Being a Catechist Archives - Page 73 of 142

A Church of Mercy – In Action

I’m sure you’ve noticed that we at Loyola Press have been talking a lot about Pope Francis’s exciting new book, The Church of Mercy.As our publisher, Fr. Paul Campbell, S.J. reminds everyone, “Remember, Loyola Press is a not-for-profit Jesuit ministry, so this isn’t about lining our own pockets with gold but about getting the Pope’s joyful message of God’s love and mercy to as many as possible.” Heck, I was talking about MERCY here on […]

Bishop David O’Connell’s 5 “i’s” For Effective Catechesis

Joe Paprocki

I mentioned that when I was in the Diocese of Trenton, NJ, last week, I was inspired by Bishop David O’Connell’s homily in which he outlined, among other things, what he considers to be 5 essential elements for effective catechesis and effective catechists. Here are his 5 “i’s” – Identity: get in touch with the Lord Jesus Christ through his Word, through prayer, through meditation, through the sacraments especially Penance and the Eucharist, through […]

Using Arts & Faith: Holy Week with Young Adults

Special Contributor

Following are suggestions for using videos from Arts & Faith: Holy Week with the young adults of your parish. Invite your group to deepen their experience of Holy Week through reflection and discussion of Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, and Good Friday. Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion Since I’m a chronic planner, living in the present moment is always hard for me. I like to think through all the possibilities and then take the next […]

Preparing for Our Mercy Experience – Permission Forms, etc.

Joe Paprocki

Tonight, before taking the kids to church for their monthly Mass, we will focus on our upcoming Mercy Experience (formerly known as service projects!). On April 21, we will be going to the Ronald McDonald House near Advocate Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, IL, to prepare and serve supper for about 30 people currently residing there. Kudos to my DRE, Deb, and to St. Cajetan for strongly suggesting that EVERY grade of religious education be […]

Good News from the Substitute Catechist (Who Just Happens to be the DRE!)

Joe Paprocki

Last week, we missed our weekly session with our 6th graders since we were in Los Angeles for the annual Religious Education Congress. When we arrived back home, I received the following message from my DRE, Deb, who, along with another catechist, subbed for my class. I was so pleased and thrilled to get such a good report, especially the part where she explains that the kids were asking for/explaining their regular routine! Hi Joe, […]

Mercy, Mercy, Mercy!

Joe Paprocki

Last evening was delightful session in which we focused on the “flipside” of the Prophets’ message: the proclamation of hope (we previously focused on their “getting in the face” of Israel over injustices). We talked a lot about the experience of the Exile and how those in exile were devastated and how the Prophets brought a message of hope that culminated in the coming of Jesus. The main focus of the session, however, was on […]

Prophets of Hope: The “Flip-Side” of Getting In Your Face

Joe Paprocki

Last week, we focused on how the Prophets “got in the face” of the people of Israel to remind them to be faithful to the Covenant and to live justly. For this week’s session, we will look at the “flip-side” of the Prophets: their efforts to proclaim hope to an exiled people. The Prophets Give Hope Big Idea: We need HOPE to survive and we find HOPE in God’s MERCY Preliminaries (15 mins) Welcome and […]

Great New Liturgy Apps!

Joe Paprocki

Here’s some information about some great new Apps on the Liturgy! The first is the My Picture Missal App from Loyola Press. This App, available in the iTunes store at this link: My Picture Missal App, was developed for children with special needs and for young children. The intent of this interactive app is to help children learn, understand, and fully experience the Mass. Children with special needs have spiritual lives and, with communication assistance, can […]

Session Plan for March 4, 2014: The Prophets

Joe Paprocki

Here is my lesson plan for tomorrow evening’s session, in which we will turn our attention to the Prophets of Israel. Big Idea: Prophets “get in the face” of the People of Israel. Preliminaries (30 mins) Welcome and attendance Opening prayer ritual/procession to set up prayer center Sacraments quiz Complete Lent discussion from previous week. Engage (10 mins) Put on baseball cap, whistle, and hold clip board and ask who I am imitating. (a coach) […]

Tonight’s Session: 3 R’s – Recognizing, Respecting, and Revealing God’s Presence

Joe Paprocki

My lesson for this evening picks up where we left off last week as we learned about God’s presence in Solomon’s Temple, in the Eucharist, and in ourselves. Tonight, we focus on how we recognize God’s presence in the Sacraments, respect God’s presence in others (this is part of our safe environment program) and reveal God’s presence to others through works of mercy. Session 21: The 3 R’s Big Idea: We are called to Recognize, […]