Theme: Meeting God at the Crossroads

Objectives: at the end of the day, the students will be able to:

1. Recall their life’s experiences in the past 2 years as they emerge from the pandemic.

2. Reflect on God’s faithful and abiding presence in their life through these years of the pandemic up to
the present time.

3. Be reassured of God’s faithful presence in their life and make an initial decision on what vocation to
take or what profession to pursue after grade 10.

To better understand where the students are now, we consider the following points as their context:

● The life of grade 10 students is now in transition. It is an experience of moving out from the pandemic
restrictions, experiencing modular classes at home, and shifting back to onsite classes with lesser
restrictions. In this transition, it is important to examine what they have become because of the
pandemic and how they see God from this transition experience.

● Now they are in grade 10. What does it look like to be in this stage of life? We presume that they must
have been thinking about what strands to take in senior high school as they approach the end of their
junior high. They might be bearing various feelings of excitement because grade 10 graduation is already
in sight but maybe anxious because of the less opportunity to pursue senior high. They must have been
thinking of what life to take in the future in terms of profession.

● Why use the image of a crossroad? Because students in grade 10 are at a crossroads. They are facing
two diverging and unknown roads in-front of them. As they faced these roads, they asked themselves:
which path will I take?

● As facilitator, try to enter into this context as you internally prepare to facilitate this recollection.

Program Flow:

8:00Arrival of students and facilitators.

Setting up the facilitator's equipment such as laptop and projector and setting up the place. Since this is
a recollection and not a class, we suggest forming a U-shape formation of the chairs in the classroom.
The facilitator also needs to put a religious symbols/icon (crucifix, lighted candle/s, malong) in-front as a
way of setting the mood for the recollection.

8:30Preliminaries

Facilitator introduces him/herself.

Students introduce themselves using the following unfinished statements:

1. Ako si…

2. Kung wala ko nag apil sa recollection karun, naa unta ko sa… ug nag…

3. Ang akong mga gi-huna huna karun kay…

4. Ang akong mga gibati karun kay… (for this one, draw a heart. Inside this heart, supply word/s or
phrase/s which describe/s your feelings as you come to this recollection)

5. Wish ko lang…

Facilitator explains why we are here. Then explains the following:

● What is a recollection?

● What are our objectives to attain for today? What is our theme? Schedule of the day

● What do we expect for the participants to contribute? Openness, silence

Opening Song as the opening prayer.

9:15Session 1: Me at the crossroads: Looking back at my pandemic experience.

Facilitator gives the context of the 1st session.

Sample talking points: facilitators may say things like – let us begin our recollection today by recalling
back our significant pandemic experiences. Undoubtedly, the pandemic has shaken our life. It affected
various aspects of our lives: financial, mental, social, physical, emotional and spiritual. How about you,
how were you affected by the pandemic? Was it all negative experiences? Were there any blessings in
disguise? What are these? What are you most grateful for?

Hinumdumi ang mga nahitabo kanimo sa mga miaging 3 ka tuig. Kini ang mga panghitabo nga may
kalambigitan sa pandemiya. Sa hilum, pamalangdungi kini nga mga pangutana:

1. Unsa ang mga dili nimo malimtan nga mga kasinatian nga may kalambigitan pandemya sa miaging 3 ka
tuig?

2. Sa aspetong financial, mental, social, physical, emotional and spiritual, sa asa ka nga aspeto or kaha
ang imong pamilya na-apektuhan?

3. Sa tanan-tanan nimong nasinati tungod sa pandemya, kumusta kana karun? Unsa man ang imong mga
kasinatian nga buot nimong pasalamatan sa Ginoo?

4. Unsa man ang imong mga gibati karun nga naghinumdum ka sa imong mga kasinatian?

Give time for personal reflection. Play instrumental music.

Dyad sharing (or sharing by twos).

After the sharing, call out some students to share in the class what they shared in their partner in the
dyad.

Synthesis. Repeat some salient points shared by the students. What do we mean by repeating? It is
simply parroting. Repeat and expound what the students shared in the class. This is our way of putting
things together as a form of a synthesis.

End this part by simply leading the students to a short period of silence – leading them to their dominant
feelings and realization as they look back to their pandemic experience.

10:00Snacks break or working break

10:30Session 2: Meeting God at the Crossroads

Facilitator will give context to this session.

Sample talking points: out of your pandemic experiences, where was God? Naa bay Ginoo sa miaging
pandemya? Asa man siya? In what way did he reveal himself to you? In what instances?

Facilitator explains some sample ways on how we can encounter God in our life. There are various ways
of encountering God. God can reveal himself through the following: at the marvels of creation and in our
life’s experience. If you look at your life, there are instances when you can say that God was real. You
have no doubt about it. It was during those times when he helped you in your difficult moments,
moments when you looked at the beautiful flowers, smile of the child, magnificent colors of the sunsets.

Aside from the creation and from our life experiences, we can also encounter God through Prayer. Let us
define prayer. What is prayer for you?

Now, have you been into a relationship/friendship with someone? Yes? How do you nurture a
relationship? (Here facilitators may draw out answers from students like: spending time together, talking
to one another, communicating often, being a loyal friend etc).

How about God, in what way can we nurture our relationship with God?

It is through PRAYER.
What is Prayer?

In this recollection, let us now learn one method of Praying and this is what we call as 5Ps and 1 R
(Passage, Place, Posture, Presence and Prayer plus Review)

Play the song “You are Mine” as a way of disposing the students to individual prayer.

Lead the students to individual prayer. Since the recollection is conducted in the classroom and given
with the limited space, it is up to the facilitator on how s/he gives this opportunity for students to pray in
silence.

Give handout # 1. A period of 15 to 20 minutes of prayer will do. This is a crucial moment of the
recollection. Facilitator provides an opportunity for students to encounter the HOLY.

Reflection questions for Prayer:

1. By looking at your life’s journey during the pandemic up to the present, in what way has God been
good to you? How did He take care of you? Write your stories of God’s way of loving you during the
pandemic up to the present. Or draw a symbol which represents your story.

2. What struck you with the passage that you read? What is God trying to communicate with you
through the passage?

End this session with a closing Song: I am Ever with You

12:00Lunch

1:00Continuation or deepening of Session 2

Begin with some ice breakers.

If you are not done yet with small group sharing in the morning, you can use some amount of time for
this activity. Group the students in small groups with 5 to 6 members.

Give them the guidelines of small group sharing.

Small Group Sharing (20 to 30 mins)

Plenary Sharing. In this part, just ask some volunteers to share in the class what they shared in the small
group.

Play the song: The Pilgrim’s Theme

or Do you Know where you’re going to by Diana Ross

Sample talking points: Do you know where you are going? What do you want to do with your life? Can
you imagine yourself 5 years from now? Or 10 years from now? One gift that we human beings have is
the gift of free will. It is a gift or a power for us to decide on what we want to do with our life and our
future. Given this power, what do you want to do with your life?

Lead the students to an imagination prayer or contemplation on how they want to see their life in the
future. What will be their professions? Let them share this in the class.

Reflection Questions:

1. As you approach the end of your grade 10, where are you leading your life to? Is this what God wants
for you? Why or why not?

2. What strands in senior high do you want to take? Why this strand? Where are you leading your life
with this chosen strand?

Draw an image or a symbol which represents your professional life in the future. How do you feel about
it?

Synthesis questions:

As I end this recollection today, I feel..

One significant learning or realization is…

One concrete action or resolution that I do as a result of this recollection is…

3:30Closing Mass
Note: this module is a love offering to God for the formation of our young people. When you use or
share this module, whisper a prayer to yours truly that I may be a witness of God’s love in my own life.
Amen.

In everything, amare et servire,