Being a Catechist Archives - Page 45 of 142

Letting the Holy Spirit Lead When Your Lesson Falls Flat

We’ve all been there. You’ve planned the perfect lesson for the children or adults in your session. You’ve spent the week memorizing the material and making notes. You did the extra research to come with some great information not found in your regular curriculum. You’ve even prepared handouts or activities or songs. But once you got in the classroom, the lesson plan didn’t work at all. The group didn’t understand the material; your activities were […]

When and How to Introduce Advent

Denise Gorss

The first week of Advent begins on the Sunday following Thanksgiving. While that is usual, it forces me to make a choice in how to introduce Advent: Do I talk about the season early, before Thanksgiving? Or do I wait until after the holiday break, when the season has already started? I’ve alternated my approach through the years, but I usually like to at least introduce Advent before the holiday, inviting the young people to […]

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 […]

Sacrifice and Courage

Lisa Jones

During this week’s lesson on Christ’s Passion, Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension, I focused on his sacrifice and courage. We discussed how Jesus had the courage to allow God’s will to be done, especially knowing the plan involved sacrificing his life. To set the tone for this serious topic, I started the class a little differently. When the children entered the classroom, I had them stand in a circle around electric candles I had brought from […]

Game of the Good Shepherd

Shannon Chisholm

I attended the celebrations of First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion at several different churches last year. While I was able to experience the joy of the sacraments in many different ways, I often heard the same Gospel reading: the parable of the Good Shepherd. This parable is a natural choice for these sacraments. It is a beautiful passage that depicts the intimate love and relationship between God and God’s people, and helps us to […]

Patron Saints Election Results

Denise Gorss

At the time I write this, my group of seventh graders has narrowed down the pool of saintly candidates to three as we move toward electing a patron saint for our classroom. The finalists are St. Mary, St. Francis Xavier, and Blessed Miguel Pro. Mary is polling as the current leader, but who knows what the final tally will say. You may recall that when I originally shared this activity of electing a patron saint, […]

4 Ways the RCIA Makes Me a Better Catechist

Four Ways the RCIA Makes Me a Better Catechist

Bob Burnham

When I started out as a catechist, I began with my parish’s Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) ministry. A few years later I joined the faith formation team that served our parish’s young people, first as a substitute, then as a regular catechist. I continue to serve in both ministries, and while teaching the faith to candidates in the RCIA is different from teaching it to young people (For example, candidates in the […]

School-Wide Advent Wreath Prayer Service

Barb Gilman

I love the way we celebrate Advent at my school. Every Monday the entire school—all 515 students and their teachers—gather in the auditorium to pray and sing traditional Advent carols. Our tradition is simple and beautiful. In the center of the auditorium is a table, upon which sits an Advent wreath with a purple bow. The wreath cradles four pillar candles—three purple and one pink. A group of cantors stand off to one side, and […]

The Promise of a Superhero

Lisa Jones

I explored God’s message of hope with my fourth graders this week. God shared his message of hope by promising to send someone who would save all people from sin. God promised to send the Messiah. While preparing the lesson, the following sentence jumped out at me: “Jesus did not fit the profile of the Messiah whom many were expecting and were yearning for.” That gave me an idea of how to start a conversation […]