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!
Greetings from Detroit where I’m spending the morning with the Detroit Society of Catechetical Leaders talking about A Well-Built Faith! Luckily I did not have to miss one of my Monday night sessions with my 8th graders since yesterday, March 1, was Casimir Pulaski Day in Illinois, a state holiday, so we had no class. This coming Sunday is Confirmation and for once, I have the opportunity to actually attend the Confirmation Mass to see […]
Now that we are into our second full week of Lent, I thought it would be good to pause and take stock of our efforts to practice the Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Take a moment to complete the poll below and, remember, you’re welcome to send me a confidential email once per week to let me know in more detail how you are doing with your Lenten practices and I’ll respond personally. […]
My friend and colleague Denise, who is also a catechist, has drawn my attention to a creative Website named Catholic Icing, run by Lacy a wife and mother who dabbles in Catholic art. One great idea in particular that Lacy shares is a Stations of the Cross Box. As we head into the 2nd Sunday of Lent, here’s a reminder to check the following: Sunday Connection for 2nd Sunday of Lent, year C Recording of […]
I had the pleasure of attending an evening of reflection at the McDonough Chapel of Saint Xavier University last night to listen to Dr. Barbara Reid, OP, Professor of New Testament Studies, Vice President, and Academic Dean at the Catholic Theological Union at Chicago. Barbara did a wonderful job of helping us to reflect on the meaning of the Cross of Jesus, very appropriate for the Lenten season. She talked about how most people will respond to […]
My friend and colleague, Santiago Cortés-Sjöberg, is doing a presentation at NCCL in April titled Latino Culture and Catechesis 101 and he is interested in hearing from catechists and catechetical leaders who have experience ministering to and catechizing Latinos to talk about the unique challenges and opportunities involved. If you have such experience, would you be willing to take a few moments to compose an email to send to Santiago to share some thoughts about your experiences […]
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