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.

Scripture Gives God a Face and a Voice

Joe Paprocki

Imagine getting into a conversation with a friend and asking him/her to tell you about his/her spouse or some other significant person whom he/she claims to love, and he/she comes up completely blank—unable to describe what that person looks like, what personality characteristics he/she has, or what stories reveal that person’s essence. You would no doubt be suspicious (and rightly so) about whether or not your friend truly knows this other person or if this […]

Teaching Children the Lost Art of Being

Joe Paprocki

In today’s world, there is a lot of emphasis placed on knowing and doing and not so much on being. In other words, we find ourselves focused on what we know and do and not enough on who we are. As catechists, we have the privilege of helping those we teach to develop a deeper understanding of who they are in relation to a loving God, in whose image they are created. One of the primary […]

The Saints and Election Day

Joe Paprocki

The Feast of All Saints, falling on November 1 of each year, is celebrated on the doorstep of Election Day in the United States. This annual coincidence provides us with an opportunity to make a connection between the lives of the saints and our civic duties. Pope Francis explained that “an authentic faith…always involves a deep desire to change the world, to transmit values, to leave this earth somehow better than we found it….If indeed ‘the just […]

Helping Parents Model Catholicism (Video)

Joe Paprocki

Because children are so strongly influenced by their parents, we need to do all we can to equip parents with what they need to model Catholicism for their children. Enjoy the below overview video of how we can help parents do this. Read the post that inspired this video: Helping Parents Model Catholicism for Their Children.

Sharing the Wisdom of Time - book that inspired the Netflix series Stories of a Generation with Pope Francis

Cherishing the Wisdom of Our Elders

Joe Paprocki

One of the things that I love about the Jesuits is that they never “retire.” When a Jesuit becomes elderly or infirm, he is given a new assignment by his Provincial, namely, to pray for the success of the mission and ministries of the Society of Jesus at one of the Jesuit assisted-living facilities. The message is clear: every member of the Jesuits, no matter what age, is still valued and considered an integral member of […]

How to Build a Sense of Community in Your Learning Space

Joe Paprocki

Every faith formation experience should strive to form community since we, as people formed in the image and likeness of a Triune God, are inherently communal. It is in community that we experience Christ and are formed in Christ. The National Directory for Catechesis reminds us that, “Catechesis prepares the Christian to live in community and to participate actively in the life and mission of the Church.” (20) In his book, The Intentional Christian Community […]

Reconciliation Resources: A Story of Reconciliation and an Examination of Conscience

Joe Paprocki

If you’re preparing children to receive First Reconciliation or planning a Reconciliation service for your school or parish, here are two resources to help. A Story of Reconciliation is a readers’ theater script presenting the story of the prodigal son/forgiving father, as found in Luke 15:11–32. Use it with children preparing for First Reconciliation, or present the story as part of a lesson on the parables. You may want to invite parents to—or involve them […]

Accompaniment Requires Trust

Joe Paprocki

One of the key phrases in our current conversations about evangelization and discipleship is what Pope Francis has described as the art of accompaniment. To accompany someone is to walk along with that person on his or her journey. It is important to recognize, however, that a prerequisite to accompaniment is trust! If someone is going to allow us to walk with him or her on the journey, that person needs to know, first and […]

Teaching the Daily Examen to 4- to 6-Year-Olds

Joe Paprocki

One of the hallmarks of Ignatian prayer and spirituality is, of course, the Daily Examen—a prayerful way to review your day to recognize God’s presence and movement in your everyday life. We tend to think of this prayer as an adult exercise; however, many catechists and school teachers have found that this prayer is easily adaptable to children and can serve as a great tool for introducing young people to the contemplative aspect of our […]

Synod on Young People—Learning from Tony Bennett

Joe Paprocki

As the Synod on Young People is taking place in Rome this month, my mind turns to 92-year-old singer Tony Bennett. Why? Over the past several years, this ageless crooner has taken to doing duets with young talent, most notably Lady Gaga (and currently, Dianna Krall, who, though not as young as Lady Gaga, is still nearly 40 years Bennett’s junior!). I’ve used the Tony Bennett-Lady Gaga example on numerous occasions to encourage those of […]