LEADERS' TOOLKIT
Faith Formation
This leaders' toolkit is provided to help catechists build a culture of life throughout the year, whenever Respect Life themes best fit into your faith formation curriculum. The provided resources, ideas, and activities are only suggestions. We encourage you to adapt them as necessary for your faith formation program. Feel free to get creative as you build "an authentic civilization of truth and love" (Evangelium vitae, 6).
Check out our Action Guides for additional ideas and step-by-step instructions for highlighting Respect Life themes year-round!
(Available in English and Spanish)
POSTER &
PRAYER CARD
Consider hanging the Respect Life poster in your classroom or meeting space and using it to introduce the Church's teaching on the dignity of the human person.
This Respect Life poster features the Eucharist and Jesus’ message in John 10:10, “I came so that they might have life.”
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Incorporate "A Prayer for Life to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament" into your class prayers and send a copy home with students.
(Available in English and Spanish)
REFLECTION
The Respect Life reflection unpacks this year's theme, "Christ Our Hope: In Every Season of Life." You can use the reflection to help inspire a lesson introducing Respect Life Month—when you hang the poster—or to highlight Respect Life topics throughout the year.
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The reflection could also be read aloud as a class to open a larger discussion. For example, older students could be asked to reflect on what they read and share about God's presence during a challenging season of their own life. Younger students might be asked to think of a time they were nervous or afraid but felt God was protecting them, and share it with the class.
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View and download the reflection as a PDF or Word document.
(Available in English and Spanish)
INTERCESSIONS
Prayer is the basis of all our efforts to build a culture of life.
The provided intercessions are appropriate for use during Mass in the Prayer of the Faithful, but they can also be used in various other ways.
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Consider incorporating one or more of the intercessions into your prayer time during class, and invite students to add their own prayer intentions related to the sanctity of human life. You could also send home one or more of the intercessions and encourage families to pray for them together at home.
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"...in our daily prayer as individuals and as a community, praise and bless God our Father, who knitted us together in our mother's womb..."
Evangelium vitae, 84
That the life of every person,
from conception to natural death,
will be protected in our laws
and cherished in our hearts;
We pray to the Lord:
For women and men suffering after abortion:
May the Church’s abortion healing ministry,
Project Rachel, help them find peace and healing
through Christ’s endless mercy;
We pray to the Lord:
For those nearing the end of life:
May they receive care that respects their dignity
and protects their lives
as they place their hope
in the promise of eternal life;
We pray to the Lord:
May God grant us the wisdom and courage
to lovingly protect His gift of human life
at every stage, in sickness and in health;
We pray to the Lord:
Looking for more intercessions to incorporate in your classroom year-round?
Check out our series of Action Guides, which each include additional intercessions that are connected to annual observances and liturgical feasts. You can also subscribe to our monthly parish liturgical resource, Word of Life.
(Available in English and Spanish)
Blank poster template with instructions available as PDF in English and Spanish.
SAMPLE ACTIVITY
This activity invites students to create their own poster to help them connect Respect Life themes with their own lives.
Each student receives a poster template with an empty bulletin board. They are then instructed to fill the bulletin board with images and/or words that represent respect for life from the beginning of life to its end.
For younger students, they can be asked to color, draw pictures, or write about what reminds them of God's presence in their lives. Older students can be asked to bring in items and photos that represent respect for life and attach them to their bulletin board. You could also bring in an old stack of magazines and have students cut out words and photos. They can also write their own prayer intentions on their bulletin board.
*This activity can also be completed as a group. Check out our October Action Guide for instructions for a parish setting, and adapt it for your classroom.
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Blank poster template with instructions are available as PDFs in English and Spanish.
ARTICLES
Our library of Respect Life articles are especially helpful as educational tools for higher grade levels, adult faith formation, or RCIA classes. Each article is available to read online or to print as a handout. Many are also available to order as pamphlets. The articles can be used to integrate Catholic moral teaching into a variety of catechetical topics.
