From Darkness to Light

FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT

This is an interactive class that will help the students learn to appreciate the Sacraments and our journey of faith using only the senses of touch, sound and smell.

You will need:
Blindfolds (Enough for two for each student. Preferably one black and one white)
Pitcher
Bowl
Towel
Two Flashlights
Bright Floodlight
Incense
Soft music playing.


Set-up
This class will require some thought and organization in regard to the set-up. How you choose to set up the “Chasm” will depend on upon your own catechetical space and the layout of your individual Church.
You will need to have at least two adults leading students through the “chasm”. Use good judgment, if a student is frightened; allow them to proceed without the blindfold.

There will need to be nine stations.

· The first station will be a private area away from the other students and away from the
“chasm”. I recommend that no more than 6 students at a time are lead through the
“chasm” at a time.
· The second station will be an area where the students walk through a maze. (We used
chairs randomly place all over a hallway.
· The third station will be a small table with a pitcher, bowl and towel.
· The forth station will be a maze the students have to crawl through. (We used tables and
had them crawl under them).
· The fifth station will be an empty area where the students can kneel on the floor.
· The sixth station should be an area outside of the building. W used the walls of the building
and let them feel the roughness of the wall as they walked.
· The seventh station should be an area with a really bright light set up.
· The eighth station should be the back door of the Church.
· The ninth station will be the altar of the Church.
· The tenth and final station will be the body of the church.

Activity I
Since the main activity (Activity II) is very interactive, you will need to have something for the students to do while they wait for their turn through the “Chasm of Darkness.”
We have used a variety of activities such as: worksheets, colored pencils and detailed coloring pages. Feel free to engage them in some type of quiet activity while they wait for their turn through the “chasm”.

The Chasm of Darkness

STEP 1: Students are led into a private area. They are
blindfolded with first a white blindfold and then a black blindfold.
STEP 2: Students are led into a dark area.
STEP 3: One of the teachers leading the students reads this before they begin:

TEACHER: Most teenagers see themselves as invincible. Death is a reality. Everyone faces it at one time. You may have already experienced the sting of death…it may have already touched your life. Did it make you question God and His goodness?
When we look at death, we have to look at what we believe about life after death. In His death and resurrection, Jesus conquered death. He overcame it! Let us see if it’s possible for us to overcome it as well.

STEP 4: Students are led into an area where there is a maze of chairs, which they must work their way through. (Let them struggle and find their own way).

TEACHER: (As they walk through the maze, read the following: As an infant we are born into original sin. The stain of sin was on our soul. Even as babies, we are selfish. We want our own way. We demand to be feed and changed. We cry just because we want attention. At a very young age, we are already demanding that the world revolve around us. Our first obstacle in life is to overcome the sin of Adam and Eve.

STEP 5: Students are lead an area where there is a pitcher, a bowl and a towel. They are asked to hold out their hands and water is poured over them. They are then given a hand towel.

TEACHER: (The following is read while they experience the water of baptism) The first Sacrament you received was probably when you were a baby. You received the Sacrament of Baptism. Sacraments are outward signs instituted by Christ. They give you grace. The Sacrament of Baptism cleansed you from the stain of original sin. It did not make you less demanding, but it gave you grace. This sacrament placed you in God’s family. You became a child of the King.

STEP 6: The students are then led further through the “chasm”. They once again incur “sin,” this time it’s in the form of a table. They will need to crawl under and through it.

TEACHER: (As they are crawling through) As you grew, your sinful nature was becoming more and more evident. As a toddler and in grade school, you learned to lie, to cheat, and to take what wasn’t yours. Your thoughts were no longer simple and pure. Sin can be like crawling on the ground, groveling in our own weaknesses.

STEP 7: Students are then led to an area where they will be asked to kneel.

TEACHER: (While the students kneel, read the following) The Catholic Church offered you the Sacrament of Reconciliation to cleanse you of your personal sins. It was probably at a young age that you were introduced to Confession. In this Sacrament, the Priest represents Christ and listens to your sins. You ask for absolution and forgiveness. Any time you feel the need; you can go to Confession and receive this grace.

STEP 8: Students are then led outside. (Having them outside and letting them “feel” their way along the building offers a new dimension to the “chasm”. They are asked to “feel” their way by touching the outside walls.

TEACHER: (Read the following as you direct them along the walls) As you learned and grew, you began to question the existence of God, Your faith was weak. There were a lot of rough places along the path of your life. You felt your way through this world the best way you could. Sin would get in your way, but you had the gift of forgiveness through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. But it was becoming more and more evident that you needed more. You needed the strength of God with you all the time.

STEP 9: Students are led under the alley light. The black blindfold is removed, however the white one is left in place.

TEACHER: (Read the follow as the student’s adjust their eyes to the brightness) Your parents once again steered you toward God, and you received the Sacrament of Eucharist. Now you are able to go have communion with God daily if you choose. The consecrated host strengthens you and brings you closer to God. It is spiritual nourishment, helping you to grow closer to God and live life as a better Christian. It ties you to the Catholic faith in a very real way.

STEP 10: The student is then led into the back door of the Church.

TEACHER: Your life as a young adult is becoming more and more complicated. You begin to have other sinful desires. Temptations are getting harder and harder to fight off. Fighting your sinful nature is an uphill battle. Your spiritual life is once again in need of assistance.

STEP 11: Students are then led across the altar and in front of the steps leading up to the altar. (It would be nice if incense was burning to interject another element to tantalize the senses.) Students are asked to bow and then kneel.

TEACHER: (We used the “Chasm of Darkness as a prelude to Confirmation therefore the following is written in that context. If your students aren’t in a Confirmation program yet or are already through it, you can simply rewrite the ending to the “chasm” experience. I think it would be really neat to add the Sacraments of Holy Orders, Matrimony and Anointing of the Sick to the “chasm”, letting the students experience each of the Sacraments the Catholic Church. Having the young men and women in class experience the Sacrament of Holy Orders might help them envision the Priesthood and Religious life more clearly as a vocation option.)
You are at a crossroads; it is up to you to decide. You may now choose to follow the faith of your fathers, your Catholic faith. You also have the option to reject it….rejecting God and His divine presence and assistance in your life. Which do you choose? Do you choose the Sacrament of Confirmation, or do you choose to deny your faith. (Ask them each this question)

STUDENTS: (Have the opportunity to choose) If they choose to continue their faith, then you continue with the following. If they reject it, then you have them sit down (hopefully this won’t happen…but if it does, we will deal with it with the Priest’s involvement.)

TEACHER: You have chosen to continue in the faith of your fathers. You have decided to ask for the power of the Holy Spirit to come down on you. You have asked for the grace of the Sacrament of Confirmation. Through this Sacrament, the Holy Spirit will lead and guide you the rest of your life. Your baptismal promises will be complete. You will be sealed with Christ. You will hear the still small voice of God and respond. The gifts of the Spirit will flow down upon you to strengthen you and bring you closer to our Father. You will share these gifts with the Church and with the world. Christ will take priority in your life. You will promise to continue to grow in the love and knowledge of God. He will come before other worldly pleasures. You will promise to put Christ first in your life.


Let us renew our baptismal promises.
Through the paschal mystery, we have been buried with Christ in baptism so that we may rise with him to newness of life.
Now that we have completed our Lenten observance, let us renew the promises we made in baptism, when we rejected Satan and his works and promised to serve God faithfully in his holy Catholic Church.

Teacher: Do you reject sin so as to live in the freedom of God’s children?
Student: I do.
Teacher: Do you reject the glamour of evil and refuse to be mastered by sin?
Student: I do.
Teacher: Do you reject Satan, the father of sin and prince of darkness?
Student: I do.
Teacher: Do you reject Satan?
Student: I do.
Teacher: And all his works?
Student: I do.
Teacher: And all his empty promises?
Student: I do.
Teacher: Do you believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven
and earth?
Student: I do.
Teacher: Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of
the Virgin Mary, was crucified, died, and was buried, rose from the dead, and is
seated at the right hand of the Father?
Student: I do.
Teacher: Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the
communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the
life everlasting?
Student: I do.

TEACHER: (Soft music should be playing in the body of the Church.)
I encourage you to have a seat. Rest in the presence of Jesus Christ and reflect for a while on the promises you have just made.

(Teachers will return to the auditorium to escort another group of students through the Chasm of Darkness. The students who have just renewed their promises should remain in the Church for at least 5 minutes for reflection with an adult leader in charge.)

Biblical and Catechetical References

CCC 950 Communion of the sacraments. "The fruit of all the sacraments belongs to all the faithful. All the sacraments are sacred links uniting the faithful with one another and binding them to Jesus Christ, and above all Baptism, the gate by which we enter into the Church. The communion of saints must be understood as the communion of the sacraments. . . . The name 'communion' can be applied to all of them, for they unite us to God. . . . But this name is better suited to the Eucharist than to any other, because it is primarily the Eucharist that brings this communion about."

CCC 1424 It is called the sacrament of confession, since the disclosure or confession of sins to a priest is an essential element of this sacrament. In a profound sense it is also a "confession" - acknowledgment and praise - of the holiness of God and of his mercy toward sinful man. It is called the sacrament of forgiveness, since by the priest's sacramental absolution God grants the penitent "pardon and peace."

CCC 1468 "The whole power of the sacrament of Penance consists in restoring us to
God's grace and joining us with him in an intimate friendship." Reconciliation with God
is thus the purpose and effect of this sacrament. For those who receive the sacrament
of Penance with contrite heart and religious disposition, reconciliation "is usually
followed by peace and serenity of conscience with strong spiritual consolation." Indeed
the sacrament of Reconciliation with God brings about a true "spiritual resurrection,"
restoration of the dignity and blessings of the life of the children of God, of which the
most precious is friendship with God.

CCC 1576 Since the sacrament of Holy Orders is the sacrament of the apostolic ministry, it is for the bishops as the successors of the apostles to hand on the "gift of the Spirit," the "apostolic line." Validly ordained bishops, i.e., those who are in the line of apostolic succession, validly confer the three degrees of the sacrament of Holy Orders.

CCC 1285 Baptism, the Eucharist, and the sacrament of Confirmation together constitute
the "sacraments of Christian initiation," whose unity must be safeguarded. It must be
explained to the faithful that the reception of the sacrament of Confirmation is necessary
for the completion of baptismal grace. For "by the sacrament of Confirmation, [the
baptized] are more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength
of the Holy Spirit. Hence they are, as true witness of Christ, more strictly obliged to
spread and defend the faith by word and deed.”

1519 The celebration of the sacrament includes the following principal elements: the "priests of the Church" - in silence - lay hands on the sick; they pray over them in the faith of the Church - this is the epiclesis proper to this sacrament; they then anoint them with oil blessed, if possible, by the bishop.

Matthew 28:19. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
1 Corinthians 11:23. For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread . . .
1 Peter 2:1. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Matthew 3:11. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.
1 Corinthians 6:11. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
1 Corinthians 12:13. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

Songs
“The Creed” by Rich Mullens
“Here I Am To Worship” by Phillips, Craig and Dean
“Cry The Gospel” by Tom Booth
“Taste of Heaven” by Tom Booth
“If We Are The Body” by Casting Crowns