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.

Pop-Up Catechesis: Spiritual Receptivity

Joe Paprocki

Being proactive and taking the initiative are good things. In fact, the late author Stephen Covey considered proactivity as one of his 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Unfortunately, this line of thinking often creeps into our spiritual lives, fooling us into thinking that we can take the initiative and be proactive in our relationship with God, when, in truth, spirituality is all about receiving. God takes the initiative to reach out to us, and […]

How to Be a More Evangelizing Catechist (Video)

Joe Paprocki

The below video introduces nine strategies we learn from the kerygma—the first proclamation of the Gospel by the Apostles to people who had not yet encountered Christ—that we can use in our faith formation to be more evangelizing catechists. For details on these strategies, read Preparing Hearts and Minds: 9 Simple Ways for Catechists to Cultivate a Living Faith.

Poll Question: Service Projects

Joe Paprocki

One of my favorite parts of the current Directory for Catechesis is its reference to what it calls, “catechesis in action,” referring to the inclusion of service and works of mercy in the faith formation curriculum. “It becomes ever clearer that here is no proclamation of the faith if this is not a sign of God’s mercy. The practice of mercy is already itself an authentic catechesis: it is catechesis in action.” (51) With that […]

All Good Things: Catechist’s Journey Blog Coming to an End

Joe Paprocki

Research shows that the average lifespan of a blog is just over two years. Well, I would say we did pretty well here at Catechist’s Journey, which has published continually since 2006—nearly 18 years or nine times the average! Alas, after nearly 3500 posts, it’s time to unplug my Catechist’s Journey keyboard and give thanks to God for such a wonderful experience. Our last post will go up at the end of May, 2024. Catechist’s […]

Pentecost Activities

Joe Paprocki

On Pentecost we celebrate the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles; this event marks the beginning of the Church. Bring the celebration of Pentecost to your faith formation group with our Pentecost Activities Packet. The packet includes a prayer service, a Holy Spirit crossword puzzle, a coloring page, and more. Combine using the packet with reading the story of Pentecost, found in the Acts of the Apostles 2:1–11, and the special seasonal lessons […]

Family Catechesis at St. Barnabas: Our Last Monthly Session for the Year

Joe Paprocki

We will have our last monthly session (not counting a celebration in May) for family catechesis at St. Barnabas on Sunday, April 28, as we explore the theme of Unit 5 of the Finding God series: “The Moral Life: Stop Trying to Fix Yourself!” Here’s a quick peek at the plan: Our learning outcomes are: Explain how we are all created in the image and likeness of God. Describe how being in a relationship with […]

How Star Wars Gives Voice to the Spiritual Journey: A Webinar

Joe Paprocki

I have long been a fan of science fiction. (I’m old enough to remember enjoying the original Star Trek series on TV when I was a kid and the first Star Wars film in the theater as a teenager.) One of the things I enjoy about the genre is its exploration of spiritual themes. It’s as if the genre itself provides us with a venue for exploring spiritual issues freed from any “baggage” of institutional […]

Parents arrange themselves with "The Order of the Mass Floor Puzzle" pieces in order of the parts of the Mass.

St. Barnabas Family Catechesis: A Walk Through the Mass

Joe Paprocki

This past Sunday was our penultimate parent session as far as delivering content. (Our May gathering will be a Pentecost celebration!) Our focus was on the Eucharist as that which sustains us, and we primarily did a “walk-through” of the parts of the Mass. Here’s a summary of how things went: Attendance remained steady, which was good to see; it has not fluctuated much from month to month since about November. I was “flying solo” […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: The Precepts of the Church

Joe Paprocki

I recall when taking courses as an undergraduate, it was common to ask professors about the syllabus: “Are all these required reading?” “How long does the final paper need to be?” Such questions are intended to identify the bare minimum required for us to pass the course. Obviously, by doing the bare minimum, one would usually end up with a C for the course, which means “satisfactory.” Even in relationships, we sometimes find ourselves saying […]

Family Catechesis: Reporting from Inside the Home

Joe Paprocki

Recently, I had the privilege and pleasure of being invited into the home of a family to observe a mom working with her third-grade son on a Finding God faith formation lesson! I’m excited to share my observations of this wonderful experience. Mrs. K. is participating in the Finding God family catechesis program at St. Barnabas Parish. As regular readers know, I have been volunteering there this year to lead the monthly parent sessions. Mrs. […]