Being a Catechist Archives - Page 81 of 142

Catechetical Sunday (9/15/13) – Open the Door of Faith

This year, the Church will celebrate Catechetical Sunday on September 15, 2013, and will focus on the theme “Open the Door of Faith.” As always, and appropriately so, catechists will be called forth in their parishes to be commissioned for their ministry. Catechetical Sunday is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the role that each person plays, by virtue of Baptism, in handing on the faith and being a witness to the Gospel. Catechetical Sunday […]

Nik Wallenda, the Grand Canyon, and Faith in Jesus Christ

Joe Paprocki

This is strictly an opinion piece and therefore open to debate which I invite, but as always, be charitable in your comments to me, to one another, and to Nik Wallenda! So last night, daredevil Nik Wallenda made his historic walk across the Grand Canyon on a tightrope with no tether and no safety net, gluing countless numbers of viewers like myself to the live broadcast. In addition to the drama of the stunt itself, […]

Credit for Viewing Recorded Webinars

Joe Paprocki

As you know, all of my Webinars are recorded and archived here on my blog for easy access (see the Webinars tab at the top of this home page). Many catechists are able to apply the time spent participating in these Webinars toward their catechist certification. We, at Loyola Press, however, are unable to provide certificates for viewing recordings of Webinars. With that in mind, however, I have developed a form that dioceses might use so […]

Finding God: Our Response to God's Gifts program

Divine Pedagogy and the Catechetical Process

Joe Paprocki

Recently, someone asked me to share some thoughts about the theological underpinnings of the four-step catechetical process employed in the Finding God program. Here is how I replied. ( I think it summarizes succinctly the soundness of this process.) The catechetical process used in the Finding God program—engage, explore, reflect, respond—imitates how God teaches us. We call that the “Divine Pedagogy”—the method God uses to reveal himself to us. The process begins with God intervening […]

More About Meekness

Joe Paprocki

Back when the Beatles were in business, they occasionally wrote songs that they themselves thought of as “throwaways,” meaning that they didn’t really think much of the songs themselves and yet, often these songs turned out to be hits, resonating with their fans. I have to admit that occasionally, I consider some of my posts to be “throwaways” – something that I post because I can’t think of anything else at the moment and, it […]

Let’s Help a Colleague: Project Based Learning for Confirmation Prep

Joe Paprocki

I received the following email from Tom, telling me about his idea of doing a “project-based” approach to Confirmation preparation. Here’s how he describes it: Hi Joe, It was great to meet you in Winnipeg last month; your visit got me thinking about our parish’s catechetical confirmation prep. The candidates are in Gr. 9 (or as you folks say, ninth grade). I’m looking at implementing project based learning at the core of the […]

Artistic Beauty Can Lead the Human Heart to God

Joe Paprocki

In a general audience in August, 2011, Pope Benedict spoke of the importance of art in the life of faith, saying that artistic beauty can lead the human heart to God. “Art is capable of making visible our need to go beyond what we see and it reveals our thirst for infinite beauty, for God,” said the Holy Father. Whether you consider yourself an artist or not, we are all drawn to beauty. In fact, […]

May Crowning Update

Joe Paprocki

Last week, I posted about the beautiful Catholic tradition of May Crowning and my quest to find out how to either acquire or make a small “crown” for my backyard Mary Statue. As it turns out, the miniature floral crown that I ordered was WAY too mini! So, instead, I went to Michaels and found resources to make my own which I placed on Mary on Mother’s Day! I’m just a regular Martha Stewart! […]

“Keystone” Habits – How Change (Conversion) Happens

Joe Paprocki

In his book, The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business, Charles Duhigg talks about how we form habits and how we can change them. He specifically describes habits that he refers to as “keystone habits,” explaining that “success doesn’t depend on getting every single thing right, but instead relies on identifying a few key priorities and fashioning them into powerful levers.” Keystone habits are those that, when changed, […]

Ends With a Whimper, Not a Bang

Joe Paprocki

Alas, the catechetical year with my 6th graders ended with more of a whimper than a bang last evening! Suffice it to say that their eagerness to be done with Monday night religious education sessions outweighed any anguish they were feeling about not seeing Mr. Paprocki any more! 🙂 Part of the problem stemmed from the usual shenanigans that one encounters when supervising a large group of pre-adolescents attending Mass on a Monday evening after […]