Vatican II Pastoral Toolkit Study Guides, Videos, Prayers, Articles, Catechesis

Free with purchase of five or more copies of The Story and Promise of Vatican II in Plain English

This valuable toolkit provides a wealth of resources to help you share the message of the Second Vatican Council with your community, especially for use with his book The Story and Promise of Vatican II in Plain English. 

Pope John Paul II called Vatican II "the Advent Liturgy of the new millennium." It's vital that all parish leaders be familiar with what this Council did and how the Holy Spirit moved the Church to reform itself in the work of the world's bishops and Popes.

The kit includes:

Study Tools on the Four Constitutions. For each constitution:

• Bill Huebsch introduces the document with a 7-8 minute streaming video.
• A reproducible 4-8 page study guide is provided for group or personal use, in editable Microsoft Word and PDF formats. Each includes a brief outline with thought-provoking questions.
• A beautiful slide presentation with simple talking points, to help you organize a presentation. In Powerpoint and Keynote formats.

Article Collection. These 11 reproducible tools are provided in editable Microsoft Word and PDF formats. Topics:

• The Church on the Eve of Vatican II
• Factors Giving Rise to Vatican II
• Address of Pope John XXIII at the Opening of the Council
• Vatican II Methodology
• Archbishop Hallinan's Speech on Women
• How to Teach about Vatican II
• The Gift of Peace
• Primacy of Conscience
• Vatican II Ends Grudges
• The Church on the Eve of Vatican II
• Very Revealing: Dei Verbum

Council Documents in Plain English. These poetic paraphrases of 12 Council documents compliment the Plain English versions of the Constitutions found in The Story and Promise of Vatican II in Plain English.

• Decree on the Missionary Activity of the Church
• Declaration on Christian Education
• Declaration on Religious Freedom
• Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions
• Decree Concerning the Pastoral Office of Bishops in the Church
• Decree of the Media of Social Communications
• Decree on Ecumenism
• Decree on Priestly Training
• Decree on the Adaptation and Renewal of Religious Life
• Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity
• Decree on the Catholic Churches of the Eastern Rite
• Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests

Communal Prayers in the Words of Vatican II. Use these 19 prayers in a variety of pastoral and personal situations. These prayers each celebrate one major themes of Vatican II, pairing a brief reading from the pertinent Council document with Scripture—the word of the Lord alongside "the word of the Church." Each leads into a brief period of Breaking Open the Word.

• Introduction to the Prayers
• Clarity of Conscience
• Divine Renovation
• The Domestic Church
• Other Christians
• Priests
• Clergy
• Lay Leadership in the Parish
• Non-Christians
• Laity in the World
• Justice
• Peace
• Church in the Modern World
• Body of Christ
• Baptism
• Religious Liberty
• Religious Life
• The Eucharist
• Universal Holiness
• Abide, Spirit of Life

Vatican II: The Next Generation. This mini-curriculum will help you share the Council at three age levels: grades K-3, grades 3-5, and grades 6-8. A leader guide and handouts for three lessons are provided for each age level.

• Each lesson handout contains 6-8 teaching pages, all reproducible.
• The lesson outlines include a complete step-by-step guide for the catechist or teacher and clever activities for the children, to help them understand the worldwide church, how it met in Rome in the 1960s, and how it affected Catholic life.
• The students will meet good Pope/Saint John XXIII; they will share the excitement of opening day; and they will be in the wings as the Council unfolds.
• All lessons are drawn directly from the documents of the Council, but are written in age-appropriate summaries.