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.

Celebrating St. Francis Xavier

Joe Paprocki

Tomorrow, December 3, is the feast of the great Jesuit saint, Francis Xavier, a companion of St. Ignatius of Loyola and then a fearless missionary to India and Japan. This feast is a great opportunity for catechists to teach about our missionary call to bring the Gospel of Jesus “ad gentes” (to the nations). In particular, Francis Xavier stands as a monumental example of learning and encounter. Some Jesuit schools observe “Xavier Day” by arranging […]

Gratitude for the Little Things

Joe Paprocki

It’s so easy to be annoyed by the little things. How hard can it be, then, to allow ourselves to be thankful for the little things? The other day, I was on the verge of being completely annoyed by the traffic that made me miss my usual train. Instead, realizing that I was now “early” for the next train, I strolled at a leisurely pace from my parking spot to the train station. I took […]

Facilitating Small Faith Groups for Lent

Reflecting on the Lenten Scriptures Cycle A Video Options

Joe Paprocki

For the last two years I’ve offered handouts for Reflecting on the Lenten Scriptures, to be used in parish small faith groups. Year A materials for 2017 are now available. As I did last year, I selected some options for online videos for further reflection on each week’s theme. Always remember to preview videos before showing to your group, to determine appropriateness for your setting and be sure things work as expected. First Sunday of […]

St. Cecilia, Patron Saint of Musicians, Pray for Us

Joe Paprocki

Tomorrow, November 22, we celebrate the feast day of St. Cecilia, the patron saint of musicians. I’ve made no secret on this blog about my insistence that music and singing must be a part of our catechetical ministry. I also believe that we have a largely untapped embarrassment of riches right under our noses in the form of young people who are adept at playing various instruments such as cello, flute, classical guitar, or piano. These […]

Christ the King window - Image by John Salmon under CC BY-SA 2.0

Celebrating Christ the King

Joe Paprocki

In just a few short days, the Church celebrates the Feast of Christ the King, officially known as the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. This celebration is the culmination of the Church’s liturgical year—a glorious celebration of the Lord who reigns in our lives. And yet, I rarely hear a good homily about the notion of Christ the King. I’ve actually heard homilists dismiss the theme of the feast because […]

Creating Sacred Space for Advent

Joe Paprocki

What does it mean to call something “sacred?” According to the Dictionary of Biblical Imagery (InterVarsity Press), “a sacred space is a place where God is encountered in a special or direct way by virtue of which the very place becomes holy and set apart from ordinary space.” This Advent, embrace the season as a sacred space and do so from the ease of your e-mail inbox. Sacred Advent is a daily e-mail prayer break during […]

The End Times: Urgency, Not Fear (And a Thought About the Election)

Joe Paprocki

My best friend Joe is a real handyman, and he has a keen eye for spotting problems that might need some repair. He often says something like, “It may look OK now, but if you don’t deal with this soon, and if you don’t do it right, you could have some real problems on your hand.” His advice creates a sense of urgency, but not alarm. Joe is a realist, not an alarmist. In the […]

7 Keys to Spiritual Wellness This Advent

Joe Paprocki

The wonderful season of Advent is only a few weeks away! Advent is a season designed for us to focus on our spiritual wellness as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ. With that in mind, I humbly recommend my book, 7 Keys to Spiritual Wellness, as part of your Advent reading, along with the following connections to the themes of Advent as found in the Scripture readings for this season. See yourself as […]

Giovanni Ambrogio Figino - "Portrait of Charles Borromeo" - public domain via Wikimedia Commons

St. Charles Borromeo, Patron Saint of Catechists

Joe Paprocki

In her book, My Best Teachers Were Saints, author Susan H. Swetnam writes about St. Charles Borromeo, the patron saint of catechists, whose feast day we celebrate today. She explains that he supervised the writing of an accurate catechism, rewrote liturgical texts and music, and began enforcing clerical reform in Rome after the Council of Trent. She writes that he was, “an energetic reformer who took ‘always the most austere and stringent interpretation’ of the […]