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 40 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.

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 […]

Holy Orders: Oh, to Be Thin!

Joe Paprocki

Everyone who is baptized into Christ is called to share in the priesthood of Christ, which means that understanding the priesthood helps each of us better understand our Baptism. In fact, in Baptism, the following words are spoken: “As Christ was anointed priest, prophet, and king, so may you live always as a member of his body, sharing everlasting life.” As disciples of Christ, we are called to love and serve God and others by […]

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 […]

Matrimony: Who Loves You?

Joe Paprocki

Sometimes, we need to be reminded of who loves us most. Throughout Scripture, God reminds his people of his great love for them. A closer look at the actual phrasing of the First Commandment illustrates this tendency on the part of God to remind his children of what he has done for them: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no […]

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 […]

Anointing of the Sick: Healing as God’s M.O.

Joe Paprocki

When we talk about “thin places” or “thin moments”—when the veil between heaven and earth seems very thin—we tend to think of places of great beauty or experiences of joy or accomplishment. But thin moments are not limited to experiences of beauty and joy. The truth is, we come face-to-face with mystery at moments of loss or pain. Sickness, the loss of our health, is one of those moments; it is an experience that makes us […]

Active Learning Strategies (Video)

Joe Paprocki

Do you employ active learning strategies in your classroom? Watch this video introduction to active learning strategies. Then consider ways to shine the spotlight on those you teach as you start planning this year’s sessions. Read the post that inspired this video: Engaging Young People with Active Learning Strategies.