Sophomore Religion Blog

What did you find interesting about the history of the Sisters of Notre Dame? What is something that you heard from the Alumnae Panel that stuck with you and why? What does it mean to you to be a part of the Notre Dame Community? When you leave Notre Dame High School, what do you think are some values that will stay with you? I found it interesting how St. Julie an d François were able to start the Sisters of Notre Dame on their own without help from a bunch of other people. It shows that even one person can build a company or business. I also thought it was incredible that St. Julie was paralyzed for 22 years and was able to walk again after that. If I were her, I probably would have given up already because you cannot do much when you are paralyzed. The fact that François and St. Julie would give up all their money to build a free school for the kids that were not as fortunate is amazing. It takes a lot of courage to do that and shows the Sisters of Notre Dame was built on bra...

Which event that you learned about from the Church History textbook presentations did you find most interesting and why? Which person whom you learned about from the Church  History textbook  presentations did you find most interesting and why? If you end up being  known as an influential figure in history, what do you want to be remembered for? How have you personally experienced growth (either mentally, emotionally or spiritually) after your own challenges in life? I found Medieval Churches to be the most interesting event from textbook presentations. They were  grand  churches that were built in 1100 AD after Roman governmental buildings called  basilicas.  There were two different styles of these churches: Romanesque and Gothic. I think they are really  interesting because of their architecture and how unique they are. I saw a gothic church in Germany  and I thought it was so beautiful. Although I am not religious, I still admire and I...

Could you ever see yourself sharing similar messages that your Letter Writer did? Why or why not? How would you share them? What were some new things that you learned from the Marian apparition projects presented in class (be specific)? How did you see resilience at work within the Marian apparition that you researched? Do you see yourself as being resilient? Why or why not? I think I could see myself sharing the messages my letter writer did. His messages were to not judge each other and to not be defined by materialistic things. I believe that this message is very important because we should not discriminate against anyone because it is not fair. However, I would not be like the letter writers and write letters to people telling them to be fair. I would tell people to be fair only when it was necessary or if I witnessed someone being unfair. I feel that most people already know that we should not judge each other. I had never heard of the Marian apparition before so it was al...

In what ways did the people you learned about during this unit suffer? What was their reaction to their suffering? Which story from the Acts of the Apostles did you find most inspiring and why? How have you experienced challenges in your own life and how have you dealt with them? Who are people that you can turn to in times of need and why? The people that suffered this unit were the apostles. They were disciples and were now ready to becomes apostles and preach to others but they suffered through doing that. Some people disagreed with them and tried to imprison, beat, stone, and kill them. The apostles knew they were being threatened, yet they continued to preach because it was what God wanted them to do. Although they were martyred, I believe they were proud of the work they had done. They knew that their suffering was part of God’s plan to give them strength and to help them grow. I found the story of “The Storm” most inspiring because of what Paul and his men had to go th...

What did you learn about the original disciples from the group projects? Which disciple did you find most interesting and why? Based on what you learned, what are the characteristics of people who follow Christ? Do you feel that you display any of these characteristics? Why or why not? I learned many things about the original disciples from the group projects. First of all, almost all of the original disciples were martyred. They either died from being crucified, stoned, or beheaded. Those who were not martyred were John because he died of old age and Judas because he hung himself. Many of the disciples were also fishermen and some of them were called by Jesus while fishing together, such as Peter, James the Greater, John, and Andrew. Also, most of their remains are buried in places dedicated to them. For example, Peter was buried at St. Peter's Basilica and Andrew was buried at the Basilica of St. Andrew. I was most interested by Judas since he was the one to betray Jesus....

What were new things that you learned about the Beatitudes? Which beatitude resonates with you the most? What were some things you realized during the gallery walk? How can you display the Beatitudes more in your life? I learned that the Beatitudes are a set of eight blessings that Jesus spoke in the Sermon on the Mount. They are similar to the 10 Commandments, which are more like a set of rules to follow. However, the Beatitudes should not be taken literally but metaphorically because they are guidelines to follow. I knew that the Beatitudes began with "Blessed are..." but I did not know what each individual one said. Neither did I know what each Beatitude meant until I read them and did a little bit of research on them. Most of this information was new to me but it was easier to understand. This image is of the eight Beatitudes in the book of Matthew. I think the beatitude, "Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted," resonates w...