On Monday night, I was telling my class about the Triduum and one of the boys asked, “what are Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday called?” in light of the fact that we have Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. I told him that those 3 days don’t really have a name other than being part of Holy Week. I forgot that Wednesday of Holy Week is known as Spy Wednesday! As a kid, […]
Recently, I was asked by the folks at Loyola Press to share a “staff favorite” with regards to LP resources for families with young children. I chose to recommend The Story of the Cross. Here’s my little blurb about this excellent resource. Speaking of the Cross, last evening, the 8th graders put on the Living Stations and did a nice job. Three of my students had roles: the narrator, a Roman centurion, and crowd member. […]
Anti-Catholic signs like these are of the type that could be found outside of the L.A. Congress last week – the efforts of a small group of anti-Catholic protesters who show up every year looking for a fight. Unfortunately, too many Catholics obliged. As I sat nearby, waiting for my shuttle to the airport, I watched with curiosity, frustration, amusement, and anger at the unfolding scene. It always begins with a Catholic deciding he or […]
Holy Week is a time in which we figuratively transport ourselves over time and space to the Holy Land to walk with Jesus on the road to Calvary. One Director of Religious Education, Victor Valdez, invites parishioners to walk this journey in a creative and unique way by having the children of the religious education program reconstruct a miniature Holy Land on the Parish Green! The site includes displays of the areas of Nazareth, Bethlehem, […]
If you’ve received the program for the NCCL (National Conference for Catechetical Leadership) conference in Las Vegas (April 18-22, 2010), please take note that there’s a learning session missing from the list: MINE! The same list that omits my learning sessions is also printed in the current issue of Catechetical Leadership magazine, so the folks at NCCL and I are taking steps to make sure that the word is out that I am indeed presenting […]
On Monday evening, I had a cozy little group of 7 students, since 3 were rehearsing for the Living Stations. I used this opportunity to continue our exploration of the Ten Commandments, looking at real-life examples of how to live out the spirit of each of the Commandments. It turned out to be a very nice evening except for one thing: the boys (3 of 4) developed a severe case of the Sixth Commandment giggles. […]
As promised, here is the pdf of the Powerpoint presentation (notes view pages) from my workshop in Los Angeles: “The Spirituality of the Catechist: Re-igniting the Flame.” LA – Spirituality of the Catechist
This weekend, along with 30,000 of my best friends, I’ll be attending the Religious Education Congress of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles! I’m doing a presentation on Sunday morning titled “The Spirituality of the Catechist: Re-igniting the Flame.” I look forward to meeting lots of fellow catechists and catechetical ministers as well as seeing many long-time friends, acquaintances, and colleagues. The RE Congress is an exciting celebration of all things Catholic and I look forward […]
One of the Two-Minute Drills that I organized for my class on Monday evening involved a demonstration using water, food coloring, and bleach. You fill a clear glass with water (about half full), add a drop or two of food color to represent sin, stir, and then add bleach to make the color disappear, representing the effect of God’s grace. Many catechists and Sunday school teachers use this demonstration to show how grace dispels sin. […]
So last evening’s class was kind of a mixed bag. The main focus was on the “Ten Commandments Two-Minute Drills” that I wrote about yesterday. Here’s the scoop: All ten students were present and in good spirits. During opening prayer, one of the boys prayed for Brian Campbell, Blackhawks’ defenseman, who suffered a broken collar bone and cracked ribs as a result of a vicious hit by Alex Ovechkin on Sunday. I thought that was […]
Copyright © 2006-2024 Loyola Press. All rights reserved. Any copying, redistribution, or retransmission of the contents of this service without the express written consent of Loyola Press is expressly prohibited.