Assessing the Year of Faith Formation

Our year of faith formation has ended at my parish. It is both a happy and sad time for me as a catechist. I’m thrilled to see my class of third graders move on, but I’m also sad to see them go after our year together. Our DRE asks us catechists at the end of each year to commit to teaching again the following fall and allows us first choice on the grade level. Before […]

Planting a Spiritual Garden: Three Ways to Help Others Grow in Faith

Spring has finally arrived after another harsh winter in Green Bay. As I turn my attention to my garden, I marvel at the hardiness of the tulips I planted before the ground hardened in the fall. Their bright green sprouts remind me that spring is a time for new life and growth. Helping others cultivate their own spiritual garden is one of the most rewarding aspects of ministry; it is also one of the most […]

Conversing with Mary, Colloquy-Style

There is a wonderful gem hidden within the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius that has been a grace-filled gift to my prayer life. Early in the Exercises, Ignatius recommends a creative type of prayer known as the colloquy. A colloquy, as Ignatius describes, is a conversation that, “is made, properly speaking, as one friend speaks to another” (SE 54). At times this involves a series of three conversations beginning with Mary, continuing with Jesus, and […]

How I Came to Pray the Rosary

My earliest memory of a rosary was a string of plain stainless beads and crucifix that I had put around my neck. I was five. I still remember the look on my mother’s face. She was amused, but told me that wasn’t what a rosary was for. “It’s not a necklace?” I asked. “No,” she said. “It’s for prayer.” My grandmother had matching rosaries of clear crystal beads, one necklace-like, the other a spiral bracelet. […]

Singing as an Expression of Faith

It’s fascinating to note just how integral music and singing are to the world of spectator sports. Whether it is baseball, football, hockey, or basketball, sports fans (especially at the collegiate level) often support their teams by singing and chanting. As long as music and singing are present, there’s hope for your team. When the singing stops, you know your team is in trouble. And that’s when the grumbling begins. “Why’d they leave him in […]

Speaking to the Heart

Parishes report that Easter Sunday and Christmas Mass are the highest attended services of the year and our congregations are made up of people at many different places in their spiritual journeys. As ministers we have a whole litany of terms for people who do not attend Mass regularly: “Chreasters” and “Eastmasses” for those who attend Mass at Christmas and Easter and “PACErs” for those who attend services on Palm Sunday, Ash Wednesday, Christmas, and […]

There’s No Way Around the Cross

In this Sunday’s Gospel (the Fifth Sunday of Lent, John 12:20–33), Jesus predicts his death. But the point of this story is not to impress us with the accuracy of Jesus’ predictions. Rather, Jesus is making it quite clear that this is the way things have to happen, not only for him, but for us as well; there is no shortcut around the cross. In order to gain our lives, we must lose them. Jesus […]

Holy Thursday’s Hidden Graces

On Holy Thursday Jesus explains to his disciples that he will be leaving them: Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and as I told the Jews, “Where I am going, you cannot come,” so now I say it to you. (John 13:33) These are hard words to hear. Why would Jesus ever remove himself from our lives? And yet, we know from our own experiences that […]

The Spiritual Life of Catechists, Part 7: Devotion to Mary and the Eucharist

This is the seventh and final article in a series about the spiritual life of catechists, inspired by the list of characteristics in the National Directory for Catechesis. Did you know that the Virgin Mary is known as “mother and model of catechists?” Catechists are called to a special devotion to her because “[t]hrough her own special vocation, Mary saw the Son of God ‛grow in wisdom, in age and in grace’ (Lk 2:52). She […]

Remembering the Larger Story in Catechesis

As we near the midpoint of our catechetical year, we can begin to feel dragged out and even a little intimidated as catechists. We’ve come so far since the fall, and there is so much left to do. We can get so caught up in parish life that we feel overwhelmed and lose our focus on what moves us and inspires our ministry. We can forget that all of the activities, planning, and preparing we […]

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