This prayer originally appeared in my book, The Catechist’s Toolbox: How to Thrive as a Religious Education Teacher. Download a PDF version of the prayer here. This year asks many of us to try new technologies in spreading the Word of God. What has been your experience with technology in faith formation?
There are many ways to enter into Lent and to draw from the riches of the season and its Scripture readings. One very effective way is to focus on the Old Testament readings for each Sunday of Lent (this year, Cycle B). During Lent, the Old Testament readings stand by themselves in many ways, which means that we shouldn’t try too hard to bend and shape them to connect with the second reading or the Gospel, […]
Let’s face it: being sick is no fun. Serious illness is one of the most depressing things we can face in life. Not only does it make us feel powerless, it also makes us feel alone and isolated. For this reason, the Church encourages us to practice the corporal work of mercy of visiting the sick. Even if we can’t care in-person for those who are sick—especially during the pandemic—we can let others know that […]
As we enter the month of February, 2021, with the realization that Ash Wednesday and Lent are just a few weeks away, we will no doubt begin experiencing a sense of déjà vu—that sense that we have lived through the present situation before. And while we have all lived through Ash Wednesday and Lent before, this will be the second year that our Lenten experience takes place within the context of a worldwide pandemic (although, […]
One of the hallmarks of Catholicism is sacramentality, which means that we rely on tangible, visible objects in our prayer and worship to raise our awareness of the intangible, invisible graces of God. One popular example of this sacramentality is our use of candles for prayer and worship. We know that we’ve entered into a Catholic church when we see the flickering of vigil candles and smell the scent of burning wax. These burning candles represent the […]
The Church’s liturgical year forms us so that we more closely reflect the image of God. Families can facilitate this formation by observing the liturgical calendar and by engaging in family rituals and activities that mark the seasons and feasts of the Church year and remind us of their significance. To help families in observing the liturgical calendar, download our Liturgical Year Family Activities. This resource is full of ideas to draw families more deeply […]
I’m sure you’ve seen little children opening presents on Christmas or a birthday and being more enamored with the box and the wrapping paper than the actual gift! Somehow, young children are able to look at a plain cardboard box and imagine that it is a car, an airplane, a boat, or a spaceship. It is that imagination that we must tap into when it comes to early childhood faith formation. According to Webster’s Dictionary, imagination […]
With Lent coming upon us very soon, it’s a good idea to begin thinking about how best to observe this wonderful season of renewal. Too often, it seems, we rack our brains trying to think of what to do during Lent when the formula is laid out for us: we are to pray, fast, and give alms. While that may sound like the “same old, same old,” it’s important to know that these three practices, […]
“Religion is belief in someone else’s experience. Spirituality is having your own experience.” —Deepak Chopra This quote pops up frequently on social media, and it speaks an important truth: spirituality is an experience of a relationship with the Divine. Such an experience is one of mystery. Another word we use for such an experience is mystical. Unfortunately, in our culture, the word mystical has come to be synonymous with the word magical: something beyond the […]
Did you realize that the Bible begins with a craft activity? The Creation stories of Genesis chapters one and two tell us that, out of the Divine imagination, God crafted the heavens and the earth, animals and plant life, night and day, oceans and sky, and human beings. That’s quite a craft activity! For this reason, crafts have always played a part in faith formation and deservedly so: when we craft something, we are imitating […]
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