I am a teaching my grade 10 students about Catholic worship in my religion class. I have a set of questions to go with a book called “A Young Person’s Book of Catholic Signs and Symbols.” I only have one copy and the book is no longer in print. It was first published in 1982. I do not feel comfortable asking the school that lent me their copy to lend me a class set, but I do think that this is really important information and the resource is pretty good. I have looked online at Amazon for cheap copies to buy, but there are only two. I have also looked online at the Catholic Encyclopedia to see if students could go there for their information, but it is way too advanced for 15 year olds. I am at a bit of a loss at how little information there is for younger students about the Catholic Church on the internet. I just want to do the best job I can of teaching them this and I would like a great resource to help me do this.
Do you know of a good Catholic resource that would explain signs and symbols to students that is age appropriate and preferably online so that I don’t have to buy a class set? (Two of my strong students googled the whole assignment and still did not find all the answers and they said the material was difficult to understand.) – Symbols and Signs

Dear Symbols and Signs,

I’ve looked for the book that you mentioned, but I can not get a description of the contents to know exactly how to match your needs. If the book is out of print, perhaps you can get permission from the publisher to copy the sections you need? That way you won’t violate any copyright laws.

I’ve looked online at a few resources for sign and symbol, this is what I’ve come up with:

Centre for Ministry Development – This site is great for a number of youth and young adult ministry resources. This particular link is for their “Confirming Disciples” its for Confirmation of High School Students. It might be useful as a guide, but not completely what you might be looking for. It has a section on signs / symbols especially for baptism and confirmation.

St. Thomas the Apostle Roman Catholic Church FAQ – A site from Rochester, NY. This page gives a clickable quick answer to the symbols etc for Catholic Worship.

Americancatholic.org – That have the Youth Update which comes out every few months I believe…. This edition might help. You can also search online at that sight for good resources too. The Youth Updates themselves are very good resources and tools. I would say this is your best lead for online information.

Apart from these, perhaps if you call the Pastoral Centre in Edmonton for assistance, or Universal Church Supplies for suggestions.

Good Luck!

aka Fr. Santo C.Ss.R.