The Universal Church
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Prepare Ahead of Time

All students/participants will need a copy of 1 Corinthians 12:12-27.

If your group is comprised of only one cultural group, you will need to have participants do some library and/or online research into how Christmas is kept in various nations and bring that information to class. Or you could borrow books on this subject from the library and allow time for pairs or small groups to use the books to generate a list of customs for its assigned nationality/culture.

Warming Up

If your group is comprised of young people from distinct cultures, ask and list on the chalk/marker board or easel pad: What specific traditions from your family's culture help you celebrate Christmas?

Make columns for each and jot down the customs that the participants identify. Students can think in terms of decorations-what kinds; the use of particular kinds of trees or plants, if any; are gifts given, and if so by whom to whom and how (wrapped, unwrapped, all at once, on which day-Christmas Eve or Day or January 6 and so on); particular foods or drinks shared, and so on.

If your group is culturally homogenous: Use the books and/or online research that they or you did ahead of time (see above) to create the same kind of lists.

Point out: Different groups of people keep holidays in various ways. But sometimes the customs of one culture are imported to another. For example, the poinsettia is plant native to Mexico. The Aztecs (indigenous people of Mexico) called it cuetlaxochitle. In Spanish, Mexicans call it la flora de la Noche Buena, the flower of the holy night (i.e. Christmas Eve.) In the U.S., it is called poinsettia because in the 19th century the U.S. ambassador to Mexico, John Poinsiett, was fascinated by the plant and imported it to the United States, where it became popular as a Christmas decoration. It is instances such as these that make human life on earth so rich.

Scripture Says

Have one student read aloud 1 Corinthians 12:12-27.

Explain: Paul is obviously speaking about the church here, and how individual members of the church are given various gifts by God for the use and enjoyment of all. But we can apply verses 14-26 to the wider world, to the human race.

God has created human beings to bind together into social groups that in turn give rise to culture. The term culture refers to the common collection of activities and attitudes held by particular group of people.

Discuss: What would it be like if all the peoples of the world only ate hamburgers and hot dogs? What foods from other cultures would you miss the most? (For example, tacos, spaghetti, pad thai and so on. Invite each participant to name at least one food.)

Point out: Language is a primary bearer of culture. A group of people establishes, practices and passes on its customs in a particular language. People often create and discover things that end up aiding the whole human race by being able to think through problems in different languages. It is said that Albert Einstein, who was polyglot (he could read and/or speak multiple languages), was able to formulate the theory of relativity because when he became stuck, he switched over to thinking in a different language. His articulation of the theory of relativity is a foundation of modern science and contributed to much of our technological achievements of the last century.

The world and human life would literally be poorer without a variety of cultures. This is how a single human body, as Paul uses it in 1 Corinthians, can be a metaphor for the whole human race. Different cultures are like different parts of the human body.

Try This

* In this game each student has a specific, defined role in the group. All must perform their roles to accomplish the task.

Materials : Divide the class into groups of five. Each team of five will need a set of name tags: 2 that say "Legs", 1 that say "Eyes", 1 that says "Mouth", 1 that says "Hands"

For each team of five you will also need: 4 blindfolds, 1 magic marker, 1 piece of newsprint, taped to a wall, 1 sheet of printed instructions (sealed in an envelope) that says: "We have to walk across the room as a team and make a large X with a magic marker on the piece of newsprint taped to the wall there."

Obtain five prizes of some kind: candy bars, cans of soda, movie passes etc. They should all be identical.

All will need a copy of paragraph 58 of the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World. (See above.)

Procedure :
1. Break down into groups of five. Explain that this is going to be a friendly team competition, in which the first team to finish the task will win the prize. Show the prize.
2. Each person takes and wears one of the name tags in the set.
3. Those with the name tags that say "legs," "hands," and "mouth" put on the blindfolds now.
4. Explain that the person named "hands" is to sit down on the floor and is not allowed to walk on his or her own feet.
5. Give the magic marker to "hands" and tell him or her to hold on to it.
6. Explain to everyone that the person named "eyes" may only whisper in the ear of the person named "mouth," but never speak aloud. Everyone else can speak aloud to the whole group. But if/when "eyes" needs to speak, it can only be a whisper loud enough for "mouth" alone to hear.
7. Give the sealed instructions to the person named "eyes." Whisper to "eyes" that he or she is to give the sealed envelope to the person named "hands." Then "eyes" is to whisper to "mouth" that he or she is to explain to "hands" that "hands" is holding a sealed envelope and needs to open it and then hold the paper inside in such a way that "eyes" can see it. "Mouth" can keep talking to hands, giving instructions like, "Unfold the paper," "Turn it over," "Move it your left," etc. until "hands" is holding the paper in such a way that "eyes" can read it.
8. "Eyes" will whisper the instruction on the paper in the ear of "mouth."
9. "Mouth" then repeats the instructions aloud to the whole group.
10. All but "eyes" may now discuss how the group is going to work together to complete the task.
Note: Eyes and Mouth have to work together to get the blindfolded team members to somehow hold on to each other. The two Legs have to pick up and carry Hands, as all move as a unit across the room. Eyes and Mouth then have to guide Hands in making the X on the paper-and not on the wall!

11. As the group figures out how to arrange itself to work together, remember that "eyes" may only whisper in the ear of mouth, who then passes "eyes" ideas along to the whole group. Everyone else may also speak aloud. 12. Allow about twenty minutes for each group to try and accomplish the task.

Together As A Group

What did it feel like to be Hands? Legs? Eyes? Mouth? What did you as Hands, Legs, Eyes or Mouth have to contribute to the whole team? What were your particular skills and abilities? How is each team of five similar to the whole human race, with its varied cultures?

Distribute and have someone read aloud paragraph 58 of the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World.

Point out: At its best throughout its history, the church has been able to incorporate elements from different cultures into its own practices. This is part of what Catholicism so rich.

For example, the practice of decorating evergreen trees in the winter (and later bringing them inside your home to decorate them) was a custom that some northern Europeans had before they became Christian. Since evergreen trees appeared not to "die" in the winter, the people assumed that there must be some guardian spirit in the tree that keeps it alive. The decorations were offerings to keep those spirits happy and hence keep the evergreens alive. The first Christian missionaries, such as St. Boniface, helped the people reinterpret and understand the custom in a new way, and to make it a custom that honors the birth of Jesus, while keeping an important cultural ritual.

The evergreen tree then became a sign of the tree of life. The cross of Christ was made from a tree that was cut down and died, just like Jesus. But after he rose from the dead and destroyed death, the dead wood of the cross becomes the tree of life, and "blooms" and "greens" again to become the Christmas tree.

Today we decorate the tree with "birthday gifts" for Jesus. We top it with a star or an angel, both of which told the good news-the star to the magi (Gospel of Matthew), and the angel to the shepherds (Gospel of Luke). We place gifts for each other under the tree as we come to know that Christ lives in the people whom we love.

At other times in our history, cultural differences have hindered the church's efforts to reach out to others. In the 18th century, when missionaries went to China, they quickly learned how much Chinese people remembered and revered their dead ancestors. So the missionaries thought that it would help the Chinese understand the Christian concept of saints if, at the beginning of Mass, they were able to call out the name of their ancestors and ask them to join in this praise and thanks to God. Leaders in Rome misunderstood the suggestion, and thought that the missionaries were allowing the Chinese to worship their dead ancestors as minor gods or as saints. Rome insisted that the missionaries stop the practice. As a result many Chinese wandered away from the Catholic church, and to this day (due to some additional, later factors as well), China still has only a small minority of Christians. History named this the "Chinese rites controversy."

Ask if there are any questions or comments. Draw the discussion to a close.

For Further Learning (more fun than mere homework!)

Research and prepare a brief oral report (about 10 minutes) on the origins and history of these now-Christian customs:

--dying hardboiled eggs at Easter
--the Advent wreath
--wearing green on St. Patrick's Day
--the giving of love notes on St. Valentine's Day
--the quincinera celebration for young women in Mexico
--celebrating Christ's birthday on December 25 (why this date?)
--the use of unleavened bread for the eucharist


See also the section Prepare Ahead of Time for Lesson 2 .