Last week, I had the pleasure of sitting in on the Men’s Spirituality group at St. Barnabas parish. This initiative began as a follow up to the parish’s Men’s Christ Renews His Parish (CRHP) and meets once per month under the direction of the Associate Pastor, Fr. John Hetland. From what I’m told, different guys come and go but in general about a dozen gather each month. There was an enthusiastic group of 9 on […]
The Church of Mercy, Pope Francis’s first book detailing his vision for the Church, encourages each of us to ignite the flame within to help share the light of Christ and revitalize the Church. Ask any DRE and they’ll tell you that passionate catechists are the fuel to that flame. The Heart of a Catechist shares Pope Francis’s message that is directly focused on catechists and emphasizes their importance and value to the New Evangelization, […]
Here are some quality resources for catechetical leaders from my friend Tom Quinlan designed to help explore important aspects of catechetical ministry through the lens of evangelization. Equipping Catechetical Leaders to Deliver Evangelizing Faith Formation
A popular idea for engaging adults in faith formation is to invite parents of children in RE to some type of enrichment at the same time that their children are in class – another way to combat the “drop-off” mentality. These efforts are often met with mixed results. Some parishes have had success with this approach while others get only a handful of parents to stay. Part of the problem is that we are often […]
Let me start by emphasizing that service to others is a constituitive element of all faith formation, including adult faith formation (see the Six Tasks of Catechesis). With that in mind, I met last evening with 2 extraordinary gentlemen (both named Bill) from the St. Vincent de Paul Society at St. Barnabas parish in Chicago where I am exploring the ins and outs of adult faith formation. Both of these gentlemen are in their 70s and […]
I could use your help! I am trying to think of saints and blesseds who fit the following 3 characteristics: Saints and blesseds known for their undying enthusiasm and determination Saints and blesseds known for innovation in proclaiming God’s Word Saints and blesseds (especially lay people) who founded movements in the Church Please send me names and brief descriptions of which category they fit and why (see Leave a Reply below). Thanks!
The New Evangelization calls for presenting the Gospel with a new “ardor, methods, and expression.” I propose a new “expression” that would meet a pressing need in our faith formation programs: the “SHEEN SQUAD” to assist catechists with I.T. needs. It would be composed of teens/young adults who volunteer as aides for religious education programs to help catechists integrate technology into their sessions. The name, of course, mimicks the well-known “Geek Squad” which offers computer-related services […]
One of the most profound lessons I’ve learned in my experience as a catechetical minister is that the core message of the Gospel is not about simple character development (ala Chicken Soup for the Soul) but about radical realignment of our being. I was reminded of this notion by this Sunday’s Gospel about the Canaanite woman who begs Jesus to cure her daughter and perseveres in her request until Jesus, moved by her great faith, responds and […]
Please remember in your prayers our dear friend and co-worker here at Loyola Press, Linda Escamilla, who passed away today after a long illness. Linda served Loyola Press for 15 years in a number of capacities, all of which enabled her to tirelessly give of herself to others, making sure that everyone on staff had what they needed, from hot coffee to office supplies, to catered meals for important gatherings, to AA batteries that only […]
As we approach the start of a new catechetical year, I thought it would be helpful to pull together a number of resources I’ve made available on my blog and provide them in one place for your “one-stop shopping.” Just follow the links below to a number of resources that will assist you in getting started on the right foot. Supplies for your prayer table YouTube videos correlated to catechetical themes YouTube videos to lead […]
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