Being a Catechist Archives - Page 127 of 142

Catechists in Rwanda

What an amazing world we live in today where I am engaged in a dialogue with an Anglican minister from Rwanda about catechist formation!!! See below: Good morning, Joe. First, a little background. I’m a missionary priest with the Province of the Anglican Church of Rwanda. In an ironic circumstance which could only come about by the providence of God, the missionary jurisdiction to which I’m assigned is here in North America—Africa is sending missionaries […]

Fr. Pfleger, the Holy Spirit, the Virtues, and Being Prophetic

Joe Paprocki

Lots of Catholics are talking about the controversy over Fr. Michael Pfleger’s politically and racially charged talk last week at Trinity United Church. Unfortunately, lots of knee-jerk reactions are happening. I have met Fr. Pfleger on a number of occasions over the years and have great respect for the way he has taken the Gospel to the streets. On the other hand, I also have many reservations about his tactics. It’s important for us as […]

A Different Kind of Homework for R.E.

Joe Paprocki

I’m pondering a different kind of homework for my religious education students for next year. Typically, we think of homework as completing some type of worksheet, writing an essay or a paragraph, or reading a chapter and answering questions. I’m talking about a different kind of homework: assignments that amount to practicing what we preach. In other words, we hope that what we teach our young people will have an impact on how they live […]

Congratulations, Graduates!

Joe Paprocki

I just want to take this opportunity to offer congratulations to all of this year’s graduates that catechist’s are involved with in any way! From students we teach in Kindergarten, 8th grade, senior year high school and college to members of our own families who are graduating to all of the catechists who are completing formation programs and achieving certification by their dioceses! Praise God for these accomplishments and for the grace that enabled(s) all […]

The Gifts of Reverence (aka Piety) and Fear of the Lord

Joe Paprocki

Two of the wonderful Gifts of the Holy Spirit are the gift of Reverence, also referred to as Piety, and Fear of the Lord. How sorely these gifts are needed in our society today! Both of these gifts lead us to recognize and accept the reality that we are humble creatures at the service of our Creator and others. Both of these gifts lead us to recognize the proper attitude and response to take in any […]

Teach Them to Pray

Joe Paprocki

At the Catechetical Ministries Awards Banquet last evening (sponsored by the Archdiocese of Chicago, Office for Catechesis and Youth Ministry), Cardinal George gave the crowd some inside scoop on the Pope’s visit to the U.S. He told us that before the Pope departed, the bishops asked him some questions, one of which was, what his advice was about teaching young people in a culture of secularization. The Pope responded, “Teach them to pray!” I thought […]

Catechist Self-Assessment Checklist

Joe Paprocki

With the end of most religious education program years occurring, this is a good time for catechists to do a little bit of self assessment. Feel free to use the following by yourself, with a peer or group of peers, or with your DRE. 1 = poor/I disagree 2 = fair/I somewhat disagree 3 = good/I somewhat agree 4 = excellent/I agree I became more aware of my vocation as a catechist 1 2 3 4 […]

It's My Calling

Joe Paprocki

I was deeply inspired by John, one of my fellow catechists the other night. As we were chaperoning the 8th grader’s pizza party after our last class on Monday, we got to chatting about next year. He’s been a catechist for 11 years and has just seen his daughter through his own 8th grade class. It often happens that when a catechist’s last child completes the program, they “retire.” This is very understandable because they […]

Send Me the Certificate

Joe Paprocki

Here’s a good one (and it’s a true story). A DRE friend of mine told me that one of her Confirmandi was ill the day of Confirmation and was unable to attend the celebration. The DRE spoke with the mother of the child on the phone and offered her all of the upcoming opportunities for the child to celebrate the sacrament at neighboring parishes. The mother replied, “Can’t you just send me the certificate?” Ugh! […]

Comments from the Kids

Joe Paprocki

Last night was our last class for the year and it was a very nice send-off. The closing Mass was very good and the young people seemed genuinely touched by the little token that I offered them. A number of the 8th grade students also went out for pizza afterwards accompanied by 3 of us catechists. As it turns out, last week, when I missed class because of my daughter’s illness, my aide, Kris, had […]