Articles by Joe Paprocki

About Joe Paprocki
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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Intermediate Grades

Reviewing with the Bible Bookmarks

Joe Paprocki

As the kids enter the room tomorrow evening, I will have them immediately get to work finding some Scripture passages using the Bible Bookmarks (from my book The Bible Blueprint) and their bibles along with the following worksheet which you can feel free to use. Take note that page numbers are different for every edition which is why I cannot provide an answer key. Likewise, this activity will only work if all of the children are […]

Intermediate Grades

Reviewing the Rosary – Ave Maria

Joe Paprocki

At the beginning of class tomorrow, I’ll ask for a volunteer to step forward and to demonstrate how to pray the Rosary based on our experience from last week. I’m also going to do the following activity with them to introduce them to Schubert’s beautiful version of the Ave Maria and to expose them to a little bit of Latin, which is part of our heritage as Catholics. I will have the words of the […]

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Miscellaneous

Congratulations to My Son on His Marriage!

Joe Paprocki

A little time-out from catechetical stuff to celebrate life! On Saturday, my son, Mike, was married to the lovely Sarah Torpy at Christ the King Parish, in Chicago. Thanks be to God for the family and friends who made it such a wonderful celebration and for the great weather! Many blessings, Mike & Sarah!     Here I am with my wife Joanne, the newlyweds Sarah and Mike, and Sarah’s parents, Kristen and John.

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Intermediate Grades

I’m Out of Breath! Summary of 10/8/13 Session

Joe Paprocki

Wow! Did we accomplish a lot last night! I’m still out of breath just thinking about how the evening went because we really packed in a lot and finished just under the wire! Here’s a summary of the highlights and lowlights: The kids are doing a nice job on their homework assignments. Last night, 7 of 9 returned with their parents’ signature. 6 completed the assignment in its entirety (including one child with no parent […]

Intermediate Grades

Putting the Kids to Work

Joe Paprocki

A while back, I posted about a very good book I read – Dedication and Leadership (Douglas Hyde) – and how, back in the day, the Communist Party experienced success by employing strategies which included the following: putting demands on their own people (expecting a “heroic” response); deliberately and immediately sending new members into action; developing new leaders. Douglas Hyde, a convert from Communism to Catholicism, strongly recommended that the Catholic Church employ many of […]

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Comings & Goings

My Trip East – New York and Columbus

Joe Paprocki

Last week Thursday, my wife and I went out to a Chinese restaurant before I was to leave for a long weekend. My fortune cookie accurately predicted that I would be packing my bag and heading east although not quite as far as to be considered the “far East!” I spent Saturday in the Archdiocese of New York Catechetical Forum and Sunday and Monday in Columbus for the OCEA (Ohio Catholic Education Association) Conference and […]

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Intermediate Grades

“I Pray for All Those Affected by the Government Shutdown.” – 6th Grader Prayer Intention

Joe Paprocki

Who says that kids don’t know how to pray? Not me! Last evening, as part of our usual opening prayer, we shared prayer intentions (which I usually have the kids write down as soon as they enter the room). One young man shared the following:  “I pray for all those affected by the government shutdown.” Wow. There’s someone who is not only in touch with current events, but also knows that these are the kinds […]

teaching sixth grade
Intermediate Grades

Session 3 (10/1/13) – Bible Boot Camp and Intro to the Rosary

Joe Paprocki

For this evening’s session, I have two main things planned: complete the “Bible Basics Learning Stations” that we started last week introduce the Rosary as we begin the Month of the Holy Rosary (PowerPoint presentation) I’ve created a Mysteries of the Rosary Note-Taking Sheet for the young people to use during the PowerPoint presentation. It’s always a good idea to have students doing something so that they don’t think they are passively sitting back and being […]

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Miscellaneous

Winners of the Opening Doors Awards!

Joe Paprocki

Together with the National Catholic Partnership on Disability, Loyola Press congratulates St. Joseph’s Parish of Moorhead, Minnesota, and All Saints Parish of Dallas, Texas, winners of the inaugural Opening Doors Award. The Loyola Press Opening Doors Award honors a parish community that demonstrates inclusion and engagement practices that facilitate the meaningful participation of people with disabilities in all aspects of the parish community and the life of the Catholic Church. The award will be presented […]