No Picture
Junior High

7 x 3

I’m going to be tied up over the next few days so I thought I would use today to share what I’ll be teaching this coming Monday. We have the third of our Confirmation Intensives. For this one, we are going to focus on the number SEVEN. Actually 7 x 3. What do I mean by that? We will have the young people participate in 3 sessions that evening, focusing on the following: the 7 […]

teaching eighth grade
Junior High

Meditation on the Corporal Works of Mercy

I’m always suspicious of people who tell me that when they were in Vegas, they won X amount of money playing a certain game or machine. They never tell you how much they lost along the way! In the same way, I’m about to tell you about a moment I had last night at religious education that was like hitting the jackpot. I’ll follow that, however, with a little disclaimer that shows it wasn’t all […]

No Picture
Junior High

Reflecting on the Corporal Works of Mercy

For this evening’s Confirmation Intensive, my segment is to do a meditation on the Corporal Works of Mercy. Remember, our Confirmation Intensives are two hours long and aside from an opening and closing segment in their “homeroom,” the young people move about to fout different 20-minute mini sessions. My segment takes place in the chapel. This evening we are focusing on what Catholics BELIEVE and DO. Two of the mini sessions will be on the […]

No Picture
Joys and Frustrations

Top Ten Posts of 2007

The New Year often brings with it a bevy of Top Ten lists that look back over the previous year (e.g. ten best/worst movies, etc.). With that in mind, I thought I would put together a list of the Top Ten posts from my blog in 2007, based on the number of comments they received. Enjoy! 10. Feed the Catechists! 9. The Law of Love – It’s No Secret 8. First Guided Reflection 7. How […]

No Picture
Miscellaneous

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all catechists and catechetical leaders! With each year comes another opportunity for us to serve the Lord by proclaiming the Gospel to another generation. May this New Year be filled with many blessings and may the Holy Spirit inspire us to teach with enthusiasm, confidence, boldness, creativity, and, above all, love!

No Picture
Miscellaneous

Catechists: Inspired by the Herald Angels

As we celebrate this Christmas season, let the Herald Angels be an inspiration for us catechists. To be a herald is to be a bearer of the Good News. Each time we teach, we bring tidings of great joy: God is with us in Jesus Christ! We are, indeed, privileged to be heralds of the Gospel. May the Herald Angels inspire you this Christmas season and throughout the New Year! God’s blessings during this Christmas […]

No Picture
Joys and Frustrations

Receiving is Nice Too!

I know that it is better to give than to receive, but receiving is nice too! I was touched to receive Christmas gifts from several of my students (I’m sure it was their parents who put them up to it!). What a nice gesture to express appreciation for the partnership we catechists enter into with parents. I was also delighted to receive a beautiful leather bound New American Bible from my DRE, Arlene. It will […]

No Picture
Junior High

Confirmation Intensive: Success!

Last night’s Confirmation Intensive, a 2-hour session with the 8th graders, was a resounding success! The kids were not surprisingly curious and anxious about what they were going to do for “2 WHOLE HOURS!!!” We had them on the move for the whole 2 hours and they were delightfully engaged in their mini-sessions (20 minutes with each of the 4 eighth grade catechists. For my sessions, we met in my room in the school and […]

No Picture
Creative Moments

Confirmation Intensive Tonight

This evening is the first of 4 Confirmation “Intensives” planned for our 8th graders. Normally, our sessions are 75 minutes long. The intensives will be 2 hours, giving us a chance to do a variety of things and go into more depth with our young people. For tonight’s session, we will begin by having a prayer service in which we present the young people with their copies of Confirmed in the Spirit, their confirmation text […]

No Picture
Newsworthy

Lively Conversation on Intergenerational Catechesis

Rather than post something new, I’d like to direct your attention to the lively conversation that is going on over my December 7 post on Intergenerational Catechesis (inspired by an intergenerational event I recently attended). Several of the folks from the coordinating team of the host parish left some insightful and challenging comments and questions and we’ve engaged in a very productive conversation over the last couple of days. I’m most impressed by the passion […]