instead, and pray and meditate with it before we begin the actual study and lesson part.

this change has had a positive effect, in my observation, in helping the kids remain connected with the Jesus of the gospels, understand that he is still speaking to them, and that it is from him that the content of the lesson, and the authority through which we teach it have their power and force and truth.

bear in mind that kids this age are sometimes stubborn, argumentative and close-minded as part of their overal struggles with growth and maturity, it’s not personal and not always about CCD or about the faith.