My inner child is an inner-city kid. I grew up and lived the first 23 years of my life on the near West Side of Chicago, just a few blocks from Cook County Jail. It was and still is a wonderfully gritty, blue-collar, ethnic (80% Hispanic) neighborhood. While the area did and continues to face many challenges, I have mostly wonderful memories of growing up there. One of my fondest memories is of the mural, […]
Part of the mystery of life is not knowing what the future holds for us. As mystagogues, we catechists lead others into their future life, a life clouded by mystery but with one thing crystal clear: God is with them on every step of their journey! I have said before that mystagogues are like sponsors in a 12-step program, who accompany their sponsee on his or her journey from one step to another as one […]
As we continue our occasional series of video reflections on Sharing the Wisdom of Time—reflecting on the wisdom learned from our elders—I invite you to enjoy a brief reflection from Harry Dudley, a consultant in leadership development, ministry formation, and curriculum. Harry retired in August, 2019 from his position as Assistant Director for Certification of Ecclesial Ministry in the Secretariat of Catholic Education of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. He has had a long […]
Two of the common gripes parents have about video games are that they often get children too riled up and they interfere with family time, since most games are played individually or with just one other player. Even when parents or grandparents volunteer to be the other player, we often find the game to be too fast for us to keep up with! Now, there is a video game that can actually help children to […]
There’s a big difference between telling someone, “I can tell you a lot about __________” (Fill in the blank with the name of any celebrity.) and “I’d like to introduce you to ___________.” (Fill in the blank with the same name.) Often faith formation has been thought of and approached as a version of the first option above: a vehicle for telling others about Jesus Christ. This boils down to the teaching of a subject. […]
In our secular calendar, we celebrate holidays such as Memorial Day, Labor Day, Dr. Martin Luther King Day, and Independence Day as ways of reminding us of people or events that represent the best of our core values: service, selflessness, human rights, freedom, etc. Similarly, in our liturgical calendar, we celebrate special days to remind us of people or events that represent our core spiritual values. On Catechetical Sunday, we call forth and commission those dedicated […]
We continue our summer series, Pop-Up Prayer—brief interviews on the topic of prayer with prominent people in pastoral ministry from all over the country! In this episode, Ana Barraza talks about strategies for leading prayer for those with disabilities. Ana currently serves in the Diocese of Sacramento, CA, and has been involved in ministry for over 25 years as a catechist, youth minister, parish catechetical leader, music minister, retreat director, and special education teacher. Be sure […]
Jesus taught that, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13) He then proceeded to lay down his life for us by dying on the Cross. We Catholics place crucifixes in our homes and places of worship and formation as a reminder of the mystery of our faith: it is by dying that we are born to eternal life. This is the kind of love that […]
It’s that time of the year when many catechists—both new and veteran—are gearing up for a new year of faith formation! To help catechists more effectively proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ and truly transform hearts and minds, I am excited to offer a free webinar: The Evangelizing Catechist, on Tuesday, August 16, 2022, at 2:00 p.m. (CDT). In this webinar, I’ll be drawing from my book, Preparing Hearts and Minds: 9 Simple Ways […]
As we continue our occasional series of video reflections on Sharing the Wisdom of Time—reflecting on the wisdom learned from our elders—I invite you to enjoy a brief reflection from someone who just might be familiar to Catechist’s Journey visitors: me! I had the honor of sharing some reflections about my spiritual director, Maureen Kuhn, who passed away not long before this recording. I hope you find this enriching.
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