Today we celebrate the Feast Day of St. Ignatius of Loyola – a saint who has had a major impact on my life. I attended a Jesuit high school (St. Ignatius College Prep), a Jesuit college (Loyola University of Chicago), a Jesuit graduate school (Institute of Pastoral Studies, Loyola University of Chicago), and have now worked for Loyola Press for 13 years! That’s 25 total years of Jesuit influence…almost half my life! To celebrate, I […]
The post I put up the other day about designating catechists for Men’s and Women’s clubs in parishes struck a positive chord with lots of people. In particular, a comment posted by Maureen summed up precisely what I was aiming at when she said that the idea: …also speaks to one of the foundational principles of the USCCB pastoral plan for Adult Faith Formation, “Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us”: parish life itself is the […]
Join our weeklong celebration of St. Ignatius and his spirituality in honor of his Feast Day on Thursday, July 31! Check out all the fun at Find Your Inner Iggy!
Too often, we Catholics approach adult catechesis with the notion of beginning a program that we hope to get folks to attend, when in fact, many people are already attending parish functions but not necessarily receiving faith formation as a part of the experience. One such example are Women’s and Men’s Clubs (Mother’s and Father’s Clubs, Holy Name Society, etc.) These are groups that gather numerous parishioners on a regular basis for a wide variety […]
For those who are beginning their ministry as catechists, take advantage of the recorded Webinars available here on my blog: Getting Started as a Catechist. There are four 60-minute recorded Webinars tailor-made to your needs: Getting Started as a Catechist of Primary Age Children Getting Started as a Catechist of Intermediate Age Children Getting Started as a Catechist of Junior High and High School Students Getting Started as a Catechist of Adults And, if you […]
This afternoon, I met with Deb Breakey, the DRE of St. Cajetan Parish in Chicago, to brainstorm a new way to kick off the catechetical year this Fall designed to combat the “drop-off” mentality that so many parents have when it comes to their children’s faith formation. We are working on designing an experience on the first night of religious education that, in essence, will be an intergenerational event. Parents will be asked to gather with […]
Today I had the pleasure of meeting with the staff at St. Barnabas Parish in Chicago where I will be assisting in adult faith formation! They were very warm and welcoming and we enjoyed spending about an hour together during which time I introduced myself to them and articulated my goals for working with them on adult catechesis and reporting on my blog. We then engaged in some give and take as they asked some […]
While on vacation, I caught wind of this very nice review of my book, Under the Influence of Jesus. The review was written for CatholicPhilly.com by Eugene J. Fisher, a professor of theology at St. Leo University in Florida. Thanks, Dr. Fisher! Here’s a sample of the review: This book is a spiritual meditation on what it means to be a Christian in one’s daily life. Written on a popular level, it makes use of […]
I hope you enjoyed my “summer chuckles” while I was on vacation! Fr. Jim Martin, SJ, reminds us that “our relationship with God — like any relationship — can use some humor from time to time.” Now that I’m back, it’s time to get serious about my focus for the upcoming year: adult faith formation! As I mentioned in a previous post, this year, instead of teaching a grade of elementary age religious education, I […]
As we prepare for another year of faith formation, I would like to know how Catechist’s Journey can better serve you. Please take a minute and share your feedback and ideas in this brief but important survey. Your honest comments will help the wider catechetical community. Thank you. Click here to take the survey.
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