The sales people at Loyola Press tell me that the phones are ringing off the hook with requests for my new book, The Catechist’s Toolbox! Apparently, almost 20,000 copies have already been sold! I’m so excited! This is a testament to the catechetical ministry and to catechists everywhere who are showing that they are passionate about this ministry and hungry to grow in effectiveness as we proclaim God’s Word!
Please take a look at a comment from yesterday’s post (8/23/07) that surfaces a situation that is all too common: a volunteer catechist with no training (and, as a recent convert, not a lot of familiarity with Catholic Tradition) being asked to teach a group of 30 – that’s right, I said THIRTY – 6th graders!!! Ugh! This is just not fair to any catechist, let alone a new one. Even Jesus had 12 Apostles […]
And I’m not just talking about food. Last night, I was with about 40 catechists from 2 different parishes and the interesting thing was that all but 2 of them were returning catechists! That rate of return is a testament to the care and support of their catechetical leaders who are both very professional and have outstanding vision for the catechetical ministry. They know how to “feed” their catechists. We catechists owe so much to […]
I’ll be talking with my DRE today about finalizing the schedule (syllabus) for the year for grade 8. I know that both of us will have to resist the temptation to “try to do too much.” There’s so much great stuff packed into the textbook (Finding God, Loyola Press) and we also schedule a number of additional events that take us out of the classroom and into the Church, meaning that there’s just never enough […]
Today, catechists not only have excellent catechetical textbooks placed in their hands, but they also have access to quality Websites offered by the various publishers where additional resources can be accessed. The nice thing is, for many of these resources, you don’t have to be using that particular publisher’s textbook to gain access to. (Of course users of that publisher’s textbook have access to even more). Be sure to visit these Websites for quality resources […]
I’m terrible at remembering names! That’s why I work so hard at trying to get to know the names of my students on the first day of class. My inspiration comes from a college professor I had at Loyola University, a Jesuit priest, who brought in a Polaroid camera on the first day of class, arranged us in groups of 5 or 6 (the class had over 50 students!), took photos, and had us write […]
Yesterday, I received a letter from my DRE reminding us about our first catechist meeting on August 27. In the letter, she included the following which I thought I’d share with you. Gifts for you to give to your students: CARE – Before beginning your planned lesson, ask your students about their week and how they’re doing. Listen carefully and caringly. HOPE – Tell your students about the good things that are going on in […]
Last night, I spent the evening with about 50 catechists from the O’Hare cluster of parishes (northwest side of Chicago and northwest suburbs) and had a wonderful time talking about the Old Testament with them. In the course of the evening, I met 2 catechists who have been serving in this ministry for over 30 years each! One had been a catechist for 33 years and another for 38 years! What a wonderful witness they […]
My wife and I took our daughter to college today. Everything went well but needless to say my mind is not on catechesis at the moment. I’ll post tomorrow. God bless all of our children going back to school.
Here’s my quick review of a little booklet for new catechists titled Teaching the Faith: A Catechist’s Guide to Classroom Management by Kim Duty (Paulist Press). This is a handy little guide that gives new catechists an opportunity to become acquainted with the world of classroom management. What I like about it is its “You can do this!” approach to the task of catechesis. In the Introduction, “From Me To You,” Duty offers a heartfelt message […]
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