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.

Pop-Up Catechesis: A Walk Through the Mass—The Entrance Procession

Joe Paprocki

Today we begin a Pop-Up Catechesis series: A Walk Through the Mass. In this episode, we explore the Entrance Procession. If you’ve ever attended a parade, you know that it is intended to be a spectacle—something to be seen. The parade participants are certainly not heading to a specific destination; they are just walking by in order to be seen and cheered. Parades have their roots in military victories. When a victorious army would return […]

6 Keys to a More Evangelizing Catechesis - text with mosaic tiles surrounding it

Six Keys to a More Evangelizing Catechesis: Experiences of Sharing God’s Mercy

Joe Paprocki

We continue with our series exploring six keys to making our faith formation experiences more evangelizing by focusing on key #5: experiences of sharing God’s mercy. Scripture tells us that faith without works is dead. (James 2:14–17) Likewise, Jesus’ Parable of the Last Judgment (Matthew 25) tells us that we will be judged on our love for others. If we truly want to touch the hearts and minds of those we teach, we need to engage […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: An Ignatian Way of Proceeding

Joe Paprocki

When my wife and I visited Hawaii some years back, we were shown around one day by our dear friend Jayne Ragasa-Mondoy. As I was doing the driving with my wife riding shotgun, Jayne sat in the back seat and played the role of tour guide and navigator to perfection. At one point, we got stuck in a little traffic. Jayne sensed that I was getting a little frustrated and feared that I might honk […]

Proclaiming the Kerygma to Young Parents: A New Approach to Baptismal Preparation

Joe Paprocki

Imagine you were best friends with a TV executive whose network broadcasts football’s “Big Game” each year, and he/she decided to give you a free, 30-second commercial spot to explain who Jesus is and why people should follow him. You’ve got this one chance to speak to tens of millions of people about Jesus, but you only have 30 seconds. What do you say? If done correctly, your 30-second spot would deliver what can be […]

Six Keys to a More Evangelizing Catechesis: Spirituality and Prayer

Joe Paprocki

We continue exploring six keys to making our faith formation experiences more evangelizing by looking at the importance of spirituality and prayer. It is my contention that too many of us have grown up with a notion of God as a powerful, angry being who is to be feared—much as Dorothy and her companions trembled as they approached the Wizard in the classic movie, The Wizard of Oz, to ask for a favor. Or, we […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: Eucharistic Adoration

Joe Paprocki

“Let me look at you!” People use this phrase when they simply want to take in another’s appearance, either because they have not seen this person for a long time or the person has gotten all dressed up for a special occasion. In either case, the desire is to look upon the beauty of another person. In our Catholic Tradition, we have a practice that enables us to “look upon” the beauty of God. We […]

Prayer of an Aging Disciple

Joe Paprocki

Author Barbara Lee reminds us that “We are all aging from the day we are born.” And the call to discipleship doesn’t end when we turn a certain age, though how we live that call might. Consider your continuing call to discipleship by praying the “Prayer of an Aging Disciple.” This prayer, excerpted from Barbara’s new book, Answering God’s Call: A Scripture-Based Journey for Older Adults, is presented in three formats: Full-color printable prayer designed […]

Six Keys to a More Evangelizing Catechesis: Tradition

Joe Paprocki

We continue our series exploring six keys to making our faith formation experiences more evangelizing by focusing on key #3, which is Tradition. When we form relationships with other people, we ask them to reveal things about themselves (as we do about ourselves)—where they were born, what kind of work they do, what their hobbies are, what kind of family they have, what kind of music, sports, or other forms of entertainment they enjoy most, […]

Six Keys to a More Evangelizing Catechesis: Sacramentality

Joe Paprocki

We continue with our series exploring six keys to making our faith formation experiences more evangelizing by focusing on key #2: sacramentality. Simply put, Catholics have a “way of seeing”—a vision for reality that is informed by the presence of God in all things. We call this way of seeing sacramentality, a way of “seeing” the invisible and intangible presence of God through visible and tangible realities. Catholic faith formation is most effective when it teaches […]