1. The gift of

2. “Prayer is a gift obtained through prayer”
Lesson starter. Class Discussion:
What does the quote mean?
How do we understand prayer? As a community and as individuals?
Complete the spider diagram on the following slide as a whole class or small group activity. Plenary feedback.

3. PRAYER
Think, pair, share about what students understand prayer to be, examples of prayer, experiences of prayer etc.
Ask students to think back on the different experiences of prayer they may have had (retreats, Mass, meditations etc). Ask them to think about how these experiences of prayer have influenced their personal practice of prayer.

4. PRAYER …can also be mystical …but what is mysticism?
The next section will look at the mystical tradition of prayer within the Church.

5. Mysticism
…a mystic is a person who has experienced mystical experiences or has an understanding of Divine mysteries.
Mystics were people who, regardless of their vocation, were favoured with experiences of God far beyond the ordinary. We can learn much from the complete trust in God and the absolute consecration of life reflected in the writings of the mystics.
The next section will look at two examples of saints (and their works) who form part of the Church’s rich mystical history; St John of the Cross and St Teresa of Avila, both of whom are considered to be founders of the Discalced Carmelites – a Roman Catholic religious order. See for more information or search “Discalced Carmelites”.

6. Mysticism
The experience should be within the traditions of the Church.
The experience should be discussed with a spiritual advisor.
There should be some sort of change in the life of the person
What is mysticism? How can it best be described? St Teresa’s accounts of her own experience gave a scientific description of the Christian ‘life of prayer’. Her ‘protocol’ for identifying religious experience was threefold (as detailed in the slide above.)
Is referring to the fact that our experiences should never lead us away from the Church. If they are genuine experiences of God they will always take place within the traditions of the Church.
A spiritual adviser is someone who is competent in the area of spiritual direction.
St Teresa states that mystical experiences should lead to a positive change in the life of the person. An experience of God, something that deepens our knowledge or understanding of him should necessarily lead to a change in a person.
* The next section sees St Teresa and St John introduced with a short biographical section (PP slide and video link) Teachers should feel free to use the resource as presented or you may wish to look at the biography and works of one saint and then the other.

7. St John of the Cross
St John of the Cross was a major figure of the Counter-Reformation, a Spanish mystic, a Roman Catholic saint, a Carmelite friar and a priest who was born at Fontiveros, Spain
St John of the Cross along with Saint Teresa of Ávila, founded the Discalced Carmelites.
Both his poetry and his studies on the growth of the soul are considered the summit of mystical Spanish literature and one of the peaks of all Spanish literature.
He was canonized as a saint in 1726 by Pope Benedict XIII. He is one of the thirty-six Doctors of the Church.
Websites with biographical information about St John of the Cross:
Clicking on the image above will take you to a short youtube video about the life of St John of the Cross.
As you are watching the video, use your jotters to make notes about St John of the Cross. This could include biographical details, events from his life or other questions or comments you may have about St John of the Cross. Be prepared to share what you have written.

8. St Teresa of Avila
Teresa of Ávila, also called Saint Teresa of Jesus, baptised was a prominent Spanish mystic, Roman Catholic saint, Carmelite nun, author during the Counter Reformation, and theologian of contemplative life through mental prayer.
She was a reformer of the Carmelite Order and is considered to be a founder of the Discalced Carmelites along with John of the Cross.
In 1622, forty years after her death, she was canonized by Pope Gregory XV, and on 27 September 1970 was named a Doctor of the Church by Pope Paul VI.
Her books, which include her autobiography (The Life of Teresa of Jesus) and her seminal work El Castillo Interior (The Interior Castle), are an integral part of Spanish Renaissance literature as well as Christian mysticism and Christian meditation practices.
Clicking the image above will take you to a short youtube video about the life of St Teresa of Avila.
As you are watching the video, use your jotters to make notes about St John of the Cross. This could include biographical details, events from his life or other questions or comments you may have about St John of the Cross. Be prepared to share what you have written.

9. The work of St John of the Cross and St Teresa of Avila
Individual/paired work on works of St John of the Cross and St Teresa of Avila.
There is a section with examples from the works of St John of the Cross and St Teresa of Avila in the student’s workbook. There is a variety of materials to allow for differentiation and student voice when deciding how best to overtake the core learning.

10. What can we Learn from the Carmelites about Prayer?
Carmel teaches the Church how to pray
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI
See in the student workbook two examples of Carmelites speaking about prayer. There are a variety of ways to approach this – you may wish to allow students to choose which excerpt they wish to read about (Ruth Burrows – (Sister Rachel) or the section on prayer from the Order of Carmelites website). Alternatively you could ask students to choose how they will communicate what they have learnt from the Carmelites about prayer. This could be a poster, a piece of reflective writing, presentation to a partner or to the rest of the class. The details of the activity are at the teacher’s discretion.

11. The Divine Office and the Monastic Tradition
The image in the slide could be used as a visual introduction/recap to the Divine Office. It should generate discussion about intimate connection between prayer and the monastic tradition.
In S5 students will have had the opportunity to pray the Divine Office. If this has not been the case, or you wish to repeat this experience please follow the hyperlink in the slide above. This will take you directly to the Divine Office of any given day.

12. The Divine Office is the official set of prayers marking the hours of each day and sanctifying the day with prayer.
Praying the Divine Office ensures that the work of God is the centre of spiritual life in Monastic communities.
The hyperlink above is a 20 minute video explaining how the Divine Office is prayed in the monastic tradition. This could be shown at one sitting or split up into sections with students making appropriate notes/answering questions whilst/after watching depending on teacher/student preference.

13. Pluscarden Abbey, Moray
Research task:
Students are invited to research the monastic tradition in Scotland by looking at Pluscarden abbey. This could be done as an in class activity (computer suites and wifi access allowing) or a homework task. The final format of these pieces of work is down to teacher discretion.
Clicking on the image above will take you directly to the Abbey’s website.

14. What can the Popes Teach us about Prayer?
This section will look at examples of the spiritual writings of the Holy Fathers, examples of which can be found in the student workbook. This can be done as a section in it’s own right or could be used to punctuate the unit.