Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Seasons of Grace

Home
Catholic
CHOSEN: A Confirmation Study Program to Capture Teens’ Hearts and Minds

CHOSEN: A Confirmation Study Program to Capture Teens’ Hearts and Minds

Last updated on: January 24, 2015 at 9:23 pm by Kathy Schiffer

CHOSEN: A Confirmation Study Program to Capture Teens’ Hearts and Minds 2015-01-24T21:23:00-05:00 Kathy Schiffer

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I was thirteen once. It was a year of deep emotional turmoil: I was awash in hormones, and I felt gangly and unattractive.

I was an honor student, competent at rote memorization; but I struggled to understand the deeper meaning of the accumulated facts which competed for my attention.

I was uncertain whether the faith which I’d inherited from my parents, and which had governed my life to that point, would be a life-long habit, or whether I’d go to college and drift off into something else.

The fact that Vatican II had only recently ended meant that change was de rigueur: It seemed every week brought new liturgical settings to commit to memory. If these seemingly timeless things could change, couldn’t other tenets of faith also fall by the wayside? I didn’t know.

Add to that the influx of rock and roll and my peers’ new distrust for “the Establishment”, and some fairly mediocre catechetical texts, and it was a tough year for me.

* * * * *

All of this is to say, It’s hard to be a teenager! And the need to present the Catholic Faith to young teens preparing for the sacrament of Confirmation is a challenge to parents, teachers and sponsors alike. Teenagers are leaving the Church and many are abandoning their faith altogether.

For most Catholic teens, Confirmation is effectively “Graduation,” something they just “have to do.” With nearly 75 percent of young Catholics abandoning their faith in their twenties, the Church simply must do a better job at youth catechesis.

* * * * *

It has been my great privilege to review a new, exhaustive faith-formation resource from Ascension Press which offer young people all the information they need to choose Christ with confidence. Chosen: Your Journey Toward Confirmation is a hefty text which doesn’t speak down to the young men and women who will use it. At the same time, it’s engaging—with its catchy graphics, stunning photography, weighty questions and confident answers to the questions teens ask.

The text carries an imprimatur from Most Reverend Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., Archbishop of Philadelphia. Archbishop Chaput says of the text,

“Teens who experience Chosen will find themselves drawn deeply into the beauty of Catholicism and the love of Jesus Christ. In a world searching for meaning, Chosen speaks to the hearts and minds of our youth through comprehensive materials and engaging videos taught by an impressive array of presenters. This is a new level of catechesis that uses modern methods to transmit eternal truths.”

Chosen explores salvation history, revelation, and the four last things. It teaches about the sacraments, the beatitudes, prayer, virtue, and Mary the Mother of God. It answers tough questions about love and sexuality, and it challenges the reader to say ‘yes’ to Christ, and to build His Church.

But instead of sounding preachy, Chosen approaches each of these topic areas by raising the questions which teens must ask. Tough questions, like:

How do I know God is real?
Why be Catholic?
Why tell my sins to a priest?
Why do I have to go to Mass?
Do I have what it takes? And
Where do I go from here?

Chris Stefanick

There are features on every page: a Hero of the Week, a memory verse, a wrap-up, a pop quiz, accompanied by vibrant photography and great graphics.

The authors of the text and the presenters in the accompanying video series (which is filmed on location across the U.S., in Rome and internationally) are a veritable Who’s Who of young Catholic voices and faces:

co-authors Chris Stefanick, founder of Real Life Catholic, and
Ron Bolster, director of the Office of Catechetics at Franciscan University.
Jackie Francois Angel, Catholic recording artist
Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers, founder and director of Servant Enterprises, Inc.
Brian Butler, co-author of Theology of the Body for Teens
The Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia (including Sr. Jane Dominic Laurel, who has been in the news recently for her talk in North Carolina)
Jason Evert, popular chastity speaker
Chris Padgett, professor of theology at Franciscan and author of three books
Fr. Michael Schmitz, director of youth and young adult ministry in Duluth and director of the Newman Catholic Campus Ministry
Sarah Swafford, director of special projects for Catholic Identity at Benedictine College
Fr. Mark Toups, director of seminarians in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodeau
Mary Ann Weisinger, from the Department of Evangelization and Catechesis in the Diocese of Oakland.

But wait, there’s more! There are also contributions from Leah Darrow, international speaker who was a professional model and star of a reality show. Fr. Crispan Rinaldi and Fr. Richard Roemer from the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal are also featured.

But that’s not all! The Chosen curriculum is reinforced by an eight-DVD set including 24 lessons which parallel the chapters of the text.

Oh, and did I mention that there is a thorough (260-page) Leader’s Guide for the classroom, as well as smaller but helpful guides for Sponsors as well as Parents?

The creators of Chosen have produced a gift for young people and for the whole Church.

To see the Chosen trailer and to learn how this comprehensive learning experience integrates video and workbook lessons, as well as how materials for leaders, parents, and sponsors are seamlessly incorporated into this dynamic program, visit ConfirmationStudy.com.

* * * * *

A GIVE-AWAY!

Great news! One reader of this blog will receive a free Chosen DVD set, direct from Ascension Press! To qualify for the drawing, include your comment below or send me an email at [email protected].

The 8-DVD Set provides twenty-four lessons (approximately 15-20 each) with some of the most powerful and compelling speakers in the Church. To preview some of their lessons, visit http://confirmationstudy.com/preview.

Please use this link to purchase: http://confirmationstudy.com.

Want to know more? Check out the trailer below!

Previous Post

April 8, 2014

Two Lucky Moms Can Win a Trip to Hollywood, Meet the Stars, Walk the Red Carpet!

Next Post

April 10, 2014 Abrasive Atheist Chris O'Dowd Thinks Religion Is Ruining the World

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category #Synod14 Abortion Abstinence Abuse Addiction Adoption Advent Adventure Advertising Aging Agnosticism All Saints Day All Souls Day Amish Anathema Angels Anglican Animals Annulment Annunciation Apocalypse Apologetics Apostles Apostleship of the Sea Apparitions Archangels Archbishop Cordileone Archbishop Dolan Archbishop Vigneron Archeology Architecture Art Art Buchwald Ash Wednesday Assisted Suicide Astronauts Atheism Athletes Babies Baptism Beatification Beauty Bible Biochemistry Bioethics Birds Bishop Lori Bishops Blasphemy Books Canon Law Canonization Capital Punishment Cardinal Burke Cardinal Dolan Cardinal George Caritas Catechesis Catechism of the Catholic Church Catholic Catholic Education Catholic Higher Education Catholic Social Teaching Celibacy Cemeteries Character Charity Chastity Cheapskate Christian Unity Christmas Churches Civil Rights Cloning Comedy Communion of Saints Community Kitchens Confession Confirmation Conscience Consequences Consistory Constitution Contraception Conversion Cooking Councils of the Church Creativity Criminal Justice Cristero War Crucifixion Crystal Cathedral Culture Death Death and Dying Death Penalty Department of Health and Human Services Diaconate Dictatorship of Relativism Dignity Disability Discrimination Dissidence Divorce Doctors of the Church Early Church Fathers Easter Economics Ecumenism Education Encyclicals Environmentalism Episcopal Church Eucharist Euthanasia Evangelism Evangelists Evangelization Evolution Excuses Facebook Faith Families Family Fashion Fasting Fatherhood Federal Government Feminism Fiction Film First Amendment First Communion For Greater Glory Forgiveness Free Speech Friends Friendship Gender Discrimination Germany Gnosticism Good Friday Government Grace Greed Gregorian Calendar Happiness Health Heaven Heresy History Holidays Holiness Hollywood Holy Land Holy Saturday Holy Spirit Holy Week Holy Year Home Sweet Home Homosexuality Hope Humanism Humility Humor Imagination Immaculate Conception Immigration Impulsivity In Vitro Fertilization Incarnation Indulgences Infallibility Internet Islam Italy Jerusalem Jesus Judaism Justice Kathleen Sebelius Labor Movement LCWR Lent Life Literature Liturgy Lourdes Love Magi Marketing Marriage Martyrdom Martyrs Mary Mass Media Medical Ethics Mexico Michigan Miracles Missionaries Modernism Modesty Monks Monothelitism Motherhood Movies Mushrooms Music Muslim Mystery Mysticism Mythology Nativity Natural Law Nature New Evangelization New Media New Year New Year's Resolutions Nostalgia Obscenity Occult Old Testament Origen Orthodox Orvieto Pallium Papacy Parenting Patience Patriarch Bartholomew Patriotism Peace Peace and Justice Penitence Pentecost People Persecution Philosophy Poetry Political activism Political Correctness Politics Polls Pop Culture Pope Benedict XVI Pope Francis Pope John Paul II Pope John XXIII Pope Paul VI Pope St. Pius X Pope Urban VII Population Prayer Preaching Prejudice Pride Priesthood Pro-Life Protestantism Psychology Purgatory Queenship of Mary Racism Rape Real Presence Reconciliation Reformation Relics Religious Religious Liberty Reliquary Renewal Reproductive Technology Resurrection Rights Romance Rome Royalty Sacraments Sacred Heart Saints Satanism Science Science Fiction Scripture Seal of Confession Secularism Seniors September 11 Seventy Times Seven Sexuality Sharks Sin Smoking Social Communications Social Justice Social Networking Social Sciences Space Exploration Spirituality Sports St. Luke St. Patrick's Day St. Paul St. Peter St. Teresa of Avila Stations of the Cross Steve Jobs Superstition Supreme Court Symbolism Synod Technology Teen Rebellion Television Terrorism Thankfulness Thanksgiving Theology Think This, Not That Tobit Toilets Toys Tradition Traditions Transplants Travel Trinity Twitter U.S. Air Force Uncategorized United Nations USCCB Valentine Vatican Vatican Archives Vatican Blogfest Virtue Vocations Where We Pray White Heart Women World Day of Social Communications World Meeting of Families World News World Youth Day Worship Writing Year of Consecrated Life Year of Faith Year of Mercy Youth

Select a Month December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who built an ark to survive a great flood?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Abraham Moses David Noah