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FREEZE!
Hierarchy and Teaching Authority of the Church
LIFE NIGHT OUTLINE
Goal for the Life Night
The goal for this night is to have the teens understand
the structure of hierarchy in the Church and the teaching
authority given by Christ. The night will also help teens
understand the virtue of obedience to those in authority.
Life Night at a Glance
Why do most teens have a hard time following authority?
This Life Night helps teens understand the structure of
hierarchy in the Church and how the structure gives us
freedom. The night begins with a game of no-rules freeze
tag, which will inevitably end in complete chaos. The
teaching will help the teens understand how the hierarchy
and teaching authority of the Church is set up and why
we must practice the virtue of obedience to their authority.
The main point is to help the teens see the freedom we
gain through obedience. The Break will answer the teens’
questions on the teachings of the Church in a large group
setting. The night will end with a brief discussion and
prayer for true freedom. The night ends with a second
round of freeze tag with all the rules in place.
FREEZE!
Environment
The environment for this night depicts symbols of authority
in teens’ lives. On the walls hang silhouettes of authority
figures such as police officers, judges, bosses, coaches,
parents, teachers, priests and the youth minister. Check at
a local teacher supply store for full color pictures of these
different people. Or cut out silhouettes and then paste the
head of your priest, youth minister, etc. to the silhouette.
You can also use symbols that these authority figures
would use such as sheriff stars, gavels and rulers. Have
the Core dress up as figures of authority (cops, moms,
teachers, etc.). At the beginning of the night, the Core
should go around telling the teens what to do and make
sure they are following the rules. For example, if a Core
member is dressed as a teacher have him/her telling the
teens do to their homework or walk in a single file line. He/
She can also make sure that the teens are raising their
hands and waiting to be called on to speak. As teens
enter the meeting space have the Core dressed up as
authority figures ask the teens to write down one or two
questions about the teachings/doctrines of the Church
and put them in a box. These questions should be about
anything the teens have wondered, “why does the Church
teach that?” These will be used in the Break of the night.
GATHER 15 Minutes
Welcome and Introduce New Teens (5 min)
The youth minister gathers the group together and
welcomes everyone to the Life Night. He/she introduces
any teens at Life Night for the first time.
No-Rules Freeze Tag (10 min)
The idea of this game is to create as much chaos as
possible. The youth minister should tell the teens that
we are going to play freeze tag and the winner will win a
HUGE prize. No further instruction should be given—no
rules or explanation. Start the game and just let the teens
try and figure it out. Some of the more competitive teens
will get into it immediately, while some of the teens might
just stand on the sidelines. It is the role of the Core to
get everyone involved. As the game is played have Core
members making up their own rules and confusing things
even more. For example, if someone tags them they do
not have to freeze, or have a few Core members tagging
teens and going around telling people for no reason that
they have to freeze. Play for about 10 minutes or until a
large number of teens complain that it is not “fair.”
PROCLAIM 10 minutes
Freedom in Obedience Teaching (10 min)
The person giving the teaching should stop the game and
bring the group together. Ask a couple of teens to share
about their experience of playing no-rules freeze tag. Use
their frustration as a starting place for teaching. This talk
will explain the need for rules and authority. The Church
is not here to make sure we never have fun, she instructs
and teaches so that we might experience real freedom in
Christ.
The teaching for this night can be found on page 31.
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CATECHISM REFERENCES:
# 888-891
# 85-86
# 2663
# 2032-2036
# 874
SCRIPTURES:
Exodus 23: 21
Micah 3:6
Daniel 6:4
Matthew 16:18-19
John 20:22
BREAK 30 minutes
SEND 20 Minutes
Large Group Q&A (30 min)
Freedom (10 min)
Have a Core member read through all the questions
collected at the beginning of the night during the Gather
and Proclaim. Select the questions that can be answered
during this time. Have a panel of the youth minister, a
priest or deacon, and a Core member ready to answer the
questions. After the teaching the Core member that read
through the questions will lead the large group discussion.
He/She will move into the Q&A time by explaining that
many of us have questions about why the Church believes
and teaches what she does and why we have to follow
so many rules. He/She will read the questions off one at
a time and allow the panel to answer them. If teens have
follow-up questions, they can ask those to the panel as
well. Time will probably not allow for every question to be
answered so be sure to follow up with those teens whose
questions are not answered.
It is important that the panel is prepared to answer difficult
questions about Church teachings. Have a catechism
handy so the teens can see where/how to look up
answers on their own. Encourage teens to ask the hard
questions. It is in asking that our faith and knowledge will
grow.
Acts of the
Apostles15:7
Romans 13:1-10
Recap the teaching of the night and conclude with the
concept of freedom:
Many of us think that freedom means doing whatever we
want, whenever we want. We do not understand why
the Church has given us all these rules we have to follow
and be obedient to. It seems that the Church gives us
the opposite of freedom. But Christ came to set us free
and established the Church so that we could experience
true freedom. Freedom is not about doing whatever you
want – it is the ability to choose the good. The Church’s
authority is there to help us choose the good. The
authority and structure of the Church gives us a clear
knowledge of right and wrong. From this authority given by
Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we come to
know truth. It is from this truth that we can live freely.
Call the group to a time of prayer. Ask the teens to think
about the areas of their life where they are not free (i.e.
addiction, sin, anger, etc.). Have the music minister play
the song, “Freedom Reigns” by Jason Upton. As the song
is played invite the teens to pray for the freedom of Christ
to reign over that area of their life. Close the time of prayer
with the Hail Mary and Ave Maria.
Here are some topics that might be asked about during
this time:
• Church’s teaching on sex, contraception, etc.
• Why do we have to go to Mass every week?
• Church’s teaching on war, death penalty
• Church’s teaching on stem-cell research and other life
issues
• Why can’t women be priests?
• Church’s teaching on other religions
FREEZE!
• Why do we have to confess to a priest?
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FREEZE!
Hierarchy and Teaching Authority of the Church
LIFE NIGHT OUTLINE
Freeze Tag (10 min)
Finish the night with a second round of freeze tag. Make
sure you have a prize for the winner(s). This time explain
all the rules clearly. Example of freeze tag rules:
•If there are more questions than you have time to
answer, it might be a good idea to have a follow-up
night to answer the rest of the questions. This night can
happen during the week or on another Sunday.
• Have a few Core members and a few teens be “it” and
trying to tag the teens.
• Once someone gets tagged he/she must freeze in
place.
• To be unfrozen someone must crawl through the frozen
person’s legs (for girls with skirts on someone must
crawl around them).
• Point out the boundary lines of the game
• The winner is the person who can go the longest
without being frozen.
During this time have plenty of drinks and snacks. A great
snack for this night would be popsicles, snow cones, or
ice cream sandwiches—anything frozen.
Community Connection
•Instead of having the Core dress up as figures of
authority, invite some of the parents and local teachers to
come and greet the teens at the beginning of the night.
•Invite other members of the parish staff or parish
community to be part of the question and answer panel.
•Invite your priest well in advance to be part of this Life
Night
•Ask local businesses (i.e. movie passes, iPod, restaurant
gift certificate, etc.) to donate prizes for freeze tag.
MAKING IT WORK
FREEZE!
•If there is a gym on the parish grounds, the two rounds
of freeze tag can take place there.
•Create a small card that can be handed out at the end
of the Life Night. On one side of the card, list two or
three Scriptures regarding freedom (i.e. 2 Corinthians
3:17, Galatians 5:1). On the other side, give the
teens suggestions of where they can get answers
to their questions about the Church (i.e. Catechism,
lifeteen.com, etc.)
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FREEZE!
Hierarchy and Teaching Authority of the Church
TEACHING
The American Revolution. A time of change. A time to
throw off the shackles of the monarchy for the glory of
democracy!
Why would we ever then embrace a monarchial system
in the Church? A system that oppresses people, run by
men?
In trying to dispel some of the incorrect ideas regarding
the Church and the hierarchy, be sure that when
you are doing the teaching you and your Core team
understand the difference between the world’s view of
authority and the Catholic view of authority. Make a
prayer for obedience a key part of your preparations for
this night.
Well, if you misunderstand the hierarchy of the Church,
then that might be some of the things you are thinking
about how the Church is run. We tend to think of kings
and princes and abuses of power when we think of a
world government.
Tonight we are going to look at the hierarchy of the Church
and how it is set up by God to serve all of the members
of the Body of Christ in a way that is unlike any secular
government.
The hierarchy of the Church is the sign of our union with
God and also the instrument of that union of the Church
with God.
Jesus started the Church with the divine purpose and
mission to go and baptize all nations in the name of the
Trinity. It is Jesus, not the people in the Church, who has
given the hierarchy the authority, power and responsibility
to serve the Church as representatives of God.
Throughout history we can see how the Church has
played a vital role in history, building up Western
Civilization. At the same time, the Church is outside of
human history in a way that no other organization has
been, because it is not a human organization.
How does the Church serve? It serves by continuing
the salvation of Christ, preserving and handing on the
teachings of Jesus. It does this in a unique way by
reading the signs of the times interpreting these signs
in light of the Gospel, to help the Church to more fully
understand the Revelation of God.
CCC #874-877, 935
John 17:21-23
Romans 1:1, 10:14-17
Philippians 2:7
1 Corinthians 9:19
Ad Gentes #5
Lumen Gentium #18
“How the Catholic Church Built Western
Civilization” – Thomas E. Woods, 2005
FREEZE!
Founded by Christ
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FREEZE!
Hierarchy and Teaching Authority of the Church
TEACHING
It would be kind of odd if Jesus left the Church here on
Earth with no structure, especially with no authority in
place. Because Jesus knew that people would disagree
about religious practices and sometimes use the Church
for their own personal gain, He left us what is now known
as the College of Bishops.
Bishops, popes, priests and families
The College of Bishops is the entire group of bishops from
around the world, the successors of the apostles with
the head of the bishops being the Bishop of Rome, the
successor of Peter, the Pope.
The pope and the Roman Curia is known as the Holy See,
and has the authority to teach the Church what Christ
intended concerning faith and morals. This teaching
authority is known as the Magisterium.
Each bishop is in charge of a group of parishes in his
particular diocese. This can be a large or small group of
parishes that the bishop is responsible for guiding and for
leading in the faith.
Each parish is guided by a pastor, a priest who is an
extension of the bishop in the local Church and is more
intimately involved with the details of each parish..
Each family takes on a role of the “domestic Church.” In
each of our homes our daily actions become a prayer of
sacrifice and service for one another as we grow in our
faith.
FREEZE!
The pope and the bishops have a special role in
interpreting the Word of God and guiding us in the
traditions of the Church. They are the authentic interpreter
of God’s Word in Scripture and in Tradition. By guiding us
in the model of those that have come before them, they
do not take on the role of “creating doctrine” or new truth.
In our media-driven world that loves constant change the
Church seems slow and boring.
CCC #871-873, 877, 897-913, 934, 940, 942
1 Peter 2:5
Philippians 2:8-9
Ephesians 4:7
Lumen Gentium #10, 31-36
Evangelii Nuntiandi #73
Apostolicam Actuositatem #2, 6
Ad Gentes #15
Christifideles Laici #9
Summa Theologica III:7:4 – To teach in order to lead
others to faith is the task of every preacher and every
believer.
Instead, the pope and the bishops are merely protecting
and passing on what they heard from the apostles who
are passing on what they heard of Christ. This assures
that we as a Church remain true to the faith and morals
taught by Christ to the original disciples.
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Hierarchy and Teaching Authority of the Church
TEACHING
This structure also ensures that the Church remains
focused on her mission of evangelization, and not pausing
to think that she has “done it all” and can take a break.
That “I” Word
CCC #888-892, 939
Let’s talk about two words: indefectibility and infallibility.
Many times these words are misunderstood and clearing
them up should help us as we move forward.
Mark 16:15
Infallibility is the gift of the Holy Spirit that allows the
Church to teach faith and morals without error. There are
two conditions where infallibility exists and neither of them
has to do with picking football games!
The pope and bishops can exercise this infallibility when
gathered in Ecumenical Council, or the Pope can exercise
infallibility when teaching alone. This teaching must be
about faith and morals, held in common by all the bishops
of the world and made from the “Chair of St. Peter” or “ex
cathedra.”
Respect My Authority!
There are different levels at which the Church teaches.
There are matters of faith and morals with are always
consistent and never change. However the law of the
Church, which is the pastoral norms for living the faith and
moral life, are laws and disciplines that can be adjusted for
new circumstances.
When we hear the media reporting about how the Church
needs to change certain things, we need to keep this
in mind: Is the Church going to change what they have
taught for the last 2,000 years or are we merely changing
a law or discipline for new circumstances that have
occurred? This is where authority can be an amazing help
for us as Christians.
Presbyterorum Ordinis #4
Lumen Gentium #12, 25
Dei Verbum #10
Vatican I, Ecumenical XX, Session IV, Chapter
4 (This may be more difficult to look up on your
own so we have included the pertinent paragraph
here) - And so We, adhering faithfully to the tradition
received from the beginning of the Christian faith, to the
glory of God, our Savior, the elevation of the Catholic
religion and the salvation of Christian peoples, with the
approbation of the sacred Council, teach and explain
that the dogma has been divinely revealed: that the
Roman Pontiff, when he speaks ex cathedra, that is,
when carrying out the duty of the pastor and teacher
of all Christians by virtue of his supreme apostolic
authority he defines a doctrine of faith or morals to
be held by the universal Church, through the divine
assistance promised him in blessed Peter, operates
with that infallibility with which the divine Redeemer
wished that His church be instructed in defining
doctrine on faith and morals; and so such definitions
of the Roman Pontiff from himself, but not from the
consensus of the Church, are unalterable.
FREEZE!
Indefectibility is the concept that the Church will always
teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ without error even in
spite of the defects of the individual members of the
Church, both the lay faithful and the ordained priests and
ministers.
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Hierarchy and Teaching Authority of the Church
teaching
It is important to understand that as Catholics there is
a different way of looking at authority. For many people
today, authority is a bad word, but for Catholics it is
something that unifies us and guides us toward our
ultimate destination. In that case, authority can be a great
benefit and help to us in our faith lives.
Lumen Gentium #25 (This is so important to this part of the teaching we have included the paragraph here for
easy reading) - Among the principal duties of bishops the preaching of the Gospel occupies an eminent place. For bishops
are preachers of the faith, who lead new disciples to Christ, and they are authentic teachers, that is, teachers endowed with
the authority of Christ, who preach to the people committed to them the faith they must believe and put into practice, and
by the light of the Holy Spirit illustrate that faith. They bring forth from the treasury of Revelation new things and old, making
it bear fruit and vigilantly warding off any errors that threaten their flock. Bishops, teaching in communion with the Roman
Pontiff, are to be respected by all as witnesses to divine and Catholic truth. In matters of faith and morals, the bishops
speak in the name of Christ and the faithful are to accept their teaching and adhere to it with a religious assent. This religious
submission of mind and will must be shown in a special way to the authentic magisterium of the Roman Pontiff, even when
he is not speaking ex cathedra; that is, it must be shown in such a way that his supreme magisterium is acknowledged with
reverence, the judgments made by him are sincerely adhered to, according to his manifest mind and will. His mind and will
in the matter may be known either from the character of the documents, from his frequent repetition of the same doctrine, or
from his manner of speaking.
Although the individual bishops do not enjoy the prerogative of infallibility, they nevertheless proclaim Christ’s doctrine infallibly
whenever, even though dispersed through the world, but still maintaining the bond of communion among themselves and
with the successor of Peter, and authentically teaching matters of faith and morals, they are in agreement on one position as
definitively to be held. This is even more clearly verified when, gathered together in an ecumenical council, they are teachers
and judges of faith and morals for the universal Church, whose definitions must be adhered to with the submission of faith.
FREEZE!
And this infallibility with which the Divine Redeemer willed His Church to be endowed in defining doctrine of faith and morals,
extends as far as the deposit of Revelation extends, which must be religiously guarded and faithfully expounded. And this
is the infallibility which the Roman Pontiff, the head of the college of bishops, enjoys in virtue of his office, when, as the
supreme shepherd and teacher of all the faithful, who confirms his brethren in their faith, by a definitive act he proclaims a
doctrine of faith or morals. And therefore his definitions, of themselves, and not from the consent of the Church, are justly
styled irreformable, since they are pronounced with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, promised to him in blessed Peter, and
therefore they need no approval of others, nor do they allow an appeal to any other judgment. For then the Roman Pontiff is
not pronouncing judgment as a private person, but as the supreme teacher of the universal Church, in whom the charism of
infallibility of the Church itself is individually present, he is expounding or defending a doctrine of Catholic faith. The infallibility
promised to the Church resides also in the body of Bishops, when that body exercises the supreme magisterium with the
successor of Peter. To these definitions the assent of the Church can never be wanting, on account of the activity of that
same Holy Spirit, by which the whole flock of Christ is preserved and progresses in unity of faith.
But when either the Roman Pontiff or the Body of Bishops together with him defines a judgment, they pronounce it in
accordance with Revelation itself, which all are obliged to abide by and be in conformity with, that is, the Revelation which
as written or orally handed down is transmitted in its entirety through the legitimate succession of bishops and especially in
care of the Roman Pontiff himself, and which under the guiding light of the Spirit of truth is religiously preserved and faithfully
expounded in the Church. The Roman Pontiff and the bishops, in view of their office and the importance of the matter, by
fitting means diligently strive to inquire properly into that revelation and to give apt expression to its contents; but a new public
revelation they do not accept as pertaining to the divine deposit of faith.
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FREEZE!
Hierarchy and Teaching Authority of the Church
CHECKLIST
Core Planning Team:
Two Weeks Prior to Life Night:
__________________________________________________
☐ Turn in a detailed outline of the Life Night to the youth
minister. Allow youth minister to give feedback and make
any necessary changes.
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
Date of Life Night:
☐ Create a list of needed supplies and materials. Assign a
person to be responsible for collecting and/or purchasing
the materials needed.
__________________________________________________
☐ Decide the people that will be doing the following things.
Make sure they have a copy of the script and/or teaching
outline. Inform them of any practices and/or deadlines.
One month prior to the Night:
Teaching __________________________________________
☐ Give copies of the Life Night to each of the members of
the planning team. Each person should read the Scripture
and Catechism references as well as review the planning
guide before the brainstorming meeting.
Large Group Panel _________________________________
☐ Get the planning team together for a brainstorming
meeting (this should last no longer than 1 hour). The team
prays and discusses where the teens are in their faith
journey in relation to this topic. Then using this planning
guide as a starting point, the team adapts the Life Night
to meet the needs of the teens and the parish. Create a
detailed outline with any changes and/or adjustments.
☐ Assign the person responsible for each part of the Life
Night:
Week of the Life Night:
☐ Written outline of the teaching is given to the youth
minister and practiced
☐ Run a dress rehearsal of the Life Night.
☐ Create environment and collect needed supplies
☐ E-mail entire Core team an overview of the night.
Day of the Life Night:
Environment ______________________________________
☐ Set up the environment. Make sure the room is clean
and presentable.
Introductions ______________________________________
☐ Set up audio needs.
No-Rules Freeze Tag (Gather) ________________________
☐ Walk the entire Core team through the Life Night. Make
sure all transitions are ready and everyone knows their
roles.
Large Group Q&A (Break) ___________________________
Freedom (Send) ___________________________________
Freeze Tag ________________________________________
☐ Pray! Pray for the teens attending the Night. Pray for
God’s will to be done through the night. Pray over those
involved.
FREEZE!
__________________________________________________
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