With the end of most religious education program years occurring, this is a good time for catechists to do a little bit of self assessment. Feel free to use the following by yourself, with a peer or group of peers, or with your DRE. 1 = poor/I disagree 2 = fair/I somewhat disagree 3 = good/I somewhat agree 4 = excellent/I agree I became more aware of my vocation as a catechist 1 2 3 4 […]
Since last Monday was our last class, tonight is my first Monday evening off in a long, long time! Believe me, as much as I like being a catechist, the time to be at home and resting is much appreciated! Between now and next Monday, I need to complete my report cards. They are to be turned in at a catechist’s meeting next Monday.
I was deeply inspired by John, one of my fellow catechists the other night. As we were chaperoning the 8th grader’s pizza party after our last class on Monday, we got to chatting about next year. He’s been a catechist for 11 years and has just seen his daughter through his own 8th grade class. It often happens that when a catechist’s last child completes the program, they “retire.” This is very understandable because they […]
Here’s a good one (and it’s a true story). A DRE friend of mine told me that one of her Confirmandi was ill the day of Confirmation and was unable to attend the celebration. The DRE spoke with the mother of the child on the phone and offered her all of the upcoming opportunities for the child to celebrate the sacrament at neighboring parishes. The mother replied, “Can’t you just send me the certificate?” Ugh! […]
Last night was our last class for the year and it was a very nice send-off. The closing Mass was very good and the young people seemed genuinely touched by the little token that I offered them. A number of the 8th grade students also went out for pizza afterwards accompanied by 3 of us catechists. As it turns out, last week, when I missed class because of my daughter’s illness, my aide, Kris, had […]
For tonight’s class, which is our last, we will celebrate the Eucharist followed by a pizza party. In between, I will gather my troops one last time for a few last words and then will present them with a small gift that I purchased at a Catholic church goods store named Heaven Sent. They are small flat stones (about the size of a half-dollar) with a dove symbol on one side and the following inscription […]
This Monday is the last session for religious education for the year and we will mark it with a celebration of the Eucharist. It’s hard to believe that the year is already coming to an end. In retrospect, it seems like we had so little time together and in many respects that is true. However, I hope and pray that I have been able to make an impact on the young people that I was […]
Sorry I’ve not updated for a few days but one of life’s curve balls came my way when our college daughter came home sick and we unexpectedly had to take her to the hospital. She will be fine but your prayers are appreciated. As a result of this, I was unable to teach class last night which would have been the last real class of the year. Next week, we have a closing Mass. So […]
Not so long ago, I announced the availability of my (previously out-of-print) video, Welcome to God’s Library, on DVD! In the year 2000, I filmed a video titled Welcome to God’s Library which provided a basic introduction to the Bible for Catholics (intermediate/junior high through adult). The video summarizes the thrust of my book God’s Library. Several years ago, this video and the original edition of the book went out of print. Since then, I’ve been receiving […]
At the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership (NCCL) in Houston this week, I was blown away by the presentation by John Allen, NCR’s Senior Vatican Correspondent and CNN’s Senior Vatican Analyst, who spoke about what he calls the Mega-Trends in Catholicism: The Forces Turning the Catholic Church UpsideDown. What I like about Mr. Allen’s presentation (aside from being very engaging) is that he sees his job as informing…he informs all of us of what is happening inside […]
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