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.
Avoiding Temptations Arrange the young people in pairs and invite them to brainstorm a list of temptations that young people their age can try to avoid during Lent. (Examples: gossiping, calling people names, being lazy, and so on.) Then, have them identify strategies for resisting temptation. (Examples: praying, doing another activity to avoid thinking about the temptation, talking to a parent, teacher, or older friend/relative, and so on.) Have each pair report their ideas to […]
Here’s a wonderful e-mail from a 7th grade catechist who offers some very inspiring words about his vocation. Hello Joe, I stumbled across your website about a month ago when I was really searching for some inspiration for my next class. I am in my first year serving as a catechist for 7th graders. I’ve started out the way so many catechists probably do, teaching their own kids. My son is in 7th grade, thus, […]
A catechist e-mailed me with the following question about helping children to be able to explain why they are wearing ashes on their foreheads on Ash Wednesday: Do you have anything in print or an article you know of for kids to help explain why they wear ashes on their forehead on Ash Wednesday to their classmates at the public schools? I know the reasons and such but from an elementary child’s perspective would help. […]
Of course there are catechists in Canada! It just so happens that I had the privilege of meeting with a number of them over the last few days in Vancouver, British Columbia! I was presenting at the Catholic Educator’s Conference of the Catholic Independent Schools of the Vancouver Archdiocese. After I unpack my bags, I’ll tell you more about it!
Catechists often ask me where they can get their hands on guided reflections (meditations) for children, especially after I have introduced them to one of the guided reflections included in the Finding God program that we use at the parish where I’m a catechist. If they are not using the Finding God program, they are wondering where they can get some guided reflections. Good news! Loyola Press has now made a number of guided reflections […]
I have another Living Stations of the Cross script to share with you. This one is from the parish where I serve as a catechist – Most Holy Redeemer, Evergreen Park, IL. The script comes to us from the DRE, Arlene, who does a wonderful job of pulling this together every Lent. living-stations-arlene-a Have a great weekend!
I’ve put out a request for scripts/outlines for the Living Stations of the Cross for Lent and so far have received 3 samples. Thanks! I’m only passing along 2 of them at the moment, as the third was not really a living stations. Remember, if you have a script or outline for the Living Stations of the Cross, please attach it (as a Word file or PDF) to an email and send it to me […]
With Ash Wednesday being only two weeks from tomorrow, I thought that now would be a good time to offer you a brief video titled Lent FAQ with Joe Paprocki. It includes some simple answers to some of the frequently asked questions about the Lenten season. Why do we have a season of Lent? Why is Lent 40 days? Why do we start Lent by wearing ashes? Why do we practice prayer, fasting, and giving […]
I spent this past Saturday morning with about 100 catechists in the Diocese of Joliet (south and west of the Archdiocese of Chicago) focusing on the topic of catechists and the Bible. I was honored to “share the bill” with Bishop Peter Sartain and to meet and speak with so many catechists from so many parishes. After a beautiful morning prayer, I was introduced and spoke about 5 ways to “dramatically increase your students’ Bible […]
“We are entering a period of new vitality for the Church, a period in which adult Catholic laity will play a pivotal leadership role in fulfilling the Christian mission of evangelizing and transforming society. For adults to fulfill their role in this new era of the Church, their faith formation must be lifelong, just as they must continue to learn to keep up in the changing world.” (Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us: A Pastoral […]
