DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
YEAR 2 (8th grade)
CHOSEN
Lesson 1
Segment 2: Beginning the Journey
1. What struck you from the video?
2. After the first segment, you had a chance to write down five personal goals, things most
important to you. What did you write as a personal goal?
3. How would you answer the question, “Why are you here?”
4. What is one big question you hope to get an answer to this year?
5. What do you think the title Chosen has to do with Confirmation?
Lesson 2
Segment 1: The Goal of Life1. What struck you from the video?
1. What did you want to be as you were growing up? Has it changed?
Segment 2: Is There Something More?
1. Is there a difference between being rich and famous and being happy? Why do you think
wealth and fame do not necessarily lead to happiness (and sometimes even seem to destroy
it)?
2. What are some characteristics that make people famous today that you do not admire?
Segment 3: Are We on Our Own?
1. Do you know anyone who seems to be a happy person? What do you think makes them that
way?
2. Who is someone (in your life, in the world, ore from history) that you admire? What do you
find most admirable about that person?
Lesson 3
Segment 1: Creation and the Fall
1. What is your favorite movie? What makes the story good?
2. Pretend I have never heard of Christianity. Can you sum up the “story line” or at least share
what you know of the history of Christianity?
Segment 2: Jesus’ Divine Rescue Mission
1. Although Eve and Mary are both pivotal women in salvation history, they are very different in
the way they trusted in God. Can you talk about those differences and how each woman
strikes you?
2. What does it mean to you to hear the phrase, “God is love”? Did it mean something different
to you when you were younger?
Segment 3: A Kingdom on Earth
1. What are some things that make salvation history a good story? What elements of the plot are
engaging, redeeming, heroic, inspiring, or hopeful?
2. How does the story of salvation history impact the story of your own life?
3. Share something about your favorite saint. (If you have not chosen a saint name for
Confirmation already, you should start thinking about it.)
Lesson 4
Segment 1: Evidence for God
1. Can you think of a time when God revealed himself to you? Maybe it was in prayer or
through another person or an event.
2. Pretend you are talking to a nonbeliever. What “proofs” of God’s existence can you share?
Segment 2: Scripture and Tradition
1. How often do you read the Bible? What stops you from reading it more often?
2. Share your favorite story or verse from the Bible and the reason you like it.
Segment 3: Our Response to God
1. Do you know anyone who does not believe in God? Why do you think he or she does not
believe in God?
2. Do you ever find it hard to trust God or to remember that he loves you no matter what? If so,
what have you done – or what could you do in the future – to work through this problem?
Lesson 5
Segment 1: “Who Do You Say That I Am?”
1. What words best describe the roles Jesus plays in your life? Can you give examples of how
each role has played out for you?
Segment 2: Evidence for Jesus
1. Who would you die for right now, if anyone? Why?
2. Even if you are still unsure of the reasons, try in your own words to explain how Jesus is God
and not just a prophet or a wise man.
Segment 3: Why Did Jesus Come to Us?
1. Explain why God became human and came into the world. Assume the person you are
speaking to knows nothing about God or Jesus.
2. What are some ways we can respond to God’s love in our daily lives?
Lesson 6
Segment 1: The One True Church
1. What does the term “cradle Catholic” mean to you?
2. Do you know anyone who was not born Catholic, but converted into the Church? Why do you
think he or she converted? What are some other reasons people might want to become
Catholic?
Segment 2: Apostolic and Catholic
1. If you started a club or a company, what are some reasons it would be important to establish
an organized, visible, and structured leadership?
2. What are some roles you have in the Church that priests do not have? What are some other
things you can do to serve God and the Church?
Segment 3: The Church is Holy
1. What are some ways the Church makes Jesus Christ and his saving work a visible reality in
the world today?
2. How would you respond to someone who questions the Church’s holiness?
Lesson 12
Segment 1: Symbols of the Holy Spirit
1. What are some images (or “symbols”) traditionally related to the Holy Spirit? What do they
teach us about him?
2. Deacon Burke-Sivers says the Holy Spirit can come in powerful or subtle ways. What are
some of the quiet ways we can experience him in our lives?
Segment 2: Our Guide and Map
1. What are some ways that you think the Holy Spirit “animates” the Church?
2. How does the Holy Spirit act as our “map”? What are some ways we can “access” that map?
3. What is one thing you can do to open your heart more fully to the grace of the Holy Spirit
every day?
Segment 3: The Holy Spirit in Your Life
1. Which Person of the Blessed Trinity do you find it easiest to talk to? (Remember; God is
“one” so any time we pray to God, all three Persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – hear our
prayers.)
2. When might you choose to pray directly to the Holy Spirit? (Hint: What does the Holy Spirit
do for us?)
Lesson 13
Segment 1: Gifts of the spirit (Part 1)
1. What was the most exciting gift you ever received?
2. What was the most helpful gift you ever received? How was it helpful to you?
Segment 2: Gifts of the Spirit (Part 2)
1. What are the seven Isaiahan Gifts of the Holy Spirit, (See Isaiah 11:2-3) and what are some
examples of how they help us in our daily lives?
2. What are some of the gifts you see play out in your life, and how can you make better use of
them?
Segment 3: The 12 Fruits of the Holy Spirit
1. Name the charismatic Gifts of the Holy Spirit (See 1Corinthians 12:4-11). Which of these
gifts would you most like to have, and why?
2. Name the Twelve Fruits of the Holy Spirit. (See Galatians 5:22-23)
3. Have you selected a Confirmation saint name? How did that saint show the fruits, gifts, and
charisms of the Holy Spirit in his or her life?
Lesson 14
Segment 1: The Power of the Holy Spirit
1. Confirmation “gives us a special strength of the Holy Spirit to spread and defend the Faith by
word and action” (CCC 1303) and has traditionally been associated with becoming a soldier
for Christ (This language is used in the Catechism of Pope St. Pius X and is also reflected in
the Baltimore Catechism, both of which are likely making reference to 2 Timothy 2:3.). What
does it mean to be a soldier for Christ?
2. Where do you see a spiritual battle going on in the world, and what is your role in it?
Segment 2: The World Needs You
1. What does the Sacrament of Confirmation do for you?
2. Confirmation is “the sacrament of Christian maturity.” What does it mean to be spiritually
mature?
Segment 3: What Happens at Confirmation?
1. What are the symbols used in the Sacrament of Confirmation, and what do they mean?
2. Why do you want to be confirmed? Why do you think you are ready?
Lesson 15
Segment 1: What Happens at Mass?
1. Do you think it is important to go to Mass every week? Why or why not
2. Can you describe what happens during the Eucharistic Prayers?
3. Do you think that sometimes we “miss” the whole point of Mass and that is why so many
people fail to make it a priority?
Segment 2: Walter’s Story
1. Why would Jesus give himself to us in the Eucharist? What does he expect from us?
2. Besides the Eucharist, where else do we encounter God at the Mass?
Segment 3: Preparing for Mass
1. What does it mean that we are invited to “full, conscious and active” participation in the
Mass? What can you do to come to Mass better prepared to pray and participate?
2. Adoration is one way to grow closer to Jesus and prepare our hearts to receive him at Mass.
Have you ever been to Adoration? Describe your experience.