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.

Feedback on Welcome to God's Library DVD

Joe Paprocki

Not too long ago, I offered information about my “new” DVD, Welcome to God’s Library. Read the details here: http://www.catechistsjourney.org/2008/02/10/welcome-to-gods-library-on-dvd/ I wanted to pass along some very nice feedback I received from a catechist by the name of Vera: Dear Joe, A few days ago I watched the Welcome to God’s Library DVD and was impressed with how you un-complicated the Bible. I’ve always thought that I had to memorize where certain stories were in […]

Living Stations of the Cross

Joe Paprocki

Last night, the 8th graders did the Living Stations of the Cross and they did a beautiful job. They showed a reverence that was very refreshing. 4 of my students had prominent roles: narrator, Simon of Cyrene, Veronica, and one of the women of Jerusalem. I was very proud of them and of all the 8th graders, including the rest of my group that behaved well as part of the assembly. Kudos to our DRE, Arlene, […]

The Seven Last Words and the Stations of the Cross

Joe Paprocki

In honor of Holy Week, I offer you these links to prayerful reflections on the Seven Last Words of Christ and the Stations of the Cross: The First Word The Second Word The Third Word The Fourth Word The Fifth Word The Sixth Word The Seventh Word The Stations of the Cross

Catholics Doing Seder Meals

Joe Paprocki

As we approach Holy Week, it is not unusual to see Catholic parishes, often the religious education programs, hosting a Seder Meal – the ritual meal that Jews celebrate to mark Passover. The intention, it would seem, is to show the connection between Eucharist and Passover. It is true that there is an intimate connection between the Eucharist and the Passover. I would venture to say that one cannot fully grasp the Catholic understanding of […]

Internet and Kids

Joe Paprocki

Here are some interesting facts about how the Internet has influenced kids’ traditional viewing habits: 64% of kids report going online while watching TV, with 49% of Teens doing the same from three times a week to several times a day. 73% of kids are actively multitasking, which is up by +33% since 2002. 50% of 9 to 17-year-olds visit websites they see on TV even as they continue to watch 45% of teens have […]

Odds 'n Ends

Joe Paprocki

I had a list of topics that I’ve wanted to blog about and couldn’t decide which one to pick so I thought I’d address them all! Here goes: They came back! Kudos, once again to my DRE, Arlene, for making it clear that Confirmation is not the end. All of my students (save for one absentee) returned last night for their first class after Confirmation! Their biggest comment about Confirmation? “The bishop put SO much […]

Post-Confirmation

Joe Paprocki

Tonight, we enter into the post-confirmation era which begins with the big question: will they be back? Last year, all of the confirmandi returned for religious education classes after the sacrament was celebrated. Our DRE does a good job of communicating to parents that confirmation is NOT the end of the the religious education program. Let’s hope the message got through again this year. Even so, tonight’s class will be somewhat smaller than usual because […]

It’s Boring!

Joe Paprocki

How often do we hear kids say, either about Mass or about religious education class, “It’s boring”? Too often, I’m sure. Kids (and most of us in general) are engaged when there is drama involved. That’s why sports is so big…we don’t know how the game is going to turn out and so we are engaged. Movies and video games are big because we don’t know how they will end. One of the challenges we […]

The Liturgical Catechist

Joe Paprocki

The March, 2008, issue of Catechist magazine includes an article written by yours truly! The article is titled The Liturgical Catechist: 10 Ways You Can Make Your Lessons More Liturgical. I hope you get a chance to read it and send me your comments. Speaking of comments, I’m still trying to resolve a backup in the Comments moderation queue so if you recently sent a comment and it’s not showing, hang in there!

I'm Back!

Joe Paprocki

Of course, you probably didn’t know that I was gone! I was at the L.A. Religious Education Congress from Friday through Sunday. It was a wonderful experience. One of the things that I like about the L.A. Congress is that it is a very “large tent.” By that I mean that it fully reflects the unity and diversity of the Church at a time when some are seeking to make the tent smaller by emphasizing […]