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.

Adaptive Sacramental Preparation Kits from Loyola Press

Bringing Children with Disabilities to the Sacraments

Joe Paprocki

Most of us are familiar with the tool for cropping an image on our computer or smartphone. While we intentionally crop images to center attention on a specific focal point, sometimes we unintentionally crop out features that are critical to telling the whole story. For too long, people with disabilities have been “cropped out” of the total picture of our faith communities. When Loyola Press courageously decided to create faith formation resources for people with […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: Praying the Acts of Faith, Hope, and Love

Joe Paprocki

In the movie Ghost, Sam (Patrick Swayze) never says the words, “I love you” to Molly (Demi Moore), instead opting for the response, “Ditto.” His inability to say the words, “I love you,” cause Molly to question Sam’s commitment to their relationship. She rightly wants him to say the words as an action that confirms his commitment to her. The truth is, some words we speak are “efficacious,” which means that speaking the words achieves […]

On Retreat with Pope Francis: A Webinar with Austen Ivereigh

Joe Paprocki

Often in life, certain dreams we have remain just out of our reach. I always wanted to see the Beatles perform live; however, after John Lennon’s tragic death, I realized this would never happen. Seeing Paul McCartney perform live a few years ago was the next best thing! I’ve no doubt that many of us would dream about the chance to go on a personal retreat with Pope Francis. However, for most of us, that […]

St. Barnabas Family Catechesis: The Mass and the Eucharist

Joe Paprocki

It’s hard to believe that we have only three more monthly sessions of family catechesis at St. Barnabas for this catechetical year! The time has flown, and we continue to learn about the most effective approaches to engaging the whole family in faith formation. Soon I will be posting about my experience of visiting the home of one of the families in the family catechesis program to observe the parents working together with their child […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: Listening for God’s Call

Joe Paprocki

When St. Joan of Arc was on trial for heresy, the Inquisitor mocked her for claiming that she heard God’s voice speaking to her. He said, “It’s only your imagination!” Joan responded, “Of course! How else would God speak to me but through my imagination?” This story teaches us that we need to pay attention to how God is speaking to us through our thoughts, feelings, desires, hopes, dreams, imagination, and memories. Our vocation, or […]

Poll Question: How Often Do You Use Technology?

Joe Paprocki

While the young people we teach are “digital natives” (They were born and raised on the “digital continent.”), many of us catechists can be considered “digital immigrants” (Technology is like a second language for us.). With that in mind, I thought it would be interesting to take a quick poll to see where catechists are when it comes to using technology in faith formation. More importantly, I look forward to reading your comments about your […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: The Bible Is Revelation

Joe Paprocki

I have to laugh when I see TV shows called Secrets of the Bible or Bible Secrets Revealed or some such title. The implication is that the Bible was written in code and needs to be deciphered by experts to reveal deep secrets that are hidden from plain sight. I laugh because the Bible is the complete opposite of a collection of secrets; it is revelation! In other words, Scripture is one of the most powerful […]

Easter Season Prayer Cards

Joe Paprocki

Focus on the first disciples this Easter season by downloading our free prayer cards. Each card includes a short prayer asking for the intercession of one of the disciples who encountered Jesus in the days and weeks after the Resurrection. With prayers addressing St. Mary Magdalene, St. Peter, St. Thomas, and more, these cards draw our attention to the early disciples and serve as a great reminder that these holy men and women have lessons […]

The Catholic Parents' Survival Guide: Straight Answers to Your Kids' Toughest Questions by Julianne Stanz - author pictured next to book cover

Supporting Parents Beyond Baptismal Prep: The Catholic Parents’ Survival Guide

Joe Paprocki

I’ve written previously about the importance of remaining connected with parents following the Baptism of their children and before the children reach catechetical age. Rather than simply requiring parents to attend a required class for Baptism and then check it off their list, we need to accompany them on their journey as they rise to the challenge of raising a family in today’s complex world. I’d like to suggest one great way that we can […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: Holy Days

Joe Paprocki

As Catholics, we are accustomed to the phrase, holy days of obligation. What exactly does it mean to refer to a day (or an hour or a week) as holy? And what do we mean by the word obligation? In this episode of Pop-Up Catechesis, we explore the meaning of holy days as days set apart for God. For more information about holy days of obligation, check out the following links: Helping Young People Understand […]