Catechist's Journey

I’ve been talking the last few posts about helping those we teach to develop new habits, inspired by a book titled The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. One of the things the author talks about is the importance of people taking ownership of the process of developing new habits, beginning with the notion of [...]

Over the past couple of years, in an apparent effort to ensure orthodoxy of content, some Catholic dioceses in the United States have invested countless man hours and who knows how much money implementing lengthy and tedious processes to mandate a limited number of catechetical textbook series in their dioceses. This, despite the fact that [...]

In the wake of the horrendous shootings at an elementary school in Newton, Connecticut, I can only say that it sickens me to have to run this post again.  Just substitute “Newton, CT” for “Virginia Tech.”Please pray for the victims, the survivors, and their families. The shooting at Virginia Tech will be the “Columbine” for [...]

OK, friends, another colleague of ours has sent out a plea for help! This one comes from a catechetical leader named Steve. Please offer your advice, thoughts, comments, and questions in the box below under Leave a Reply and thanks in advance for so generously sharing your wisdom. Joe, Last year I had several problems with [...]

My friend and colleage Denise shared the following video (“Why Go to Mass?”) with me, from the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, for youth ministry. I see it as a refreshing take on the “Catholics Come Home” campaign because it comes across as less “triumphal”  and more inviting to those who are hesitant, doubtful, and hurting. (Love the “girly-men” [...]

I’m excited about the prospect of teaching 6th grade religious education next year! I’ve spoken to my DRE, Arlene, and she said that she would be happy to have me take a 6th grade slot come September. This will be the first time that I teach this age level as I continue to experience the [...]