I had a wonderful weekend meeting with about 450 catechists in Chicago (How ya doin?) and Austin, Texas (Howdy!)! At the Chicago Catechetical Conference on Friday, I spoke to a group of about 200 (mostly Catholic school teachers) about 5 steps to dramatically increase their students’ Bible IQ. I then jumped on a plane and flew to Austin, Texas to do a couple of workshops (about 125 at each one) on the Language of Mystery – […]
Like many Cubs’ fans, I’m sick over their most recent collapse. Now, I know that baseball is just a sport and I am in no way comparing the “suffering” of Cub’s fans to the real suffering that people face in life. However… We Cubs’ fans do suffer. Losing makes us sick. And, of course, the Catechism teaches us about illness and suffering: Illness and suffering have always been among the gravest problems confronted in human […]
I had a wonderful weekend in New York, visting with catechists at the NY Catechetical Convocation in White Plains on Saturday. The room had a capacity for 135 but folks kept streaming in, standing along the walls or sitting on the floor to join in on our conversation around the theme of “So What? Why Do We Have to Know This?” I picked that title to capture critical question that young people are asking us […]
This past Saturday, I was in Greenville, South Carolina, doing a workshop for about 100 catechists on the topic of my book, The Catechist’s Toolbox. WOW! These folks went all out with the toolbox theme!!! We had a wonderful day taking a closer look at how we can be more effective as catechists. My deepest thanks to the wonderful people who organized and hosted the event and a great big SHOUT OUT to all of […]
Yesterday, I had the wonderful opportunity to enjoy a family reunion with nearly 50 relatives, many of whom I hadn’t seen in years. We picnicked and shared memories, telling stories from back in the day. I came away with a very deep sense of knowing that my life is taking place within the context of a very loving family and for this I am deeply grateful. I know that so many of those we teach […]
Thanks to the folks at Good News Daily for providing the following positive review of my new book, A Well-Built Faith! New Book Helps Catholics Nail Down the Facts of Their Faith CHICAGO, (Christian Newswire) – The Catechism of the Catholic Church is over nine hundred pages long, so it comes as no surprise that many Catholics think of their faith as complex–and certainly too complex to share with others! In A Well-Built Faith: […]
What an amazing world we live in that a catechist in North America (me) can somehow connect with a potential catechist in Australia, some 10,000 miles away! I received the following comment from a prospective catechist in Australia after she viewed my catechist recruitment video. Joe, Viewed your video clip as I am considering the call to become a catechist in my Parish in New South Wales Australia.As you would be aware we have just […]
I spent a good chunk of Saturday with about 30 catechists at St. Paul the Apostle parish in Gurnee, IL, not far from the Wisconsin border. The catechists were from 3 or 4 parishes within the area and they were there for a catechist certification module on the theological foundations of catechesis (10 hours, spread over 2 Saturdays). We had a very productive day, looking at the vocation of the catechist, the ministry of catechesis, […]
I’m proud to announce that I will be authoring “What’s Your Catholic IQ?” – a regular feature of Catechist Magazine, beginning with the September, 2008 issue! This feature – 20 multiple choice questions (and insightful answers) about all aspects of our Catholic faith – is a self-assessment for readers’ fun and enlightenment. For years, this popular feature has been written by Page McKean Zyromski. I’m honored to be following in her footsteps to provide this […]
At my D. Min. graduation ceremony Saturday, I had a brief moment with Cardinal Francis George after he handed me my diploma and we waited for the photographer to snap a picture. After we shared greetings and pleasantries, we enjoyed the following exchange: Joe: “So, I’ll see you again this Tuesday night at the Catechetical Ministries Awards Banquet.” Cardinal George: “Oh, that’s right.” Joe: “After all, I am a catechist. And that’s more important than […]
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