Courageous Witnesses · Week 1 · Grades 9–12
Guided Notes: St. Titus Brandsma
- Name
- Date
- Class
Follow along as your teacher presents. Fill in each section when its slide is on the screen.
A scholar of prayer in the newsroom
Anno Sjoerd Brandsma was born in blank 1 near Bolsward in the Netherlands. He entered the Carmelites at 17, took the name Titus, and was ordained in 1905. In 1909 he earned a doctorate in philosophy in Rome.
He helped found the Catholic University of Nijmegen in blank 2, taught philosophy and mysticism there, and became its head in 1932. Mysticism is the study of how people grow very close to God through prayer.
He also translated St. Teresa of blank 3 into Dutch, learned Esperanto, lectured in America and wrote for newspapers. In 1935 he became spiritual advisor to Catholic journalists.
From Friesland to Dachau to Rome
Write what happened in each year.
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1881 | Write your answer |
| 1905 | Write your answer |
| 1923 | Write your answer |
| 1935 | Write your answer |
| 1940 | Write your answer |
| 1942 | Write your answer |
| 1985 | Write your answer |
| 2022 | Write your answer |
The letter and the price
Before the war began, Titus said that Nazi ideas about race were against the blank 4. After the 1940 invasion the Nazis made rules against Jews and tried to control schools and newspapers. He defended Jewish students and helped Catholic journalists resist.
In January 1942 the Nazis ordered Catholic newspapers to print Nazi ads and articles. The bishops refused, and Titus carried their letter to editors around the country. He was arrested on January blank 5.
Moved from prison to prison, he kept praying and helping other prisoners. In June he was sent to blank 6, 61 years old and sick. Guards beat him because he was a priest. On July 26, 1942, a nurse in the camp hospital gave him a deadly injection.
Apply it
A platform you post on asks creators to run paid content you believe is false. Which response is closest to what Titus did in January 1942? Circle one.
- A Run it with a small disclaimer attached
- B Quietly stop posting and say nothing
- C Refuse, and urge other creators to refuse
Why is that the right answer?
Apply it
Someone spreads lies about you in a group chat. Which response best matches how Titus treated his guards at Dachau? Circle one.
- A Correct the lie and pray for the person
- B Accept the lie so the conflict ends
- C Expose their secrets to even the score
Why is that the right answer?
Take a side
Titus did more than avoid printing propaganda: he carried the refusal to others. When a lie is spreading online, is it enough simply not to share it?
My side: ☐ Not sharing is enough ☐ You must speak up
- Titus said, “Those who want to win the world for Christ must have the courage to come into conflict with it.”
- He had a specific role: spiritual advisor to Catholic journalists. Does responsibility depend on your role or audience?
- Speaking up can amplify a lie or start a pile-on. When does correction help, and when does it harm?
- Silence can look like agreement. Who is hurt when no one objects?
My strongest reason, with evidence from the slides:
The best argument for the other side, and my response:
Closer in the dark
From prison Titus wrote, “I know that you are with me, Jesus. I have never been so close to you.” How can a person lose everything and say this? What does it suggest about where his courage came from?
Think: my idea before we talk
Sentence starters: “His years of prayer mattered because ...”“Courage without prayer might look like ...”“I find this hard to believe or easy to believe because ...”
Pair: something my partner said
Let us pray
“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
John 8:32
Lord Jesus, you are with us in every dark place.
Make us truthful in what we write, share and say.
Teach us to love those who oppose us.
St. Titus Brandsma, pray for us.
Amen.
My own prayer or intention:
Go and witness
“We are here in a dark tunnel, but we have to go on. At the end, an eternal light shines for us.”
One thing I learned today:
One question I still have:
How could the example of St. Titus Brandsma shape the way I live, online and offline?
Challenge: This week, audit one day of your own posts, shares and messages. Remove or correct anything you cannot stand behind as true, and tell one person why.