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 40 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.

Teaching to Generation Me: Part Five

Joe Paprocki

On May 18, I began a 7-part series, offering some thougts about how to teach the Catholic faith to “Generation Me” (those born in the 70s through the 90s; Generation Me, Jean Twenge, M.D.). Click on the following to read: Part One: The Decline of Social Rules Part Two: Excessive Individualism Part Three: You Can Be Anything You Want Part Four: The Age of Anxiety Today, we address another unique characteristic of Generation Me: the […]

Teaching to Generation Me: Part Four

Joe Paprocki

On May 18, I began a 7-part series, offering some thougts about how to teach the Catholic faith to “Generation Me” (those born in the 70s through the 90s; Generation Me, Jean Twenge, M.D.). Click on the following to read: Part One: The Decline of Social Rules Part Two: Excessive Individualism Part Three: You Can Be Anything You Want Today, we address another unique characteristic of Generation Me: “the age of anxiety” The Age of […]

Teaching to Generation Me – Part 3

Joe Paprocki

On May 18, I began a 7-part series, offering some thougts about how to teach the Catholic faith to “Generation Me” (those born in the 70s through the 90s; Generation Me, Jean Twenge, M.D.). Click on the following to read: Part One: The Decline of Social Rules Part Two: Excessive Individualism Today, we address another unique characteristic of Generation Me: the belief that “you can be anything you want to be” You Can Be Anything […]

Teaching to Generation Me – Part 2

Joe Paprocki

On May 18, I began a 7-part series, offering some thougts about how to teach the Catholic faith to “Generation Me” (those born in the 70s through the 90s; Generation Me, Jean Twenge, M.D.). Click here to read the intro and part 1. Today, we address another unique characteristic of Generation Me: excessive individualism. Individualism – Since the time they were very young, Gen Me-ers have been bombarded with messages intended to boost self-esteem. It […]

Teaching to Generation Me (aka Gen Y; Millennials)

Joe Paprocki

Recently I had the pleasure of reading Generation Me: Why Today’s Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled – and More Miserable Than Ever Before (Jean M Twenge, M.D., Free Press, 2006). In her book, Dr. Twenge, herself a member of “Generation Me” (aka, Millennials, Gen Y), those born in the 70s through the 90s, uses findings from a large intergenerational research study (1.3 million respondents over six decades) to reveal how profoundly different today’s […]

Catechists: A Life-Threatening Vocation?

Joe Paprocki

I mentioned in my post yesterday how, in many places of the world, the catechist is seen as one of the most respected people in the Catholic community because he or she is the one who forms disciples of Jesus. The flipside of this prominence is that, in some countries where the Gospel is a threat to the political and economic status quo, catechists are seen as a threat and they are often singled out as […]

Catholic School Catechists

Joe Paprocki

When we use the word catechist, who comes to mind? Typically (at least in the United States), we think of catechists as those volunteers who teach in parish religious education programs as opposed to Catholic school teachers who teach religion classes. Because of this, Catholic school teachers of religion have resisted the title of catechist because it carries the connotation of volunteer as opposed to professional. This is unfortunate, because to be called a catechist […]

Wellness Exam

Joe Paprocki

This morning I’m participating in a wellness exam offered by my health insurance company. It’s a great benefit to have and it helps give a clear picture of where I’m at physically. As catechists, we often offer spiritual wellness exams for those we teach. What do I mean by that? Basically, we provide opportunities for those we teach to reflect on the status of their spiritual life…their relationship with Jesus. We do this by leading […]

Eucharist - host over chalice - Marina Seoane © Loyola Press. All rights reserved.

Food for the Journey

Joe Paprocki

Yesterday was quite interesting in terms of contrast. On the one hand, I was part of a First Communion celebration, rejoicing with my young nephew and his family as he received Jesus in the Eucharist for the first time. On the other hand, I was part of an evening Eucharistic celebration at my mother-in-law’s retirement home, where I was about 40 years younger than most people there. It struck me that the folks at the retirement home […]

Why Do We Give Money on First Communions?

Joe Paprocki

A few days ago, I posted about the Easter Season being a “festival of sacraments.” Well, today is one such day as we celebrate my nephew’s First Communion. It is a beautiful bright and sunny spring day…a “storybook” First Communion-type day. Of course the weather has nothing to do with the encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist, but God IS revealed through the beauty and wonder of creation and the nice weather serves to reinforce […]