Catechists on YouTube?

A recent innovation on the Internet is the popularity of Catholic video podcasts (a.k.a. vodcasts) that show up on YouTube and other media as a means to spread the faith. For example, Philadelphia’s archbishop Cardinal Justin Rigali used YouTube during Lent to provide brief video reflections on the gospels and recieved thousands of hits (visits). I’m wondering about how catechists might be able to use YouTube to reach those we teach, not in place of […]

Teaching to Generation Me: Part Seven

On May 18, I began a 7-part series, offering some thougts about how to teach the Catholic faith to “Generation Me” (those born in the 70s through the 90s; Generation Me, Jean Twenge, M.D.).Click on the following to read: Part One: The Decline of Social Rules Part Two: Excessive Individualism Part Three: You Can Be Anything You Want Part Four: The Age of Anxiety Part Five: The Attitude of “Yeah, Right…No Point in Trying” Part […]

Teaching To Generation Me: Part Six

On May 18, I began a 7-part series, offering some thougts about how to teach the Catholic faith to “Generation Me” (those born in the 70s through the 90s; Generation Me, Jean Twenge, M.D.). Click on the following to read: Part One: The Decline of Social Rules Part Two: Excessive Individualism Part Three: You Can Be Anything You Want Part Four: The Age of Anxiety Part Five: The Attitude of “Yeah, Right…No Point in Trying” […]

Teaching to Generation Me: Part Five

On May 18, I began a 7-part series, offering some thougts about how to teach the Catholic faith to “Generation Me” (those born in the 70s through the 90s; Generation Me, Jean Twenge, M.D.). Click on the following to read: Part One: The Decline of Social Rules Part Two: Excessive Individualism Part Three: You Can Be Anything You Want Part Four: The Age of Anxiety Today, we address another unique characteristic of Generation Me: the […]

Teaching to Generation Me: Part Four

On May 18, I began a 7-part series, offering some thougts about how to teach the Catholic faith to “Generation Me” (those born in the 70s through the 90s; Generation Me, Jean Twenge, M.D.). Click on the following to read: Part One: The Decline of Social Rules Part Two: Excessive Individualism Part Three: You Can Be Anything You Want Today, we address another unique characteristic of Generation Me: “the age of anxiety” The Age of […]

Teaching to Generation Me – Part 3

On May 18, I began a 7-part series, offering some thougts about how to teach the Catholic faith to “Generation Me” (those born in the 70s through the 90s; Generation Me, Jean Twenge, M.D.). Click on the following to read: Part One: The Decline of Social Rules Part Two: Excessive Individualism Today, we address another unique characteristic of Generation Me: the belief that “you can be anything you want to be” You Can Be Anything […]

Teaching to Generation Me – Part 2

On May 18, I began a 7-part series, offering some thougts about how to teach the Catholic faith to “Generation Me” (those born in the 70s through the 90s; Generation Me, Jean Twenge, M.D.). Click here to read the intro and part 1. Today, we address another unique characteristic of Generation Me: excessive individualism. Individualism – Since the time they were very young, Gen Me-ers have been bombarded with messages intended to boost self-esteem. It […]

Teaching to Generation Me (aka Gen Y; Millennials)

Recently I had the pleasure of reading Generation Me: Why Today’s Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled – and More Miserable Than Ever Before (Jean M Twenge, M.D., Free Press, 2006). In her book, Dr. Twenge, herself a member of “Generation Me” (aka, Millennials, Gen Y), those born in the 70s through the 90s, uses findings from a large intergenerational research study (1.3 million respondents over six decades) to reveal how profoundly different today’s […]

Why Do We Give Money on First Communions?

A few days ago, I posted about the Easter Season being a “festival of sacraments.” Well, today is one such day as we celebrate my nephew’s First Communion. It is a beautiful bright and sunny spring day…a “storybook” First Communion-type day. Of course the weather has nothing to do with the encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist, but God IS revealed through the beauty and wonder of creation and the nice weather serves to reinforce […]

Help Catholic Children Grow Into Catholic Adults

If we want our young Catholics to grow into adult Catholics, then maybe we ought to start treating them like “equals.” As catechists, those we teach are typically baptized and in full communion. They may not yet be confirmed but they are no less a disciple of Christ than any of us adults. Perhaps that’s why Pope Benedict XVI spoke to the youth of Brazil in the following terms: “You are the youth of the […]

1 134 135 136 137 138 142