Today is the 10th anniversary of my Dad’s passing into eternal life. My Dad was a pharmacist, owner of his own store Paprocki Pharmacy which he inherited from my grandfather who started the business in1919. The picture below is of the store’s 2nd (more contemporary-looking) location, taken in the mid-1980’s when the store literally became a “mom & pop” operation. All of us children (there were 9 of us) were grown and moved away and […]
Today is my First Blogaversary! One year ago today, on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, I posted for the first time on Catechist’s Journey. Since that time, I have posted 249 times and you good folks have posted 534 comments! It’s hard to believe that 1 year has already passed. I just want to take this moment to thank all of you for visiting and posting comments and I invite you to continue […]
Yesterday, I had the privilege of reuniting with one of my high school religion teachers, the great Fr. Mark Link, S.J. Fr. Mark is one of the most prolific Catholic writers around, having sold millions of books including These Stones Will Shout, The Seventh Trumpet, The Still Point of the Turning World, You, Vision 2000, Challenge, Path Through Scripture, and Path Through Catholicism, just to name a few (over 60 titles in all). During my years […]
A colleague of mine sent me the following interesting bit of information just a short while ago and I’m happy to pass it along to you: The Congregation for Clergy has just started an email service for priests, deacons and catechists through which you can sign in to receive via email all documents issue by the congregation. To sign up go to: http://www.clerus.org/pls/clerus/cn_clerus.h_start_consult_ext?dicastero=2&tema=-1&argomento=-1&sottoargomento=-1&lingua=2&Classe=1&operazione=ges_email&rif=&rif1=&vers=2 They also have a new page http://www.clerus.org/bibliaclerus/index_eng.html which contains the Bible in many […]
Last night, I had the pleasure of attending an intergenerational catechetical event at St. Raphael parish in Naperville, Illinois. The DRE, Jane Ehrlich, does a fantastic job of catechizing the entire parish! I was amazed at the amount of planning and coordination that must go into such an event for about 700 people! The evening began with dinner (pizza and salad) in the gym followed by an opening experience in the church. This experience served […]
How appropriate that our Holy Father, Benedict XVI, released his newest encyclical – Spe Salvi (Saved by Hope) – just in time for Advent, our season of hope! I’m printing out a copy of the encyclical this morning and will read it on the train today and tomorrow and share some thoughts.
Last night, I prepared the young people to celebrate the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation by leading them in a meditative examination of conscience. First, we talked about the practical steps involved in going to confession. I was pleased to find that in general, they were very familiar with how to go to confession and very relaxed about it. This can be credited to the program offering the sacrament twice a year: Advent and Lent. For […]
Tonight, I’ll be preparing the young people for the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation (next Monday). I like to take this opportunity to deal with the question that is foremost on their minds: “why do I have to tell my sins to the priest?” To answer this, it’s best to put this one sacrament in the context of our entire sacramental outlook as Catholics. To be sacramental is to see the presence of God reflected […]
I’ve heard a lot lately about a movie coming out on Dec. 7 titled The Golden Compass. Apparently there is some controversey swirling around this movie which is based on a novel (part of a trilogy) by Phillip Pullman titled His Dark Materials. It would seem that the controversey is not so much about the movie but about the books of the trilogy and Pullman’s atheism and alleged hostility toward Christianity. I confess to knowing […]
Like many (most?) catechists, I share a learning space – a classroom – with a Catholic school teacher. I realize the tensions that can arise from one group using a room that “belongs” to another group. I was a Catholic school teacher for 9 years and recall my room being used by numerous groups for after-school activities, so I know this experience from both sides of the fence. I’d like to offer a few thoughts. […]
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