Below you’ll find the lesson plan or handout for each topic. Additional resources for each topic can be found under the Topics section by grade level.
Find service opportunities here!
Gospel of Life Week
Gospel of Life Week
Teachers and Parents
– Adoption
– Loving Our Neighbors
– Knowing My Value
– Life is a Gift
– Learning to Forgive
– Respecting Others
– Caring for Those in Need
– The Beginning of Life
– Celebrating Special Needs
– Overcoming Differences
– Receiving Mercy
– Immigration
– Life is Precious
– Dignity at Every Age
– Marriage
– Caring for Creation
DREs and Catechists
– Grades PK-3
– Grades 4-6
– Grades 7-9
– Grades 10-12
Topics
– The Beginning of Life
– Knowing My Value
– Adoption
– Respecting Others
– Receiving Mercy
– Immigration
– Loving Our Neighbors
– Life is a Gift
– Life is Precious
– Dignity at Every Age
– Learning to Forgive
– Caring for Those in Need
– Marriage
– Caring for Creation
– Celebrating Special Needs
– Overcoming Differences
High School Resources
Youth Ministry Resources
Service Opportunities
  | Topic: Receiving Mercy Life is a gift but sometimes we don’t recognize the goodness of God’s plans and we choose to turn away. God is always calling us back to Himself. He invites us to receive His mercy and to extend forgiveness to others. Grade 10-12 – Loving our Neighbor.pdf Videos |
 | Topic: Respecting Others Every person possesses inherent dignity. This means that persons can never be treated as objects to be used but must be respected as bearing the image of God. In this lesson, students will unpack what it means to respect others. Grade 10-12 – Loving our Neighbor.pdf Videos |
 | Topic: Knowing My Value Sometimes it is easier to recognize the goodness and value of other people. It can be difficult to believe that we are good and worthy of respect. Students will learn that taking care of ourselves is part of the call to holiness. God has created us body and soul to praise him through both. Lesson I – Believing that My Life is a Gift Lesson II – Finding True Happiness Lesson III (2023) – Made for Relationship |
 | Topic: Adoption Every child deserves a home and a family. In this lesson. students will learn about the loving choice of adoption and explore stories of people who have been adopted. Students will develop a deeper understanding of what adoption and foster care are and why, as Christians, we take very seriously the responsibility for every child born into the world. Grade 10-12 – Loving our Neighbor.pdf Videos |
 | Topic: Loving our Neighbor (Overcoming Polarization) Goal: Learning what mercy is. Our world is often confused by what true mercy looks like. Pope Francis calls us to a culture of encounter, to recognize the dignity in the person in front of us. This encounter leads us to action on their behalf by serving others through works of mercy. Grade 10-12 – Loving our Neighbor.pdf Videos |
 | Topics: The Beginning of Life, Life is a Gift, Life is Precious Goal: Understanding abortion and its effects. Lesson 1: Grade 10-12 – The Paradox of Choice Lesson 2: Grades 10-12 – A World Without Abortion Lesson 3: Grades 10-12 – Post-Abortion Healing Videos |
 | Topic: Learning to Forgive (Restorative Justice/Death Penalty) Goal: Understanding true justice and mercy. Students will learn about the mercy of God and His invitation to us to uphold the dignity of every person, even those who have committed crimes. Bad decisions cannot destroy the reality of the love of God. Solutions to crime and punishment must take into account the dignity of every person. Grades 10-12 – Learning to Forgive.pdf Videos |
 | Topic: Caring for those in Need (Poverty) Goal: True empathy for the poor. Students will explore poverty. They will look at both extreme poverty, such as exists in developing parts of the world and practical poverty, as we have in the US in which even working families struggle to make ends meet. Like Mother Teresa, we are called to serve the poor by looking people in the eye, respecting their dignity, and engaging in works of mercy. Grades 10-12 – Caring for Those in Need.pdf Videos |
 | Topic: Celebrating Special Needs Goal: Recognizing goodness in others. Students will learn about the importance of loving and reverencing those who are different from us. Students will learn to recognize that every person is unique and created by God and loved for who they are. They will learn that our physical appearance and abilities cannot change our irrevocable dignity. Grades 10-12 – Celebrating Special Needs.pdf Videos |
 | Topic: Physician Assisted Suicide Goal: Learning life-affirming options for end-of-life care. The international movement to legalize assisted suicide teaches that some lives are worth living while others have no value. Students will learn about interdependence and what life-affirming options are available for people at the end of life that are in keeping with human dignity. Grades 10-12 – End of Life Videos |
 | Topic: Marriage Goal: Understanding the significance of marriage. Marriage numbers are decreasing around the world. And, there is much confusion about the nature of marriage and why people even ought to get married. Students will explore the benefits of marriage for individuals and society and learn how to have a successful marriage. Grades 10-12 – Marriage Videos |
 | Topic: Immigration Goal: Building a Christian community. Students will learn that humans are meant for community, which means loving other people and treating them with respect both in theory and in reality. What does this look like in our culture? We explore the topic of immigration through the lens of building a Christian community. Grades 10-12 – Immigration Videos |
 | Topic: The Environment Goal: Connecting the environment with reverence for life. Students will receive an overview of main points of Laudato si and understand the connection between honoring the dignity of each person, serving the poor and vulnerable, and protecting our environment. Grades 10-12 – Environment Videos |
 | Topic: Loneliness Goal: Learning to reach out to the lonely. There is an epidemic of loneliness in our world that is affecting people young and old alike. The busier we get, the more we seem to lose the ability to interact on a personal level, resulting in many people who feel alone. This lesson invites students to be more aware of how they can befriend the lonely and what to do when they realize they need friends too. Grade 10-12 – Loneliness |