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Joys and Frustrations

How Old Do They Think I Am?

During last week’s class, as the kids were playing with the Play-Doh I had set out for them, I commented that, when I was a kid, I loved playing with Play-Doh. One of the boys asked, most sincerely without being a smart-aleck, “They had Play-Doh back then?” Ugh!  🙂

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Prayer/Guided Reflections

Leading Spontaneous Prayer, Part 3: You, Who, DO, Through

During our recent Webinar – Leading Prayer as a Catechist – we explored a formula to help us lead spontaneous prayer: remembering the words YOU, WHO, DO, THROUGH. Liturgical/Eucharistic prayer includes these 4 elements: YOU (we address God and praise him using divine titles), WHO (we describe the great things that God has done), DO (we pray for God to do something for us now), THROUGH (we pray to the Father, through his Son, Jesus, with the […]

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Joe's Comings and Goings

A Shout Out to Peoria!

Here’s a great big SHOUT OUT to the many wonderful catechists I met last night in Peoria, IL!!!  Peoria is about a 2 1/2 hour drive from the south suburbs of Chicago where I live so it was a very nice peaceful ride. A number of parishes banded together to gather over 80 catechists for a great night of enrichment that included a delicious dinner. I enjoyed the evening with you and look forward to […]

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Prayer/Guided Reflections

Leading Spontaneous Prayer, Part Two – You, WHO, Do, Through

During our Webinar – Leading Prayer as a Catechist – we explored a formula to help us lead spontaneous prayer: remembering the words YOU, WHO, DO, THROUGH. Liturgical/Eucharistic prayer includes these 4 elements: YOU (we address God and praise him using divine titles), WHO (we describe the great things that God has done), DO (we pray for God to do something for us now), THROUGH (we pray to the Father, through his Son, Jesus, with the […]

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Prayer/Guided Reflections

Leading Spontaneous Prayer – You, Who, Do, Through

During our Webinar – Leading Prayer as a Catechist – we explored a formula to help us lead spontaneous prayer: remembering the words YOU, WHO, DO, THROUGH. Liturgical/Eucharistic prayer includes these 4 elements: YOU (we address God and praise him using divine titles), WHO (we describe the great things that God has done), DO (we pray for God to do something for us now), THROUGH (we pray to the Father, through his Son, Jesus, with […]

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Creative Moments

Good Voices & Bad Voices

The most successful part of yesterday’s class was our discussion of which voices we should listen to in order to shape a good conscience and which voices we need to avoid or “erase” in order to avoid temptation. First, I brought in a mini-cassette recorder and passed it around so that each child could say something which they really enjoyed. I played it back and they all got a kick out of listening to themselves […]

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Intermediate Grades

God Asks Us to Obey

Here’s my plan for this coming Monday’s session: Monday, October 4, 2010 Theme: God Asks Us to Obey Big Idea: We shape and form our conscience so that we can know right from wrong and be faithful followers of Jesus Engage (15 mins) As kids enter, provide them with a small container of Play-doh and invite them to create a shape Opening prayer ritual Review of last session – show broken popsicle stick and rock […]

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Comings & Goings

Shout Out to Eastern Penn DREs!

These are just some of the happy faces at the 28th annual Eastern Pennsylvania DRE Gathering which took place over the past few days at the Golden Inn in Avalon, NJ. I was privileged to be the presenter for the event, offering 3 presentations over a couple of days, focusing on the theme of “Immersed in Christ – Proud to be Catholic.” What a wonderful event. Over 100 DREs gather for this formational and fun getaway […]

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Technology in Catechesis

I Need Your Input

For my next lesson, I plan to show my class some kid-friendly, Catholic Web sites where they can learn about the Catholic faith. I’m looking for Web sites that are appropriate for intermediate grade kids (grades 4-6), are interactive, and invite kids to learn about and practice the Catholic faith. I have a few in mind already, but I’d like to know what sites you know of and would recommend. I look forward to your […]

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Prayer/Guided Reflections

Leading Prayer Webinar

My next Webinar – Leading Prayer as a Catechist – is one week from today! Here’s the scoop: Leading Prayer as a Catechist Facilitator: Joe Paprocki, DMin Tuesday, October 5, 2010 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. (CST) Becoming a catechist is exciting and, let’s face it, somewhat intimidating! New catechists are eager to learn some basic teaching skills to help them gain confidence as they begin their service in this vocation. This Webinar will provide catechists, […]