Learning to Live Together: Training Manual for Free Download

cover 1How to use this Manual?
Who is susceptible to religious or ethnic radicalization?  What is the average profile of people who are already radicalized: male; aged between 15 and 35; belonging to a particular religion; unemployed; uneducated; a person with criminal background; traumatized; from broken families? No. There is no profile of such a person.  Everyone is susceptible to religious or ethnic radicalization and extremism.
Most of us may not take up violence to express our extreme positions.  However, in our judgement, in our expressions, in our daily encounters, we might lack empathy to our neighbor, particularly those who are different from us: in race, religion, ethnicity, nationality, and whatever. This attitude could breed into violent extremism and radicalization!
The sole aim of this training manual is to help the participants reflect […]

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Quiz on the Gospel of Matthew

MT100 Questions on the Gospel According to Matthew (Mt)
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 The level is meant for secondary school students; selected questions could be used for lower ages.
The answers are accompanied by citation of verses wherever applicable.  In quiz competitions, to make the exercise more challenging it would be interesting to require citations.
The quotations are from RSV.

 How are the readings during Sunday liturgy arranged in the Catholic Church?  The readings are arranged in three-year cycle: Year A – The Gospel of Matthew, Year B -Gospel of Mark, Year C – Gospel of Luke.
How do you determine on a given year which cycle of readings to use on a Sunday?  Divide the year by 3 and pay attention to the remainder (ex. 2014/3, the remainder will be 1). If the remainder is […]

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Commentary on the Liturgy of Easter Vigil

Commentary on Liturgy and Readings
EASTER VIGIL
 INTRODUCTION
Dear friends in Christ,
Good evening and welcome to this liturgical celebration.
In the Christian tradition, this night is the mother of all nights. We have prepared ourselves through 40 days of lent for this night.  In the past three days we have accompanied the Lord in His passion and death.  We are gathered here to celebrate His resurrection.  Tonight is the climax of the history of redemption.  It is this celebration that was the first to be celebrated in the early church.  The liturgy of Easter vigil is full of symbols; it is a feast to all our senses, and we welcome you to taste it with your hearts.
The liturgy of tonight has four parts:
1. Liturgy of the Light,
2. Liturgy of the Word
3. Liturgy of Blessing of Water and Baptism
4. Liturgy of the Eucharist.
Now the lights in the church will be turned off to signify the […]

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Commentary on the Liturgy of Good Friday

Good Friday
Passion of Our Lord – Commentary
 Introduction
Dear friends in Christ Jesus, on this day, which is called the Good Friday, we commemorate the passion and death of the Lord.  According to the Church’s ancient tradition, the sacraments are not celebrated today or tomorrow.  Today’s liturgy calls for silence and contemplation.  This special liturgy has three parts:

The Liturgy of the Word
Veneration of the Cross, and
Holy Communion

PART I – LITURGY OF THE WORD
Now we are about to start the first part of our service: The liturgy of the Word. The priest(s) together with the ministers of the altar, wearing red garments, proceed to the altar.  The priest will then prostrate in front of the altar to commemorate the hour when Jesus gave up his spirit.  We will all kneel in silence during that moment.  For now, please stand to welcome the procession.
 First Reading: Is 52:13-53:12
The first reading from prophet Isaiah is […]

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