Catholic Faith Formation Resources

" He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how " —Friedrich Nietzsche. Viktor Frankl was a prisoner and survivor of Nazi concentration camps during World War II. Based on his training as a psychotherapist and his experiences as a prisoner and survivor, he formulated the theory that he called "logotherapy," that he explains in his book, Man's Search for Meaning ." 1 According to Frankl, logos is a Greek word denoting "meaning," and logotherapy "focuses on the meaning of human existence as well as [one's] search for meaning....[T]his striving to find meaning in one's life is the primary motivational force in [humans]....This meaning is unique and specific in that it must and can be fulfilled by [the person] alone; only then does it achieve the significance which will satisfy [their] own will to meaning. . . .[Logotherapy] tries to make the patient aware of what [they] actually long for in the depth of [their] bei...

OPENING PRAYER Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name. your kingdom come, you will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and do not subject us to the final test, but deliver us from the evil one. (Matthew 6:5-13) Amen. "JESUS TAUGHT US TO PRAY" — CCC , Nos. 2759–2865 How did you learn how to pray? Jesus is our model for prayer. He prayed regularly and often, sometimes spending the night alone in prayer. He prayed before and during events that occurred in his life. Moved by his example, disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. Jesus responded by teaching them to pray what we now call the “Lord’s Prayer” or the “Our Father.” (Mt 6:9-13; Lk 11:2-4). The Church’s liturgy follows Matthew’s version of this prayer.. The Lord’s Prayer addresses “Our Father who art in heaven,” because Jesus, the Son of God mad...

OPENING PRAYER Lord, I am yours, and I must belong to no one but you. My soul is yours, and must live only by you. My will is yours, and must love only for you. I must love you as my first cause, since I am from you. I must love you as my end and rest, since I am for you. I must love you more than my own being, since my being subsists by you. I must love you more than myself, since I am all yours and all in you. Amen. St. Francis de Sales "GOD CALLS US TO PRAY" — CCC , Nos. 2558–2758 Can you have a meaningful relationship with someone who only talks and doesn’t listen? Prayer helps us develop a meaningful relationship with God. In its simplest form, prayer is having a personal conversation with God, who calls us into loving communion and friendship with God and with all people of God. We respond to this call with an attitude of love, awe, wonder, adoration, praise, worship, humility, dependency, and trust. In prayer, we talk to God about what con...

OPENING PRAYER Lord, Jesus Christ, You are the Way, the Truth and the Life. Hear our prayer for truth and integrity in all segments of society today. May the truth be spoken by us and affirmed in others, that in seeking truth, the world will come to find You, the Source of All Truth. Wherever relationships are weakened by deception or hypocrisy, strengthen good Christian character among us that we may bear witness to the critical need for truth. May your Spirit of Truth fashion minds and hearts open to a moral integrity so strong that both words and actions can be trusted. In public and private life, deepen among us a genuine commitment to honest, sincerity and truth-telling. Let nations and peoples not compromise truth by rationalization or pretense, but safe-guard and defend it always as Your most precious gift. Lord, may those around us come to know that they can take us at our word, until that day when all the world lives in truth and the Trut...

OPENING PRAYER Lord, set aflame my heart and my entire being with the fire of the Holy Spirit, that I may serve you with a chaste body and pure mind. Through Christ our Lord. Amen Source: USCCA, p. 446 (USCCB) "THE NINTH COMMANDMENT: PRACTICE PURITY OF HEART" — CCC , Nos. 2514–2533 When and how do you find it difficult to exercise self-control over your thoughts, emotions, or bodily desires? “The heart is the seat of moral personality: ‘Out of the heart comes evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication’ (Mt 15:19). The struggle against carnal covetousness entails purifying the heart and practicing temperance” ( CCC , no. 2517). As Jesus said, “Everyone who looks at a women lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Mt 5:28). The Ninth Commandment warns against lust or carnal concupiscence ( CCC , nos. 2528-2529). “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife” (Dt 5:21). Concupiscen...

OPENING PRAYER Lord, Jesus Christ, You are the Way, the Truth and the Life. Hear our prayer for truth and integrity in all segments of society today. May the truth be spoken by us and affirmed in others, that in seeking truth, the world will come to find You, the Source of All Truth. Wherever relationships are weakened by deception or hypocrisy, strengthen good Christian character among us that we may bear witness to the critical need for truth. May your Spirit of Truth fashion minds and hearts open to a moral integrity so strong that both words and actions can be trusted. In public and private life, deepen among us a genuine commitment to honest, sincerity and truth-telling. Let nations and peoples not compromise truth by rationalization or pretense, but safe-guard and defend it always as Your most precious gift. Lord, may those around us come to know that they can take us at our word, until that day when all the world lives in truth and the Truth sets u...

OPENING PRAYER O Lord, open my eyes that I may see the needs of others Open my ears that I may hear their cries; Open my heart so that they need not be without succor; Let me not be afraid to defend the weak because of the anger of the strong, Nor afraid to defend the poor because of the anger of the rich. Show me where love and hope and faith are needed, And use me to bring them to those places. And so open my eyes and my ears That I may this coming day be able to do some work of peace for thee. Amen. Alan Paton Jesuitresource.org "THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT: DO NOT STEAL—ACT JUSTLY" — CCC , Nos. 2401–2463 Have you ever taken property belonging to another person without their permission? We are called to respect people and their possessions. The Seventh Commandment forbids theft or stealing, the taking of someone’s property or money “against the reasonable will of the owner.” Theft includes not just robbery, but also actions such as em...

OPENING PRAYER Father, to reveal the plan of your love, you made the union of husband and wife an image of the covenant between you and your people. In the fulfillment of this sacrament, the marriage between Christian man and woman is a sign of the marriage between Christ and the Church. Amen. —From the Nuptial Blessing "THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT: MARITAL FIDELITY" — CCC , Nos. 2331–2400 Are you faithful to your promises? God created human beings as male and female. Sexuality involves the whole person in the unity of their body and soul. It especially concerns our emotions or feelings, our capacity to love and procreate and, in a more general way, our ability to form bonds of communion with others. The Sixth Commandment calls spouses to practice permanent and exclusive fidelity to one another. It commands them “You shall not commit adultery.” Our sexual and emotional fidelity are essential to the commitment made in the marriage covenant between spous...

OPENING PRAYER Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith, where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light: and where there is sadness, joy. Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love; for it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to etrnal life. Amen. —St. Francis of Assisi "THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT: PROMOTE THE CULTURE OF LIFE" — CCC , Nos. 2258–2330 Do you respect the inherent goodness and dignity of all human life? God’s generative love creates all life and makes it sacred. “God alone is the Lord of life from its beginning to its end: no one can under any circumstance claim for [oneself] the right directly to destroy an innocent human being” (CCC, no. 2258). We...

OPENING PRAYER A Blessing by Parents for Their Children Father, inexhaustible source of life and author of all good, We bless and we thank you for brightening our communion of love by your gift of children. Grant that our children will find in the life of this family such inspiration that they will strive always for what is right and good and one day, by your grace, reach their home in heaven.... Amen. Source: Books of Blessings , no. 190 "THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT: STRENGTHEN YOUR FAMILY" — CCC , Nos. 2196–2257 What is your experience of being a member of your family? How have you treated your parents and brothers and sisters? The Fourth Commandment calls us to “Honor your father and your mother.” This Commandment concerns all aspects of family life—dealing with the love, responsibilities, and respect between parents and their children, and between brothers and sisters. It also concerns the duties of the government and...

OPENING PRAYER The Divine Praises Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD; cry out to the rock of our salvation. Let us greet him with a song of praise, joyfully sing out our psalms. For the LORD is the great God, the great king over all gods, Who hand hold the depths of the earth; who owns the tops of the mountains.... Enter, let us bow down in worship; let us kneel before the LORD who made us. —Ps 95:1-4, 6 Source: USCCA , p. 371 "THE THIRD COMMANDMENT: LOVE THE LORD'S DAY" — CCC , Nos. 2168–2195 What days are most important for you—birthdays, anniversaries, planned trips, holidays, or weekends? What about Sundays—The Lord’s Day? The Third Commandment calls us to: “Take care to keep holy the sabbath day as the Lord, your God, commanded you. Six days you may labor and do all your works; but the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord” (Dt 5:12-14). The Sabbath is the seventh day on which the Lord rested after the previous six ...

OPENING PRAYER The Divine Praises Blessed be God. Blessed be his holy Name. Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true Man. Blessed be the name of Jesus. Blessed be his most Sacred Heart. Blessed be his most Precious Blood. Blessed be Jesus in the most holy Sacrament of the altar. Blessed be the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete. Blessed be the great Mother of God, Mary most holy. Blessed be her holy and Immaculate Conception. Blessed be her glorious Assumption. Blessed be the name of Mary, Virgin and Mother. Blessed be Saint Joseph, her most chaste spouse. Blessed be God in his angels and in his saints. Bless the Lord, my soul; and all my being, bless his holy name! —Ps 103:1 Source: USCCA, p. 359 "THE SECOND COMMANDMENT: REVERENCE GOD'S NAME" — CCC , Nos. 2142–2167 What does your name mean? Do you take offense when people do not acknowledge your name, or fail to call you by your correct name, or make fu...