A Shout Out to Des Moines, IA

Recently, I had the pleasure of doing a day-long presentation on A Church on the Move: 52 Ways to Get Mission and Mercy in Motion for the Diocese of Des Moines, IA. The event was sponsored by the Catechetical Leaders Association of the Diocese of Des Moines (CLADD) and was attended by about 80 pastoral ministers: pastors, deacons, catechetical leaders, youth ministers, diocesan personnel, and parish staff members. Thanks to John Gaffney, Director for the […]

A Shout Out to Baltimore Catechetical Leaders!

I had the privilege of leading a retreat for catechetical leaders from the Archdiocese of Baltimore earlier this week. In addition to being with such nice folks for a couple of days, we were located in Ocean City, MD, right on the ocean! What a blessing! Here’s a picture of the great folks I enjoyed my time with.

A Different Approach for Letters to the Bishop for Confirmation

During a trip I made last month to Jacksonville, FL, I had the pleasure of enjoying lunch with my friend and colleague Sean Williams (to my left) and two wonderful people, Deacon Jerry Turkowski (DRE) and Monina Mulleague (CRE), of San Juan del Rio Catholic Church in Jacksonville. Deacon Jerry and Monina recently adopted the Finding God program for their very sizeable parish and, over lunch, we discussed various aspects of evangelizing catechesis, and we […]

On the Road with Joe: The Diocese of Wilmington, DE

When I travel, I typically make all of my own arrangements for flight, hotel, and rental car. Recently, however, I traveled to the East Coast to do a presentation for the Diocese of Wilmington, DE, and my colleague and friend Paul Gallagher, the Loyola Press Educational Consultant for the region, told me that it would make sense for him to pick me up at the airport and drive the three-hour trip to our hotel and […]

On the Road with Joe: Shout-Outs to Cincy and Jacksonville

It’s been a very busy month for traveling and will continue to be so through the end of the month. Recently, I had the privilege of doing presentations in Cincinnati, OH, and Jacksonville, FL. In Cincy, we focused on “9 Ways to Transform Hearts and Minds,” drawing from my book Under the Influence of Jesus, while in Jacksonville, I spoke to 800+ Catholic school teachers about “A Catholic Way of Proceeding,” drawing from my book […]

L.A. Religious Education Congress 2017

Another LAREC—Los Angeles Religious Education Congress—is in the books and, as always, it was a phenomenal experience to be with over 40,000 brothers and sisters in Christ, all of whom were fired up for the mission of proclaiming God’s word to all people. It was an honor and a privilege to give two presentations to a total of nearly 1000 participants, and I was fed and nourished by the breakout sessions I attended (especially those […]

On the Road with Joe: Mid-Atlantic Congress 2017

Last week, I had the pleasure of presenting at the Mid-Atlantic Congress in Baltimore and enjoyed spending time with several hundred of my best friends exploring ways to do catechesis more effectively in a rapidly-changing world. We specifically looked at a number of strategies outlined in my book, A Church on the Move: 52 Ways to Get Mission and Mercy in Motion. Thanks, friends, for all of the wonderful work that you do proclaiming the […]

On the Road with Joe: St. Damian, Oak Forest, IL

From time to time, in the Chicago area, I enjoy the privilege of spending time with an entire parish staff to talk about ways to renew parish life, especially faith formation. Recently, I enjoyed spending a few hours with the pastoral staff at St. Damien Parish in Oak Forest, IL. Fr. Joe Noonan, the pastor, and Frieda Bertello, the Director of Ministry, invited me to spend some time with them brainstorming and discussing some of […]

A Church on the Move in Youngstown, Ohio

I had the pleasure recently of spending a day with about 100 pastoral ministers—pastors, pastoral associates, catechetical leaders, youth and young adult ministers, and deacons—in the Diocese of Youngstown, Ohio, looking at what it means to be A Church on the Move. My thanks and appreciation go out to Bishop George Murry, SJ, and the diocesan staff: Barbara Walko, Tom Sauline, Cindee Case, Mary Fiala, and Adrienne Curry. Also, a special shout-out to my friend […]

Following in the Footsteps of St. Ignatius of Loyola

As you read this, I am enjoying the privilege of being on a pilgrimage with a number of people from Loyola Press to Spain and Rome. We’ll follow in the footsteps of the founder of the Jesuits, St. Ignatius of Loyola! While on this sacred journey, I will be attempting to stay “off the grid” as much as possible. Thus, my posts for the next couple of weeks were pre-written before my trip, and I […]

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