October 2015 - Catechist's Journey

Celebrating National Bible Week: November 15–21, 2015

Since the Second Vatican Council and the issuing of Dei Verbum (the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation) 50 years ago, there has been an explosion of renewed interest in Scripture among Catholics. Against that backdrop, it’s exciting to know that Catholics will observe National Bible Week in the United States, November 15–21, 2015. This is a great opportunity for your parish to promote reading, studying, and praying with Scripture. The USCCB has put together a number of […]

Grace in My Role as a Catechetical Leader

Paul Gallagher

Grace is such a packed topic for a blog post; I realized that I would have to narrow things a bit. So, I turned to the Catechism, and found my focus in Paragraph 2004: “Among the special graces ought to be mentioned the graces of state that accompany the exercise of the responsibilities of the Christian life and of the ministries within the Church: Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, […]

Parent Reconciliation Gathering

Joe Paprocki

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is like receiving an embrace from God, but too many Catholics fear the sacrament because they don’t understand it. When we invite parents to a meeting before their children receive First Reconciliation, we have an opportunity to help adults learn more about the sacrament. Use this opportunity to encourage parents and invite them to come to confession when their children do and be embraced by God. To help you do this, […]

young girl praying - text: Introducing young people to lectio divina and guided reflection

First Experiences with Two Forms of Prayer

Denise Gorss

One of my favorite parts of teaching religious education is introducing young people to various forms of prayer. In addition to starting sessions with three traditional prayers—the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the Glory Be to the Father—I’ve led them in lectio divina and guided reflection. When I mentioned to another catechist that I was doing lectio divina with seventh graders, she questioned how that worked, unsure that the technique was one young people […]

Recruiting Responders for Adult Faith Presentations and Parish Missions

Joe Paprocki

If you’ve been following Catechist’s Journey for a while, no doubt you’ve read my lament that one of the mistakes we make in adult faith formation is that we assign participants a passive role: we bring in a speaker to do a presentation, perhaps open it up for some Q & A, and call it a night. One way to ensure that there are more voices being heard than the guest speaker is to recruit several […]

A Week with Jesus: Making the Examen More Intentional

Eric Gurash

The Daily Examen or Awareness Examen is a reflective, prayerful spiritual practice that comes to us from the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Its simple premise—that we can with practice become more consciously aware of God’s activity in our lives—makes it a great prayer for young and old. If you’re looking for a fun, interactive way to introduce young people to this wonderful spiritual practice, consider taking up the following challenge for a […]

Heaven Is in the Details

Lisa Brown

One Sunday, as I was preparing my classroom for the arrival of my second graders, the popular saying “The devil is in the details” came to mind. I seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time preparing for my class and attending to every little detail. I noticed that I began to worry: Is my prayer space too busy? Will the children understand my explanation of the day’s Gospel reading? Will my craft backfire? I […]

The Examen in Catechetical Programs

Paul Gallagher

Several years ago, I became acquainted with Ignatian spirituality, and over time, incorporated many of the key components of this spirituality into my daily living. Although I’m certainly not an expert, I have learned enough so as to feel comfortable weaving such topics as the Examen into our programs. There are five key components to the Examen, a daily review of how the day went. Become aware of God’s presence. Even first graders are leading […]

Service Within the Context of Faith and Discipleship

Joe Paprocki

More and more, I am finding that many parishes have numerous adults involved—under the radar, in many respects—in giving service to others. On a weekly basis, folks are visiting/staffing food pantries, homeless shelters, soup kitchens, and so on. They are preparing sandwiches, folding clothing donations, and delivering meals to people. All of this is wonderful. However, we are not doing enough to help people see their efforts through the lens of faith. There are numerous […]

Viewing Oprah’s “Belief” Series From a Catholic Perspective

Joe Paprocki

Beginning this Sunday, October 18, 2015 (8 p.m. ET/PT), a worldwide phenomena of sorts will take place as Oprah Winfrey launches a seven-night event, Belief, on the OWN network. This series will explore humankind’s ongoing search for connecting with something greater than ourselves. It is part of Oprah’s ongoing quest to have a conversation on the topic of spirituality. No doubt, Oprah’s Belief series will be the topic of water-cooler conversations in the week to […]