Last night, I gave a presentation to a small group of Confirmation students and their parents at a suburban Chicago parish. The kids sat as a group and the parents were scattered around them in the church. My presentation was on Living the Mass. I thought the kids were very well behaved and I complimented them on their behavior, especially after a very long day. Afterward, when talking to the DRE, I repeated that I […]
Last night, we had an extraordinary evening viewing a segment of Jesus of Nazareth. All of the 8th graders (5 classes) met in one of the parish “halls” – about 65 kids, 4 or 5 aides, and 5 catechists. Here are the details: the DRE had arranged the seating to form 5 “pods” so that each class was slightly separated from the others. This proved very helpful in keeping the kids focused and preventing them […]
I had a wonderful weekend meeting with about 450 catechists in Chicago (How ya doin?) and Austin, Texas (Howdy!)! At the Chicago Catechetical Conference on Friday, I spoke to a group of about 200 (mostly Catholic school teachers) about 5 steps to dramatically increase their students’ Bible IQ. I then jumped on a plane and flew to Austin, Texas to do a couple of workshops (about 125 at each one) on the Language of Mystery – […]
I enjoyed the morning at the Chicago Catechetical Conference at the Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont. I did a Bible workshop for about 200 Catholic school teachers, catechists, DREs, etc. We had a good time and it was great to strategize ways to build up our kids’ knowledge of the Bible. Now, I’m off to Austin, Texas, to speak at their Catechetical Conference on Saturday. The topic: The Language of Mystery! Have a great weekend!
I’m preparing for a presentation I will give at the Chicago Catechetical Conference this Friday morning – my topic is “5 Steps to Increase Your Students’ Bible IQ Dramatically.” Lo and behold, I find that the bishops at the Synod focusing on Scripture have something to say about the “secret” (I hate when they use that word!) for getting young people to read the Bible. Rather than the “secret,” I think what they are talking […]
In honor of Columbus Day, we have no religious education classes tonight, so I thought I would just mention a few odds ‘n ends. Over the past few days, I’ve received emails from catechists in Indonesia, the Philippines, and a number of states all over the U.S. It’s always amazing to realize just how much we catechists from all over the world share in common. Yesterday, my wife and I went to Mass at the […]
At this past week’s session, I focused on the question of “Who Is Jesus?” – a theme we will carry throughout the unit we are on. I played a recording of the song “Superstar” from the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar in which the very confused Judas asks the question: “Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, who are you what have you sacrificed? Jesus Christ, Superstar, do you think you’re what they say you are?” I talked about how […]
For the first 4 weeks of the program, I was working without an aide. Each time the DRE thought she had someone lined up, they would back out at the last minute. (Further evidence that recruiting catechists and aides is one of the hardest parts of the DREs job!). Finally, last night, I walked into class and there was my new aide. I broke into the biggest smile. Let me tell you why. 2 years […]
Like many Cubs’ fans, I’m sick over their most recent collapse. Now, I know that baseball is just a sport and I am in no way comparing the “suffering” of Cub’s fans to the real suffering that people face in life. However… We Cubs’ fans do suffer. Losing makes us sick. And, of course, the Catechism teaches us about illness and suffering: Illness and suffering have always been among the gravest problems confronted in human […]
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of meeting Lisa Hendey, founder and Webmaster of www.CatholicMom.com. She happened to be in Chicago and visited Loyola Press at the invitation of Sr. Julie Vieira, IHM, a member of our staff who blogs about being a nun in today’s world (www.ANunsLife.org). Lisa’s site celebrates Catholic motherhood and focuses on learning and sharing about topics related to faith and family. She has many resources that are of great value to catechists. I […]
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