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.

Jump Start Your Spiritual Life - words on blue setting

Spiritual but not Religious? Here’s What it Means to Be Spiritual

Joe Paprocki

Many of those we minister to these days will use the description, “I’m spiritual but not religious,” to describe themselves. This typically means that they seek a relationship with God but are wary, disillusioned, or just not attracted by institutional religion or denominations. One of the problems that folks in this situation encounter, however, is that being “spiritual” can be a very nebulous notion. We can help those interested in a deeper spiritual life by […]

40 Ways to Foster Prayer in Your Home

Joe Paprocki

Our lives offer many opportunities to pray, and we can share those opportunities with the children in our care. Find inspiration for different ways to pray in the home by downloading Tom McGrath’s suggestions for 40 Ways to Foster Prayer in Your Home—in English or in Spanish. Share the booklet with families in your school or parish. These suggestions are excerpted from Tom’s book Raising Faith-Filled Kids: Ordinary Opportunities to Nurture Spirituality at Home. Learn […]

20 Tips for Catechists E-mail Series

Joe Paprocki

Join me for a five-part e-mail series where I share 20 tips for catechists—some of my best advice to both new and experienced catechists. I’ll send you a few tips each week that you can implement in your faith formation setting. Take to heart these tips, and be encouraged in your vocation as a confident evangelizing catechist! I’m sharing these 20 tips to celebrate the release of my 20th book—Living the Sacraments: Finding God at […]

V Encuentro Is Right Around the Corner!

Joe Paprocki

A historic gathering of more than 3,000 Hispanic/Latino ministry leaders and delegates from across the country is about to take place (September 20–23, 2018) in Grapevine, TX: the Fifth National Encuentro of Hispanic/Latino Ministry known as V Encuentro. This gathering is a key moment in a four-year process of evangelization, mission, and consultation (under the auspices of the USCCB), designed to serve as a catalyst for developing ministries among Hispanics/Latinos in the United States. Delegates […]

Like Learning a New Language, Faith Formation Requires Immersion

Joe Paprocki

My New Year’s resolution this year was to learn Spanish. I was all set: I signed up for a 10-week course, purchased some resources, downloaded some apps, and began the journey. I made some good progress at first, especially as a result of the classes, and even spent extra time while on the train each day going over lessons and learning vocabulary. Then I hit the wall. My class didn’t meet for a couple of […]

Discovering the Nearness of God: Holy Orders: Oh, to Be Thin!

Joe Paprocki

Welcome to the final installment of my series “Discovering the Nearness of God: An Eight-Week Series on the Catholic Sacramental Vision.” This week we will explore the Sacrament of Holy Orders, with the theme of “Oh, to Be Thin!” If you’re not an ordained priest, you may be tempted to skip this post about the Sacrament of Holy Orders. I wouldn’t advise it! The truth is, everyone who is baptized into Christ is called to share […]

Nine Tips for Asking Questions

Joe Paprocki

Asking Questions to Get Beneath the Surface This summer, my biggest project was scraping and painting the deck at my lake house. I’m always tempted to skip the scraping part and get right into painting. However, as we all know, it is crucial to strip away what’s on the surface to get to what’s deeper: the original wood. When we teach, we can be tempted to rush past an important step that helps us get beneath […]

Discovering the Nearness of God: Matrimony: Who Loves You?

Joe Paprocki

Welcome to the seventh installment of my series “Discovering the Nearness of God: An Eight-Week Series on the Catholic Sacramental Vision.” This week we will explore the Sacrament of Matrimony, with the theme of “Who Loves You?” Any Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons fans out there? Here’s a blast from the past, 1975 to be exact, of the original “Jersey Boys” singing their hit, “Who Loves You?” (Gotta love those mid-70s styles!) The lyrics of the song […]

Living the Sacraments Prayer Cards

Joe Paprocki

If you’ve been following my “Discovering the Nearness of God” series on the Catholic sacramental vision, you’ll know that my newest book is Living the Sacraments: Finding God at the Intersection of Heaven and Earth. Each chapter includes a prayer, and I’m happy to share today a set of prayer cards with these prayers for each of the Seven Sacraments. These colorful cards can be shared with a reading group that’s discussing Living the Sacraments, […]

Catechetical Sunday 2018: Enlisting Witnesses for Jesus Christ

Joe Paprocki

If you were on trial and needed character witnesses, who would you call to speak on your behalf? Naturally, you would want people who would speak favorably of you and who were capable of describing experiences in which they saw your traits, virtues, and character in action. You would want them to speak from the heart. You would want them to share stories in which they were personally impacted by you. You would want people […]