Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Hey Kids! If Football Players Can Genuflect, So Can You!

OK, it's not often the culture of sports hands us a genuine liturgical catechetical opportunity.  The furor surrounding Tim Tebow's public gesture of faith of kneeling in prayer on the football field has caused a storm of controversy and a flurry of photos in newspapers and on the internet:

along with numerous parodies, including references to the three Magi kneeling, to Darth Vader and other familiar persons and has spawned a T-shirt meme and a new term: "Tebowing".

So, why not use this as a way to teach kids that it is OK to genuflect?  In my parish, where I volunteer as a catechist to a group of older kids preparing for Confirmation, because most of them have missed prior years of faith formation, genuflecting in church does not come naturally.  I think I will tell them that if a sports hero can do it, so can they. Just saying. Thanks, Tim.

5 comments:

  1. Uh-oh I'm gonna use this in my class!

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  2. Had the sportsboys Tebow tonight in class; compared Tebowing to Catholic genuflecting, pointed out why we genuflect, did a bit of Latin on "tabernacle" and "genuflect."

    Went very well, thanks for the spark.

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  3. Wow - great! I am going to use it before our next class Mass, which is in a couple of weeks. Glad to know it actually works! Thanks for "test-driving" it.

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  4. First few paragraphs:

    http://platytera.blogspot.com/2012/01/pitchers-8-res-ipsa-10-tebow-tassels.html

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  5. Wow! great lesson plan. Thanks for sharing.

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