Unforeseen Distractions

Interestingly enough, one of the problems that I ran into while walking my class through the Bible on Monday evening was the unforeseen distractions that occurred while they were reading aloud…and these distractions came from the text itself! What am I talking about? Here’s what I mean: Exodus 20:10 – “No work may be done then either by you….or by the alien who lives with you.” Had to pause and explain that this was not […]

On Second Thought…

Last evening’s session went OK, however, as I look back over my attempt to walk the young people through the Bible in preparation for the unit on Jesus, I’m having second thoughts about my approach. Frankly, I think it was a bit beyond them to explore so many Scripture passages (as outlined in my handout)  in one swoop. As brief as most of those passages are and as easy as I thought it would be […]

Setting the Stage for Jesus

For tonight’s class, my plan is to continue walking the young people through the story of salvation history in the Bible, setting the stage for the unit on Jesus that we are beginning. You may recall that two weeks ago (we were off last week for Columbus Day), I began walking them through the story of salvation history in the Bible and, because of a few interruptions (fire drill, etc.) only got as far as […]

Chicago to Portland to Evergreen Park!

Tomorrow, Friday, October 16, I will be speaking at the Chicago Festival of Faith on the topic of the Catechetical Message of Scripture. Then, it’s off to Portland, OR, for their Catechetical Conference at which I will deliver the keynote address and offer a workshop, both relating to The Catechist’s Toolbox. And then, of course, it’s back home for Monday evening’s session of religious education with my 8th graders! I hope to finish walking the […]

How to Pray a Living Rosary

October, of course, is the month of the Holy Rosary, a great opportunity to introduce young people to the devotion of praying the Rosary. Many parish schools and religious education programs have a “living Rosary” during October and the question often comes up, “How do you pray the living Rosary?” Here are sites that offer explanations and descriptions of praying a Living Rosary: The Living Rosary: Bring the Rosary to life for your Students Find […]

Catholic Athletes for Christ

No class tonight because of Columbus Day. I was thinking yesterday that it will be unusual to have a Monday night off. Then, I was looking at the Chicago Blackhawks’ schedule and saw that they are playing a home game tonight and I thought to myself that it’s unusual for the Hawks to play a home game on a Monday night…but at least I’d be home to watch the game on TV.  Then, at 10 pm last […]

Ohio Catholic Education Association

Cincinnati, here I come! I’m privileged to have the opportunity to do a couple of workshops at the Ohio Catholic Education Association conference in Cincinnati this week. I’ll be speaking on The Catechist’s Toolbox and Living the Mass. In the meantime, I’d love to hear from you about how your first few weeks of teaching are going! Send in your comments.

A Walk Through the Bible

For last night’s class, I did my best  to walk the young people through the Bible. Unfortunately, as happens, we had some interruptions (a fire drill and a time out to have the kids sign a banner for the Year of the Priest) so in the end I only had about 40 minutes to teach…I got as far as getting the Jewish people out of Egypt and across the Red Sea and ran out of […]

The Story of the Bible in a Nutshell

I’ve decided that, since we’ll have no class next Monday (Columbus Day) and that when we return, we jump right into a unit on Jesus Christ, tonight will be a good night to do an overview of the Bible with my 8th graders, taking them through the story of salvation history that culminates with Jesus Christ. Click here for an outline of passages that tell the narrative of the story of salvation history in a chronological sequence […]

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