Happy New Year everybody!!! I hope, pray, and trust that this year will be filled with many blessings for you in your role as a catechist! Tonight, when I teach, I plan to wear my Blackhawks jersey, which I’m wearing here in this picture at last night’s Hawks’ victory (my daughter Amy’s first Hawks game). I want to point out that we make a statement by what we wear. I’ll then ask the kids to […]
Yesterday, I provided a rather glowing summary of Monday evening’s Confirmation Intensive. Indeed, the evening overall went very well and was a positive experience. On the other hand, there are always a few moments that provide sobering reminders of the troubles that some of these kids have. The Confirmation Intensives allows me the opportunity to catch a glimpse, so to speak, of each of the five 8th grade classes. For the most part, each of […]
I began class last night by inviting the kids to join me in another room that I had set up with my “crystal ball!” I have a light fixture – a globe – that is tinted white and I placed a battery operated flickering candle inside of it and wrapped a purple cloth around the base of it. All of the lights in the room were turned off and I had a CD playing in […]
Tonight, as we begin our first of five Confirmation Intensives (class will be for two hours instead of 75 minutes, comprised of five different mini-sessions), I will be teaching about images of the Holy Spirit: water, anointing, fire, and a dove. To introduce this concept, I am bringing in a blank red octagon that I cut out of construction paper and afixed to a stick. I plan to show it to the kids and to […]
I made mention in my post yesterday that my initial research into the history of Las Posadas indicates some Jesuit origins. Well, you can’t believe everything you read on the Internet! Two of my colleagues – Santiago Cortés-Sjöberg and Miguel Arias – set me straight on the matter. It seems that it was the Augustinians who introduced Las Posadas as a way to evangelize the Aztecs in the 16th century. The Augustinians requested and received […]
In a very tiny way, I can relate to the journey of Joseph and Mary as they left Nazareth to travel to Bethlehem: it just so happens that I’m moving from one workspace to another! Although the distance of my journey will only be about 50 feet, it is a small reminder that we are all pilgrims on a much grander journey! I was thinking that I should add a dramatic flare to my move […]
Happy Advent! I hope that your Thanksgiving weekend was an opportunity to enjoy family, friends, and some recreation and renewal! Well, it’s back to “work” for me tonight, wrapping up the short unit on Church history. Here’s my plan: As the kids enter, I’ll give them pages from daily newspapers and set them to work finding examples of “bad news.” Each of the kids will share their examples of bad news stories with the group and I’ll talk […]
As we approach Thanksgiving, I thought it would be a good time to pause and give thanks for those blessings that are specifically related to my (our) role as a catechist. To the following, I/we pray, “Thank you, Lord!” What would you add? For my vocation as a catechist… For the many people who formed me in faith… For those I am privileged to teach… For those I have taught in the past… For my […]
Tonight, we begin our unit on Church History. We kick off this unit by bringing all five eighth grade classes together for a PowerPoint presentation on Church history to give them a sweeping overview of major events in Church history over the past 2,000 years. Each of the five catechists “narrates” a period of Church history and the kids take notes on a fill-in-the-blank note-taking sheet we provide. It’s an engaging way to introduce a […]
November is, of course, the month of all souls, a special time of the year for us to remember those who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith. To mark this special month, as part of our opening prayer last night, instead of having the kids offer prayers of thanksgiving or petitions for needs, I asked them each to share the name(s) of loved ones who have passed away so that we […]
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