The Ignatian Key to Opening Doors of Faith – or – Going Contagious with Ignatius!

The theme for Catechetical Sunday (September 15, 2013) this year is…     It just so happens that St. Ignatius of Loyola holds the key to unlock and open the “Door of Faith!” St. Ignatius taught that the most effective way to persuade someone to your way of thinking is to “enter through their door but be sure to leave through your door.” What he means by this is that we need to make a connection between […]

Catechetical Sunday (9/15/13) – Open the Door of Faith

This year, the Church will celebrate Catechetical Sunday on September 15, 2013, and will focus on the theme “Open the Door of Faith.”  As always, and appropriately so, catechists will be called forth in their parishes to be commissioned for their ministry. Catechetical Sunday is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the role that each person plays, by virtue of Baptism, in handing on the faith and being a witness to the Gospel. Catechetical Sunday […]

Happy Catechetical Sunday!

On this Catechetical Sunday, my hopes and prayers are with all catechists and catechetical ministers as we seek to be agents of the New Evangelization! Personally, I’m marking the occasion here in Louisville, KY, where I spent a wonderful day with 100+ catechists and catechetical leaders yesterday exploring Catholic identity and strategies for more effective catechesis. Thanks to the good folks of Louisville for a wonderful experience!

Catechetical Sunday, September 16, 2012 – “Catechists and Teachers: Agents of the New Evangelization”

This Sunday, September 16, 2012, we celebrate Catechetical Sunday with the theme of “Catechists and Teachers: Agents of the New Evangelization.” With that in mind, I offer the following Catechetical Sunday reflection/homily which you can feel free to use in your own parish. Imagine that you’re looking to go on your dream vacation to an exotic place that you’ve never visited before in which people speak a different language. One way that I don’t recommend […]

Catechetical Sunday – September 16, 2012

I see that the theme for Catechetical Sunday this year is “Catechists and Teachers as Agents of the New Evangelization.” While not exactly one of the more poetically-phrased themes, it nonetheless touches on a crucial aspect of catechesis: the relationship between catechesis and evangelization. Be sure to take a look at the various resources available at USCCB.com.

What’s Up with Catechetical Sunday?

Alison writes: Hi Joe , could you please give me an explanation on why and when Catechetical Sunday was started and the role of catechists and the community as with regard to catechetical sunday? Here’s some good background on what Catechetical Sunday is all about and how it came about (I found this on the Web site for the Diocese of Fargo) – The third Sunday of September in the United States is celebrated as […]

Celebrating Catechetical Sunday in Mobile, Alabama!

I had the enjoyable privilege of celebrating Catechetical “Sunday” in Mobile, Alabama, today as guest speaker at their archdiocesan Catechist Celebration Day! As always, the Southern hospitality was extraordinary and I enjoyed meeting so many wonderful catechists, catechetical leaders, and youth ministers, not to mention the great folks from the archdiocesan office of Religious Education and Archbishop Rodi, who celebrated Mass with us and had lunch with a Q & A session with the DREs, […]

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