I was sitting at my desk after checking in on each of the faith formation classes. An aide from the first grade came into the office with a young boy. He had bright red hair, freckles, and a scowl that said he knew he was in trouble. The aide told me that she and the catechist had tried everything to get this boy to behave in class—time out, sitting with the aide, making sure they […]

Welcome to the final installment of our series on the three dimensions of catechist formation: Being, Knowing, and Doing, this time focusing on the dimension of Doing. When I was in college, I decided I wanted to become a teacher, and I wanted to teach religion at a Catholic high school. To achieve this, I double-majored in theology and history, and I also minored in education for the purpose of achieving a teaching certificate for […]

Some years ago, I was trying to make small talk with a little child who lived on my block and wandered over to say “Hi” to me as I was raking fall leaves. I asked him what he was going to be for Halloween, and he responded, “We don’t observe Halloween. It’s of the devil. We’re Christian.” He was clearly parroting something his parents had taught him. This was not the first time I had […]

Six African Americans are on the path to canonization as Catholic saints. Learn about these inspiring men and women of God through our Black Catholics on the Road to Sainthood activities pack. The pack includes video suggestions with the brief biographies of: Venerable Pierre Toussaint Servant of God Mother Mary Lange Venerable Henriette Delille Venerable Father Augustus Tolton Servant of God Julia Greeley Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman, FSPA After learning about these holy […]