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.
Recently, we held our monthly Finding God Family Catechesis gathering at St. Barnabas to introduce the seasons of Advent and Christmas. Here is a summary of how things went. Attendance was good once again. It appears that families are getting into a groove as the year progresses. The families, especially the children, arrive with good energy and enthusiasm, and the space where we gather is always prepared by Patrick, the catechetical leader, to be warm […]
Welcome to the final installment of this brief series on sharing stories of hope during Advent. Previously, we’ve talked about how, through storytelling, we share our most important values, and how the stories we share, especially about people in need, must be stories of hope or “action motivators” rather than “action inhibitors.” During the holiday season, it is common to share stories about people in need of our charity and support. In his book, Cannonball […]
In part one of this series, Advent: Sharing Stories of Hope, I wrote about how storytelling is a way of sharing our values (that which is most important to us) and how hope is a virtue that we highlight during the Advent season. Advent reminds us that we are to be a people of hope year-round, each and every day. We are to be people who carry and exude a confident and joyful anticipation of […]
Recently, my wife Joanne and I went on a trip to Cabo, Mexico, for our best friends’ daughter’s wedding. We spent four wonderful days in Mexico with our best friends, and when we returned home, we gathered with them, just three days later, to look at pictures and share stories. That might seem like a strange thing to do, since we had just been together for this shared experience. However, it is human nature to […]
In a previous episode of Pop-Up Catechesis, we looked at virtues as good habits that we practice in order to walk the path of holiness. Traditionally, the virtues have been identified as the Theological Virtues (faith, hope, and love) and the Cardinal Virtues (prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance). In this episode of Pop-Up Catechesis, we explore the second of the Theological Virtues: hope. For more information about the virtues and, in particular, the virtue of hope, check out […]
Our next monthly session for our Finding God Family Catechesis program at St. Barnabas will take place on Sunday, December 3, the First Sunday of Advent, which means that our focus for the adult session will be on the seasons of Advent and Christmas, with a particular emphasis on the theme of God’s Promise: The Covenant. Here is the plan for that session: Our opening prayer ritual will reflect the season of Advent as we […]
We catechists find great joy in our ministry; however, we also face many challenges! For that reason, it is good to know that we are not alone in facing challenges. Many of our fellow catechists face similar situations and circumstances. Take a moment, if you will, to participate in the poll below, which invites you to identify the greatest challenge you face right now as a catechist. Feel free to elaborate in the “Leave a […]
Not too long ago, I shared a post here on Catechist’s Journey inviting folks to help me update the songs for an activity I call “Name That Sin, Virtue, or Gift”—an activity I created years ago when working with teens preparing for Confirmation. I received a number of helpful suggestions and then did some research of my own to find more contemporary songs and complete the chart. Let me share the following disclaimer: the inclusion […]
Have you noticed that “Advent calendars” are all the rage these days? I put that in quotes because the “Advent calendars” I’m referring to are secular in nature and have become a big part of holiday marketing and sales. There are “Advent calendars” for wine, tea, chocolate, books, gemstones, spices, cookies, and a host of other delights, most of which have nothing to do with the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Now, I’m not […]
As catechists, we work with the Holy Spirit to form disciples of Jesus Christ. With that in mind, we’ve been devoting some attention to the concept of discipleship. I can think of no one better to turn to than Fr. Brice Higginbotham, author of Remaining with Jesus: Discipleship in the Gospel of John. Fr. Higginbotham has been recording short videos while pursuing a Licentiate in Sacred Scripture at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome. In this segment, Fr. Brice […]
