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 40 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.

Credit for Viewing Recorded Webinars

Joe Paprocki

As you know, all of my Webinars are recorded and archived here on my blog for easy access (see the Webinars tab at the top of this home page). Many catechists are able to apply the time spent participating in these Webinars toward their catechist certification. We, at Loyola Press, however, are unable to provide certificates for viewing recordings of Webinars. With that in mind, however, I have developed a form that dioceses might use so […]

A Father’s Day Message

Joe Paprocki

I’m not one to claim mystical experiences of hearing God talking to me (as in actually hearing a voice and spoken words) however, I have had a couple of moments in life when I felt that God tossed a few syllables my way. One such occasion occurred some years ago on Father’s Day. Now, let’s be honest, Father’s Day pales in comparison to Mother’s Day (a cookout and a new tie often are considered sufficient […]

Finding God: Our Response to God's Gifts program

Divine Pedagogy and the Catechetical Process

Joe Paprocki

Recently, someone asked me to share some thoughts about the theological underpinnings of the four-step catechetical process employed in the Finding God program. Here is how I replied. ( I think it summarizes succinctly the soundness of this process.) The catechetical process used in the Finding God program—engage, explore, reflect, respond—imitates how God teaches us. We call that the “Divine Pedagogy”—the method God uses to reveal himself to us. The process begins with God intervening […]

Jersey Joe

Joe Paprocki

Here are a couple of pics from my visit to Newark, NJ, last week, spending a couple of days with about 65 parish catechetical leaders reflecting on the 7 Keys to Spiritual Wellness. Thanks, folks, for a great experience! Here I am, back to the camera, participating in one of the beautiful prayer experiences they put together. And, here I am, participating in one of the […]

More About Meekness

Joe Paprocki

Back when the Beatles were in business, they occasionally wrote songs that they themselves thought of as “throwaways,” meaning that they didn’t really think much of the songs themselves and yet, often these songs turned out to be hits, resonating with their fans. I have to admit that occasionally, I consider some of my posts to be “throwaways” – something that I post because I can’t think of anything else at the moment and, it […]

Blessed Are the Meek: Redefining Meekness

Joe Paprocki

We don’t use the word meek too often nowadays. For me, the only time I heard this word when I was growing up other than in the Beatitudes (“Blessed are the meek”) was in the Wizard of Oz when Dorothy introduces herself to Oz, the great and powerful, as Dorothy, the small and meek. So, naturally, I grew up thinking that to be meek was to be the opposite of powerful: weak and powerless. If […]

The Visitation: Model for the New Evangelization

Joe Paprocki

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Visitation of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth. In this great story, we find a model for evangelization: fresh from her encounter with God, Mary swings into action (she went “in haste”), joyfully carrying (literally) the Word of God to others and being of service to someone in need. Mary’s visit to Elizabeth was not to brag about her new-found status as the Mother of the Savior. Mary did […]

Let’s Help a Colleague: Project Based Learning for Confirmation Prep

Joe Paprocki

I received the following email from Tom, telling me about his idea of doing a “project-based” approach to Confirmation preparation. Here’s how he describes it: Hi Joe, It was great to meet you in Winnipeg last month; your visit got me thinking about our parish’s catechetical confirmation prep. The candidates are in Gr. 9 (or as you folks say, ninth grade). I’m looking at implementing project based learning at the core of the […]

Come, Let Us Adore – Worldwide Eucharistic Adoration with Pope Francis

Joe Paprocki

One of the most loved and famous Christmas hymns is O Come All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles) and it’s great refrain: “O Come let us adore him!” To adore someone is to desire to devote all of your attention to him or her. It means to think of that person as being above all others and to admire his or her beauty. Catholics have a great tradition called adoration. For a good description of the practice […]

Finding God in the Ordinary – Seinfeld’s “Show About Nothing”

Joe Paprocki

The comedy Seinfeld was often known for being a show about “nothing.” When you think about it, the episodes rarely had a story line and yet, somehow, the series touched on some of the most recognizable human moments and experiences that occur in ordinary everyday life and caused us to laugh for 9 seasons. While so many TV shows “jump the shark” in search of profound story lines to engage the audience, Seinfeld’s genius was […]