2017 - Page 18 of 26 - Catechist's Journey

Giving Something Besides Money for First Communion

I’ve posted about this previously: when it comes to giving a child a gift to commemorate his or her reception of First Holy Communion, I propose that we do better than just putting money in a card! Of course, children are conditioned today to equate receiving money with the highest expression of generosity, and I realize that, by offering them some other gift, they may come to the conclusion that such a giver is “cheap.” Perhaps […]

A Different Approach for Letters to the Bishop for Confirmation

Joe Paprocki

During a trip I made last month to Jacksonville, FL, I had the pleasure of enjoying lunch with my friend and colleague Sean Williams (to my left) and two wonderful people, Deacon Jerry Turkowski (DRE) and Monina Mulleague (CRE), of San Juan del Rio Catholic Church in Jacksonville. Deacon Jerry and Monina recently adopted the Finding God program for their very sizeable parish and, over lunch, we discussed various aspects of evangelizing catechesis, and we […]

Celebrate the Joy of Jesus During the Easter Season

Joyce Donahue

The Easter season is a time of wonder and of joy, a time when we don’t want families to ditch church for baseball season and forget about Jesus’ big days! How can catechists help young people and families meet the Risen Jesus in ways that will engage them and deepen their relationship with him during this season? Here are a few thoughts. Extend a personal invitation to families to participate in the Easter Triduum and […]

Easter daffodils - photo by Tim Gouw on Unsplash

Easter Is a Season, Not One Day

Kathy Henry

For many Christians, Lent is a popular, longsuffering road culminated by one Sunday of celebrating the Resurrection of Christ. Yet we know that the liturgical season of Easter is, in fact, a 50-day journey. During the Easter season we hear of the excitement of the first Christians, the power of the Holy Spirit as the new Church developed, and the conversion of many to this new faith. Unfortunately, I find too many Catholics are unfamiliar […]

Stations of the Cross image by Steve Snodgrass under CC BY 2.0, via Flickr

Experiences Teaching Catholic Devotions

Denise Gorss

During my planning of sessions this year, it occurred to me that young people in our programs never get exposed to the Stations of the Cross or many other traditional Catholic devotions. Even when I include the Stations in my plan, I’m teaching what they are, not leading or praying them with the young people. Maybe I needed to think differently about my approach, so this year I decided to try praying the Stations of […]

child with parents on First Eucharist Day

The Parent Panel for Parent Meetings

Joe Paprocki

A few years ago, I posted about an approach I’ve been taking for parent sacramental prep meetings, particularly First Eucharist. Basically, I’ve been asking the catechetical leader to recruit four or five parents from the previous year’s First Eucharist class to form a panel that I can interview about their experience of bringing their children to the sacraments. I have had nothing but great success with this format as these parents eagerly give witness to […]

Piero della Francesca - "The Resurrection of Jesus Christ"

Easter Blessings

Joe Paprocki

As we celebrate this Easter Sunday, I extend my sincerest best wishes and prayers to all who enjoy the privilege of proclaiming the Resurrection of Jesus in the catechetical ministry. I hope you enjoy this special Easter reflection, part of our Arts & Faith series. For the transcript, an activity idea, and a related Ignatian reflection on this video, click here.

Visiting Churches on Holy Thursday

Joe Paprocki

As we enter into the three days we know as the Triduum—beginning with Holy Thursday—many Catholics will once again take part in an ancient ritual of visiting churches (the Visita Iglesia) after the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper—a local “mini-pilgrimage.” The Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper ends with a procession of the Blessed Sacrament, which is then placed in reposition (on a special altar) so that the faithful may remain in vigil until […]

Taking Children to Adoration

Barb Gilman

I teach at St. Margaret Mary School, and the students in grades five through eight participate in the first Friday devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. They witness the Blessed Sacrament being exposed in a monstrance for a day of Adoration. This year we just happened to have an all-school Mass on the first Friday of the month, and I realized that many of my students were unfamiliar with Eucharistic Adoration. I knew I […]

Passover Storytelling

Denise Gorss

In leading a lesson on the Last Supper and the Eucharist, I used most of my usual plan, inspired by Finding God, Grade 7, Chapter 16. And, as usual, I needed to pause in the discussion of the Last Supper to talk about the Passover. Because my group is preparing for Confirmation, three types of young people gather with me each week: those who haven’t been to religious education classes since First Eucharist and First […]