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.
In this episode of Pop-Up Prayer, educator and author Fr. Kevin O’Brien, SJ, talks about the need to “keep it real” when it comes to our prayer. Fr. O’Brien practiced law and taught high school before joining the Jesuits in 1996. He has taught theology and spirituality at Georgetown University, Santa Clara University, and Fairfield University, and is the author of the award-winning book, The Ignatian Adventure: Experiencing the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius in Daily […]
One of the things that we learned from the experience of the pandemic over the last few years was how to assist parents at home with the faith formation of their children. This help often took the form of providing parents with digital resources they could use at home with their children, utilizing them when their schedules allow quality time for faith formation. First Eucharist is one of the primary moments in the life of […]
When the Church teaches us that the Eucharist is the “source and summit” of our lives, it reminds us that God alone, who is present in the Eucharist, is our source of fulfillment. Unfortunately, we often find ourselves seeking fulfillment “in all the wrong places.” For Catholics, receiving Communion is the ultimate acknowledgment that God is our source of fulfillment. In this episode of Pop-Up Catechesis, we explore the notion of the Eucharist as the […]
Pain is an unavoidable part of life, and the Gospel does not promise avoidance of pain but rather, a way through it. As catechists, we are inviting those we teach to enter into the Paschal Mystery, which is a journey through the pain, suffering, and Death of Jesus Christ that leads to new life in his Resurrection. It is a journey through pain to new life! With that in mind, I invite you to join […]
A huge part of evangelization is hospitality: the inviting and welcoming of people designed to put them at ease and to help them feel at home. For us Catholics, one of the major obstacles to our efforts at being more hospitable is making assumptions that people speak “churchese,” which, as the Urban Dictionary describes, is a language of “words that are common within the church setting and are familiar only to those who attend church.” […]
Whenever we recite the Nicene Creed, we say that we believe that God the Father is the creator “of all things visible and invisible,” which means that we believe in realities that exist beyond what the eye can see. Simply put, we believe, not only in the physical world, but also in the spiritual world. This means that we are called to be open to mystery. Unfortunately, our contemporary understanding of mystery does not do […]
Kathryn Bojczyk, Ph.D., suggests strategies to acknowledge the diverse cultures present in the classroom. Watch the below video for a preview of the strategies, and then read the full article that inspired the video: Recognizing and Appreciating the Cultural Diversity of Families.
Years ago, it was common for a young person to learn a trade by being apprenticed by someone who was a master in that trade. When it was published in 1997, the General Directory for Catechesis (#67) created some excitement by declaring that faith formation was to be understood as an apprenticeship. What does it mean to apprentice someone into the Catholic faith? To answer that, let’s look at the essentials of an apprenticeship: The […]
During the National Eucharistic Revival, let’s look at the parts of the Mass to reflect on what each part is calling us to do and be the other six days of the week. In this episode, we look at the Penitential Act, through which we acknowledge that we are sinners and ask for God’s forgiveness. We consider how the Penitential Act of the Mass calls us to embrace our brokenness and open ourselves up to […]
Did you talk about Christmas traditions with your group this year? Here, Julianne Stanz talks about two Irish holiday traditions. If Julianne’s Braving the Thin Places wasn’t in your stocking, get your copy here.
