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.

The Nearness of God

Overall, week 4 (last night’s session) went pretty well. It was one of those nights when I felt a bit scattered myself but I don’t think I got in the way too much! Here’s what we did: We briefly reviewed last week’s session and they recalled that the focus was on the Holy Spirit. We had a “breathing contest” – to see who could hold their breath the longest! I then told them about how […]

New York, New York!

I had a wonderful weekend in New York, visting with catechists at the NY Catechetical Convocation in White Plains on Saturday. The room had a capacity for 135 but folks kept streaming in, standing along the walls or sitting on the floor to join in on our conversation around the theme of “So What? Why Do We Have to Know This?” I picked that title to capture critical question that young people are asking us […]

Song of the Week

I’ve begun a new feature this year to try to engage the young people through the medium of music. Each week, I bring in a contemporary song to play that is related to the theme of what I am teaching. In some cases, I choose a song that articulates the problem that the Gospel lesson is addressing. For example, for the class that I taught on “Trusting in God’s Goodness,” I played a song by […]

Sometimes I'm My Own Worst Enemy!

As you probably already know, when I teach class, I like to bring in lots of variety for the kids to make the session very engaging. What’s funny is that, I sometimes end up getting them stirred up! Indeed, sometimes, I am my own worst enemy! When I show a video clip, play a contemporary song, or do a game or activity, their level of energy increases as does the need for me to keep […]

Holy Spirit as Advocate

Overall, Week 3 (last night’s class) went very well. Along the way, however, I encountered a few things that I’m not satisfied with and hope to change. Here’s the run-down: We began with a brief prayer and I thought I would introduce the idea of the young people sharing petitions – very simply, thanking God for blessings and praying for the needs of others and/or our own needs. I gave a few examples and told them […]

Classroom Covenant

Last week, I mentioned that I had the kids sign the Classroom Covenant as part of a prayer service. Someone requested that I share it so I am happy to do so. I’m not sure who composed it…it’s been in use by the parish program for a number of years. It is not copyrighted so by all means feel free to use it (or amend it) if it suits your needs. CLASSROOM COVENANT I have the […]

Do You Know Your Students’ Names Yet?

If you’ve been in class for a couple of weeks already, I have a question for you: do you know your students’ names yet? Calling your religious education students by name is very important. It shows that you take a real interest in them as unique individuals. It shows that you care. It shows that you honor their presence. It also gives you leverage when it comes to keeping order in class. To call someone […]

A Catechist's Toolboxpalooza!

This past Saturday, I was in Greenville, South Carolina, doing a workshop for about 100 catechists on the topic of my book, The Catechist’s Toolbox. WOW! These folks went all out with the toolbox theme!!! We had a wonderful day taking a closer look at how we can be more effective as catechists. My deepest thanks to the wonderful people who organized and hosted the event and a great big SHOUT OUT to all of […]

Jesus, God’s Greatest Gift

Week 2 went very nicely last evening. Here are some of the highlights: We met in church for an opening prayer service with the pastor. The kids were well-behaved and participated nicely. The pastor did a very nice job of encouraging the kids to put Jesus first in their lives. That took about a half-hour of the 75-minute class time. Two of the boys in my group asked if they could call me “Dr. Pepper” […]

Sacred Space

No, I’m no talking about the excellent Web site www.sacredspace.ie. I’m talking about creating sacred space in your “classroom.” In particular, I’m referring to the notion of inviting the children/young people to occasionally get out of their seats/desks and to find a place in the room where they can sit on the floor and be “alone.” I tell them that this will be their sacred space for the year and that, from time to time, […]

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