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90 Participating in Year of Mercy Small Faith Groups

Earlier this month, my parish, Christ the King, began hosting six small faith groups with 90 total participants gathering weekly for four weeks to reflect on Scripture passages related to the Year of Mercy. Two of the groups are being led by our Associate Pastor, Fr. Matt Litak, while the other four are being led by parishioners, including me. Two of the groups are meeting in the rectory, three are meeting in homes, and one—my group—is meeting in the […]

A New Commandment and the Year of Mercy

Joe Paprocki

In the Gospel for this Sunday, Jesus gives his disciples and us the New Commandment. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34–35, NIV). So what is “new” about this commandment? The duty of loving neighbors is grounded in the Old Testament and had been at […]

Five Ideas for Including the Year of Mercy in the Classroom

Shannon Chisholm

After my first year working as the Director of Faith Formation, I realized that I had spent very little time focusing on Christian service with my students. Though service has been a great influence on my own faith, with our calendar already packed with so much curriculum to cover, service seemed like something extra—something nice to have if we could find the time. The Year of Mercy, however, offers catechists a unique opportunity to be […]

Bringing the Year of Mercy to Fifth Graders and Their Parents

Joe Paprocki

As I’m sure you know by now, Pope Francis has declared an extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, which will begin December 8, 2015, and last until November 20, 2016, the Feast of Christ the King. As I’ve described here before, mercy can be understood as treating people like they are one of the family. With that in mind, I am happy to announce that I will be working with two outstanding catechists at St. Cajetan Parish […]

Third Sunday of Lent, Year A: Mercy Without Limits

Joe Paprocki

In this Sunday’s Gospel (John 4:5–42), the dialogue between Jesus and a woman from Samaria is among the most lengthy and most theological found in Scripture. The most startling aspect of the conversation is that it happens at all. Jesus, an observant Jew of that time, was expected to avoid conversation with women in public. The animosity between the Jews and the Samaritans should have prevented the conversation as well. The woman herself alludes to […]

Year of Faith Retreat – Week 3, Day 3: First-Aid (The Works of Mercy)

Joe Paprocki

WEEK THREE: The Moral Life (Life in Christ) DAY 3: First-Aid (The Works of Mercy) What would you expect to find in a typcial first-aid kit? No doubt bandages, antiseptics, pain relievers, burn ointment, and so on. What would you include in a spiritual first-aid kit? The fact is, we provide first aid for people when they have an urgent physical need. Some physical needs that people have are ongoing and are not the result of a medical emergency. […]

Year of Faith Retreat – Week 3, Day 1: Before They Were Famous (Human Dignity, Sin, and Mercy)

Joe Paprocki

WEEK THREE: The Moral Life (Life in Christ) DAY 1: Before They Were Famous (Human Dignity, Sin, and Mercy) httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWmZ98dOEEA Every so often, on the Internet, you come across these fun features that show pictures of celebrities when they were young – before they were famous – and ask you to guess their identity. Try your hand at some of these. Recognizing someone’s true identity can be challenging. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells a parable […]

Preparing for the Jubilee Year of 2025: Pilgrims of Hope

Joe Paprocki

Pope Francis has announced that the Church will celebrate a Jubilee Year in 2025, with the theme of “Pilgrims of Hope.” In preparation for the Jubilee Year, Pope Francis is asking Catholics to prepare by dedicating time in the following manner: 2023: Study the documents of the Second Vatican Council. 2024: Focus on prayer. Now that 2023 is upon us, we would do well to turn our attention to the documents of the Second Vatican […]

Resources for Putting Parents First During the Catechetical Year

Joe Paprocki

Whenever we fly somewhere and listen to the instructions from the flight attendants, we are reminded that, if there is a sudden drop in pressure and the oxygen masks come down, adults should put their own masks on first and then assist their children in doing so. The logic is simple: adults will be needed to assist young people throughout the crisis and beyond. We need to take the same approach to our faith formation. […]

9-11 Tribute in Light - photo by Jesse Mills on Unsplash

9/11 Twenty Years Later: The Importance of Remembering Even When It Hurts

Joe Paprocki

The notion of “forgive and forget” sounds nice, but the forgetting part is not realistic and, more importantly, it’s not healthy. Remembering is an important part of our spirituality. Presently, as a country, we are remembering the events of September 11, 2001, as we mark the 20th anniversary of this tragedy. We remember, not in order to hold on to anger and hatred, but as a way of honoring those who died and as a […]