Take Stock April 2008

by Kelley Renz

Challenge your adolescents and preadolescents to take stock of their mouths as we enter into the renewing time of spring.

Make large pictures of mouths and discuss what kinds of words make our mouths ugly.

Words like …

hate
shut up
you’re stupid
go away
I’m not sharing
did you hear what she did?

Discuss what words make our mouths attractive.

Words like …

I like him
she’s nice
I don’t want to hear that
give him another chance
that’s really good
you can have some
do you want to come along?

A Fable about gossiping…

A man and a woman were horrible gossips. They talked about every person they knew, and even people they didn’t know! They didn’t see anything wrong with gossiping; after all, it was only to the few dozen people they knew. Well, one day both the man and woman died and went to heaven. St. Peter met them at the gate of heaven and asked them about their gossiping. “Oh, yes,” they laughed. “We sure did gossip a lot but it didn’t hurt anyone. It couldn’t have spread far and we’d take it back if we could.” Then St. Peter took them to the top of a high mountain and gave them each a pillow stuffed with feathers and directed them to tear the pillows open. When each did, the feathers from the pillows were caught in the wind and spread over miles and miles in hundreds of different directions. “Now go,” St. Peter instructed, “and collect all the feathers.”

“Oh, St. Peter,” the two gossips cried. “We cannot possibly do that! The feathers have gone everywhere. It is impossible.”

“So it is impossible,” St. Peter said firmly, “for you to take back all the gossip you spread, for once it is started, gossip spreads and spreads.”

Make bulletin boards or individual posters showing words that build us up and words that break us down. Encourage students to show artistically how words hurt and heal us.

Kelley Renz is a freelance writer and veteran catechist with over twenty years in religious education. She is the author of God Listens to Our Children (OSV) and the blog “Dear God, This Is Kelley” (http://deargodthisiskelley.blogspot.com).