2007 - Page 5 of 21 - Catechist's Journey

Next Session: The Cross of Jesus / The Rosary

Tomorrow I’m off to Milwaukee for their Lifelong Faith Formation Conference…I’m presenting a session on the Old Testament. I did a quick look ahead to this coming Monday’s session and I find that we will be focusing on the Cross of Jesus and our understanding of suffering. Our textbook points out the fact that vivid portrayals of the Crucifixion did not become commonplace until Middle Ages when suffering was so prevalent in the lives of […]

Tough Crowd!

Joe Paprocki

Remember how Rodney Dangerfield would always use the line, “tough crowd, I tell ya, tough crowd”? Kevin Dooley via Compfight Well that’s how I felt after last night’s class! The kids were pretty wired for some reason. I think it had to do with the fact that they had the day off from the school district and spent the day at the mall drinking slurpies (sugar) and Pepsi (caffiene)! Having a fire drill 15 minutes […]

Catholics are Environmentalists

Joe Paprocki

What does the environment have to do with being a Catholic catechist? Plenty! The Catholic Conservation Center reminds us that “long before the current ecological movement developed, saints taught respect for all of God’s Creation.” The Center goes on to say: Since its inception, the Church has instructed us on the proper dominion and stewardship of Creation. This wisdom is made known to us through sacred Scripture, the living Tradition of the Church, the message […]

It's All About Jesus!

Joe Paprocki

On my train ride this morning, I saw a marquee for a church that announced, “It’s All About Jesus!” I realized right then and there that this is the theme of my class this upcoming Monday evening! We’re beginning the unit on Jesus and, in essence, focusing on the notion that, for us Christians, it’s all about Jesus. By the way, in my last class, one of my students asked, “what’s the difference between Catholics […]

Rice Lake, Wisconsin

Joe Paprocki

Greetings to all the good folks up in Rice Lake, Wisconsin! I was up there Tuesday and Wednesday for the Diocese of Superior Fall Conference, doing a couple of workshops on “Teaching to Generation Me.” Some of you may recall that a few months back, I did a series of posts on a book titled “Generation Me” by Jean Twenge, M.D. and offered some thoughts on how catechists can respond to the unique challenges this […]

October – The Month of the Holy Rosary

Joe Paprocki

Let’s not forget that October is the Month of the Holy Rosary. I’ve spent some time on previous posts talking about reflective prayer, aka, meditation. The Rosary is a unique form of meditation for Catholics. By focusing on the mysteries – events in the lives of Jesus and Mary – we encounter the Lord in a special way, through the intercession of Mary. It occurs to me now that praying the Rosary with my 8th […]

The Diary of a Long-Suffering Cubs' Fan

Joe Paprocki

Please permit me a day off from being a catechist (we have no class tonight…Columbus Day) so that I can share my reflections on the demise of the 2007 Cubs. Alas, Lucy has pulled the football away from Charlie Brown once again, just when we thought that maybe, just maybe, this will be the time that he’ll finally get to kick that ball! Don’t we know any better? Like Jeremiah, we Cubs’ fans are lamenting (and […]

Peer Observation

Joe Paprocki

I think that one of the most effective ways to grow as a catechist is to be able to observe another catechist in action. I learn a lot by watching the techniques that other catechists use as well as observing the rapport that they develop with their students. Of course, arranging peer observation is not easy. For many of us, the only time that other catechists are teaching is when WE are teaching. That doesn’t […]

Prayer is NOT "E.T. Phone Home"

Joe Paprocki

For last Monday’s session, as we were focusing on the nearness of God, I began by showing a 5-minute clip of the movie E.T. (The Extra Terrestrial). The clip is the very beginning of the movie that shows how E.T. gets left behind on earth. Most of the kids had seen the movie before so, after a little trip back to their early childhood, I asked them to summarize the plot of the movie. Simply […]

Congratulations, 8th Graders…You Just Meditated!

Joe Paprocki

Last night saw great improvement in the kids’ behavior and ability to participate more maturely in reflective prayer (meditation). By the way, one of the boys asked at the outset of class, “Are we gonna pray again like last week?” I got a kick out of that because he was one of the kids who had trouble being still the previous week, although he was not a problem per se. I think he enjoys the […]