I keep a cartoon on my desk in my office that shows a mechanic leaning over a car engine while his boss stands looking over his shoulder, asking, “Did I tell you that you’re doing a good job?” The mechanic replies, “No,” to which the boss responds, “I didn’t think so.” Affirmation is a tricky thing. With over 35 years of experience in ministry, I’ve learned not to rely on affirmation and to find it […]
When delivering presentations, I often ask participants to raise their hands if they consider themselves an introvert. Usually about 40% of hands go up, to which I reply, “OK, almost half of you, and then a number of you didn’t raise your hand because you’re an introvert!” The truth is, I count myself in this category. Now, you may be surprised to learn that I am an introvert, but to be one doesn’t mean that […]
I am excited to announce that the slide presentations I’ve created for The Effective Catechetical Leader series are now available. When we at Loyola Press collaborated with the good folks at NCCL (National Conference for Catechetical Leadership), we talked about developing some ancillary materials that would enhance diocesan efforts to offer formation and training opportunities for catechetical leaders. It became obvious very early on that one such resource would be PowerPoint presentations—one for each of the […]
Editor’s note: In our online book club, we’re reading Jane Knuth’s The Prayer List…and Other True Stories of How Families Pray. Each Tuesday through August 7, 2018, we’ll bring you Book Club Bonus Days—sharing additional stories of family prayer, continuing the weekly conversation, and more. Find all the book club posts here. As we start our book club discussion of Jane Knuth’s The Prayer List, I’ve been invited to share my memories of family prayer. […]
Our online book club starts on Monday! As we get ready to read together The Prayer List by Jane Knuth, I asked Jane to share more about prayer and the book with us. Joe Paprocki: When you inherited your family prayer list, your first reaction was, “Uh-oh.” Tell us more about that reaction. Jane Knuth: Frankly, it looked like a lot of work to me. Aunt Kay spent hours each day praying for people, and […]
In today’s world of social media, we often have to learn new vocabulary for various phenomena that occur by way of the digital world. One such phrase is “flash mob,” which refers to a large public gathering organized via social media, at which people “instantly” arrive to perform some unusual or random act and then quickly disperse. Here’s an example of a flash mob performing part of Handel’s Messiah at a mall in Amsterdam. Before […]
From time to time, I receive requests from people asking me for or recommending that I develop leader guides for my books. The truth is, many of my books already have Leader Guides! These guides can assist you in leading formation sessions or book discussions based on each book. They are especially helpful for small faith groups that wish to focus on a single resource for a period of time. Be sure to visit the page […]
Bring St. Paul to life in your school or parish by producing the three-act play Paul, the Apostle. Young people can perform each act for their peers in the classroom, or adults and youth can work together to perform the entire play for a community audience. The acts introduce in a fun way: Paul’s Youth Saul’s Conversion Paul’s Missionary Journeys Perfect for a summer gathering around the Solemnity of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (June […]
I have to admit that, as an introvert (technically speaking), I tend to cringe a bit when a facilitator or speaker tells us participants to turn to a neighbor or group of neighbors and engage in discussion. It’s just not my style. Of course, when I do follow instructions, I find that I meet some wonderful people and learn some amazing things! At the other end of the spectrum are people who are eager to interact […]
Recently, I posted about the challenge of convincing our children that going to Mass is a priority in our lives, especially when they push back and tell us that it’s boring or that they don’t get anything out of it. Rather than trying to convince them that it will be fun and exciting, it is more important that we concentrate on helping them to appreciate the deeper reasons why Sunday worship—the Eucharist—is so central to […]
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