Does Your Parish Have a Director of the Corporal Works of Mercy?

Joe Paprocki Leading a Parish Program

Recently, as I was searching for a video on the Corporal Works of Mercy, the following caught my eye. It is from St. Michael’s Church in Poway, CA, and features the pastor, Fr. John Dolan, introducing how the parish practices the Corporal Works of Mercy. Within the first few minutes of the video, we also meet Bridget Beas, who is the parish Director of the Corporal Works of Mercy.

First, I think it is fantastic that a parish took the time to put together such a thoughtful video for their website and other social media venues to let people know how the parish addresses the Corporal Works of Mercy and invite others to participate. We need to do a better job of illustrating what it means to be a member of the Church and of inviting people to participate in such ministries.

Second, I think it is quite impressive that the parish has a Director of the Corporal Works of Mercy! Would that all parishes moved in this direction as part of our adult and child faith formation! I have no idea if this is a paid position or not (It’s awesome if it is!), but I think it is a natural outgrowth of the Year of Mercy we have just completed.

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About Joe Paprocki 2742 Articles
Joe Paprocki, DMin, is National Consultant for Faith Formation at Loyola Press, where, in addition to his traveling/speaking responsibilities, he works on the development team for faith formation curriculum resources including Finding God: Our Response to God’s Gifts and God’s Gift: Reconciliation and Eucharist. Joe has more than 35 years of experience in ministry and has presented keynotes, presentations, and workshops in more than 100 dioceses in North America. Joe is a frequent presenter at national conferences including the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress, the Mid-Atlantic Congress, and the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership. He is the author of numerous books, including the best seller The Catechist’s Toolbox, A Church on the Move, Under the Influence of Jesus, and Called to Be Catholic—a bilingual, foundational supplemental program that helps young people know their faith and grow in their relationship with God. Joe is also the series editor for the Effective Catechetical Leader and blogs about his experiences in faith formation at www.catechistsjourney.com.

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1 Comment

  1. Totally awesome!!! What a wonderful introduction to their faith community AND a great example of what CHURCH really is. A video like this could be used instead of (or combined with) a parish”s ministry fair!

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