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Catechetical Issues & Topics

Celebrating Catechetical Sunday

The theme for this year’s Catechetical Sunday is essential to our ministry as catechists: Safeguarding the Dignity of Every Human Person. As catechists, we are charged with this task in different ways. First, we are charged with safeguarding the dignity of those in our classes. We do this by treating each child with loving respect and by ensuring that each child has an opportunity to share his or her unique gifts and perspectives. In this […]

girl praying - caption: Three Ways to Turn Your Faith Formation Class into a Mini-Retreat
Approaches/Techniques

Three Ways to Turn Your Faith Formation Class into a Mini-Retreat

We live in such a highly-stimulated world, and no one experiences this more than our children. Their TV shows, movies, commercials, and even their school days are packed with flashes of images, sounds, and movement. This may create a sense that quiet and stillness is the worst possible environment. We know, however, that it is precisely in quiet and stillness that we are able to hear God whispering to our hearts. Only in quiet and stillness […]

woman reading to children - FrankyDeMeyer/iStock/Getty Images
Catechetical Leaders

Ministry Is…

What is ministry? It seemed a simple question, posed to me by a pastoral ministry student who was interning at our parish. I began thinking of an eloquent response describing the beauty and joy of being the hands of Christ and building the kingdom of God, but later that day I found myself standing in a blizzard directing cars away from the church for an event that was canceled at the last minute. That is […]

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Leading a Parish Program

Summer Planning for the DRE

As the weather gets warmer, the students are not the only ones who are restless! I love my ministry with passion, but the summer provides a wonderful opportunity to renew my programs as well as myself. During the year, in the midst of the hustle and bustle, I often cannot find time to discern what God is calling me to create in my ministry. I look forward to the summer for time and space to […]

Holy Spirit stained glass
Liturgical Seasons & Feasts

Four Ideas for Celebrating Pentecost

Pentecost has long been one of my favorite feasts in the liturgical year. Who doesn’t love a story with fire, wind, speaking in tongues, and a bold proclamation of the Gospel? Unfortunately, though, by the time Pentecost rolls around in the calendar, many of our religious education programs have ended and our creative energy switches off into summer mode. Why not instead use this exciting feast as a way to end the faith formation year […]

Sagrada Familia del pajarito (Holy Family) by Bartolome Esteban Murillo
Being a Catechist

Three Lessons Catechists Can Learn from St. Joseph

St. Francis of Assisi is often attributed as saying, “Preach the Gospel at all times. If necessary, use words.” This quote is very fitting for the life of another saint whose actions spoke louder than his words: St. Joseph, the foster-father of Jesus. In fact, St. Joseph does not say one word in the Gospels. Yet he speaks volumes. What can catechists learn from the life of this holy man? 1. Silence We tend to […]

word "fasting" on empty plate
Lent

Feasting While Fasting

When I was little, my mother would give up all sweets during Lent and Advent. As a dutiful Catholic child, I did as well. This practice led to many school snack times and birthday parties during which I would humbly decline the offer of cookies, cupcakes, and candy—careful not to be like the hypocrites who look gloomy or boast while they are fasting. Whenever I was tempted by the sugary treats, I would pray fervently, […]

St. John Bosco
Approaches/Techniques

Loving Students as St. John Bosco Did

There is one in every class: the challenging student who saps up your last ounce of patience. Several years ago as a student teacher, I pledged to myself to find one thing that I could love about this child in my class and found several: his fascinating knowledge of war history, his intricate creations of forts with building blocks, and how he would get so excited when someone showed interest in his make-believe wars that […]

stressed woman - photo by Alexander Dummer via Pexels.com
Leading a Parish Program

Three Bits of Advice for Catechists I Need to Follow Myself

Last year was my rock-star year: I graduated with my M.Div., moved to a new state, learned the ropes of ministering as a DRE in a parish with over 800 children, planned a wedding and got married, and recovered from a stress fracture in my foot which required me to wear a boot for several months way too close to my wedding day. I was unstoppable. Recently one of my catechists asked me how it […]