I’m pretty excited about this one! I want to do something to reinforce the Ten Commandments as we move in to this last unit on Morality. I also want to place more responsibility on the kids now that they are confirmed, so that they sense a difference between how I taught them before Confirmation and how they are learning now. As a result, I’ve come up with something I call The Ten Commandments Two-Minute Drills! […]
I’m honored that Loyola Press has translated 3 of my books into Spanish! I’ve always had a deep affection for the Hispanic community, having grown up in a part of Chicago that became increasingly Hispanic as my formative years progressed. Over the years, I picked up only a few phrases in Spanish to help me serve Spanish-speaking customers in my Dad’s drugstore. So, you can be sure that I am not the person who translated […]
I was recently made aware of a very nice review of my book Living the Mass (co-authored with Fr. Dom Grassi) by Jen at Happy Little Homemaker. Thanks Jen! This Sunday is the Fourth Sunday of Lent. Be sure to take a look at The Sunday Connection for ideas about how to break open the Word for this Sunday. You’ll also find the following there: The Fourth Sunday of Lent is traditionally called Laetare Sunday. […]
I had the pleasure of enjoying a business lunch the other day with colleagues and friends to talk about the challenges and opportunities that Anglos encounter when catechizing in Latino culture. My Loyola Press colleague, Santiago Cortés-Sjöberg, is preparing to do a workshop on this topic at the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership in Las Vegas in April (I will also be speaking at this conference, but on a different topic…I was along for the fellowship […]
We had a very nice class last night with 8 of 10 students present for their first class session after Confirmation (and the DRE received calls explaining the 2 absences). The kids had a very pleasant attitude about Confirmation…they seemed genuinely proud and there was no resentment about being back in class – the message had been conveyed that Confirmation is not the end! The post-confirmation guided reflection went very nicely! Several of the other […]
Congratulations to all of the 8th graders who were Confirmed yesterday, including my class of 10 students! I pray that they will feel the abundant graces of the Holy Spirit and the Gifts of the Spirit, flowing in and through them all the days of their lives! As promised, I put together a guided reflection that I’m going to use tonight to help the young people reflect on yesterday’s experience. I think this will give […]
This Sunday, my 8th graders will celebrate their Confirmation! I look forward to the opportunity to participate in this wonderful celebration and to witness the completion of their Christian Initiation, knowing that I had a hand in bringing them to this day. Thank you Jesus! On this coming Monday evening, we cross our fingers and hope that they all come back for class! Luckily, the DRE has established a culture over the years that expects […]
Thanks to Jennifer Schneider, Director of Faith Formation, and her staff at St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church in New Prague, MN, for alerting me to the fact that I made a big boo-boo on question #1 of the What’s Your Catholic IQ? in the current issue of Catechist Magazine. Here’s her email: Joe We are having a bit of a dilemma here at our office around a question in the Catechist Magazine catholic IQ. The question […]
You probably haven’t come across too many Lenten jokes, but here’s one that I enjoy! A bartender notices that every evening, without fail, one of his patrons orders three beers. After several weeks of noticing this pattern, the bartender asks the man why he always orders three beers. The man says, “I have two brothers who have moved away to different countries. We promised each other that we would always order an extra two beers […]
I spent a wonderful day with about 75 catechetical leaders in Detroit today at a gathering sponsored by the Detroit Society of Catechetical Leaders. We talked about A Well-Built Faith and how we can help our catechists (and those they teach) to be able to grasp their faith and be able to talk about it with greater ease. Thanks for your hospitality and best wishes to all of you in the Detroit Archdiocese!
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