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.
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. […]
Our next session of Family Catechesis at St. Barnabas will take place on Sunday, October 29, as we venture into the second unit of Finding God, which focuses on Jesus. Specifically, our theme will be, “To Whom Can I Turn? Jesus: Fully Human, Fully Divine.” After our setting up of the prayer space and opening prayer, the session will begin by inviting families to discuss examples of unexpected problems or challenges that their families faced […]
From time to time, we Catholics find ourselves having to explain our relationship with the saints to those who are non-Catholic, especially our Protestant brothers and sisters. While all Christians honor the saints to some degree, we Catholics can be really “over-the-top” in our devotion to the saints. (And I mean that in a good way!) Our devotion to the saints is revealed in our love for icons, statues, relics, medals, litanies, prayers, novenas, and […]
In my book, 8 Steps to Energize Your Faith, I include “Delight in Nature and All of Creation” as one of the steps and explain that nature is a “vehicle for conversion, and because spirituality is ultimately about conversion—a deepening of our relationship with the Divine—we can experience conversion and grow in resemblance to our Creator by encountering nature and creation.” In short, the natural world serves as a significant portal to a deeper spirituality. […]
Catholics believe in the inerrancy of the Bible. However, that word “inerrancy” means different things to different people. To some, the inerrancy of the Bible means that every word in the Bible is to be taken literally. This is known as fundamentalism, and folks who abide by this approach are known as fundamentalists. For Catholics, the inerrancy of the Bible refers to the truth that Scripture is conveying. In other words, Catholics believe that everything […]
Our journey into Finding God Family Catechesis at St. Barnabas Parish took its next step on Sunday, October 1, as we welcomed families to the first unit of study in Finding God, which focuses on God’s invitation and our response. Here is a summary of how things went: Once again, I arrived at 7:15 a.m. to set up my stuff for the 8 a.m. start. Patrick, the catechetical leader, had already seen to the set up […]
As catechists, we work with the Holy Spirit to form disciples of Jesus Christ. With that in mind, we’re 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 is pursuing a Licentiate in Sacred Scripture at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome. In this brief video, Fr. Higginbotham helps us understand what […]
Many years ago, when I was teaching a Confirmation class, I came up with an activity to teach about the Seven Deadly Sins, the Seven Virtues, and the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit using music. In essence, I identified “contemporary” songs that speak to each of these items—yes, 21 songs. The gist of the activity is for catechists to play segments of these songs and invite the young people to match them to the […]
After the success of The Catechist’s Toolbox, the folks at Loyola Press asked me, “What’s next? What else do catechists need and what are they looking for?” Thankfully, that question was the beginning of what has come to be known as “The Toolbox Series”—a series of books designed primarily for catechists (as well as for those seeking basic knowledge of the Catholic faith), all following the same user-friendly format of The Catechist’s Toolbox. The Toolbox […]
As the National Eucharistic Revival continues, we reflect on the parts of the Mass and what each part is calling us to do and be the other six days of the week. Our inspiration is my book, Living the Mass: How One Hour a Week Can Change Your Life, co-authored by Fr. Dominic Grassi. Today, we look at the Concluding Rites and reflect on how they help us to begin the work of living out our baptismal commitment […]
