Mary and the Saints Archives - Page 3 of 14

Pop-Up Catechesis: St. Joseph and a Place for Introverts in the Church

We live in a culture that idealizes extroverts. As a society, we too often tend to equate success, not only with money, but also with the person who can talk the loudest and fastest. We live in a culture of personality. Unfortunately (and this is a pet peeve of mine), the same is often true in our Church: we too often equate discipleship with the ability to talk loud, fast, and convincingly about our faith in […]

Saint Joseph Activities Pack

Joe Paprocki

We don’t know many details about St. Joseph, but he was a model of trust in God. Celebrate the life and example of St. Joseph with our fun activities pack. The pack includes: a cute puzzle for children to color a word search to spark discussion on Joseph’s hidden life a family game idea inspired by Luke 2:41–52 a sheet inviting exploration of lessons Jesus might have learned from Joseph, just as we learn lessons […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: St. Martin de Porres

Joe Paprocki

When an orchestra prepares to perform together, they spend a few minutes before the performance ensuring that they are all in tune with one another. Without this effort, the audience would no doubt hear the disharmony and cringe at the discordant sound. In our human relationships, we are called to live in harmony with one another. In the area of race relations, however, we continue to experience far too much disharmony. On November 3, we […]

Printable Saints Figures

Joe Paprocki

Celebrate the saints with our printable saints figures. Featuring art and saints from Finding God: Our Response to God’s Gift Kindergarten, these figures are a fun and simple project to color, cut, and fold. Here are a few ideas for how to use these saints figures: Display the finished figures on a classroom shelf or prayer table, or in the background for an online catechetical session. Fold the finished picture around a toilet paper tube […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: Setting Your Children on a Path to Sainthood

Joe Paprocki

“My child, a saint?” That might very well be your first reaction to the title of this post! The reason we might pause when thinking of our children as potential saints is because we have the erroneous impression of the saints as perfect people, when the saints themselves would be the first to tell you how imperfect they were. First, don’t forget that we have two kinds of saints: those who have been canonized or honored […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: Practicing Mindfulness Like St. Teresa of Ávila

Joe Paprocki

Throughout the history of the Church, there have been many notable men and women who have mastered the art of contemplation or resting in the presence of God. Today, another word used for contemplation is mindfulness, which, according to author Anne Kertz Kernion, can be described as “being fully anchored in the present moment.” (Spiritual Practices for the Brain) In this episode of Pop-Up Catechesis, we explore the notion of mindfulness as we prepare to […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: Celebrating God’s Wonderful World

Joe Paprocki

Autumn is one of my favorite times! It is a season that just begs for outdoor activity—to get out into the crisp autumn air and to see the leaves changing spectacular colors. It is a season that reminds us of the beauty of God’s creation, as well as our responsibility to care for that creation. The new Directory for Catechesis reminds us that “Catechesis is to take care in the first place to help believers […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: Make a Wish and Blow Out the Candles

Joe Paprocki

Among the many traditions that are part of a birthday celebration is that of the celebrant making a wish and blowing out the candles. This tradition most likely has its roots in ancient Greece, when people would offer cakes and candles as an offering to the gods. It was believed that the smoke rising from the blown-out candles carried the offering to the gods. On September 8, we celebrate the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: Our Hearts Are Restless

Joe Paprocki

One of the things that I get a kick out of when watching our grandchildren is seeing how restless they can get—and knowing that eventually we will return those restless children to their parents to deal with! On a spiritual level, we never really outgrow that restlessness. We continually seek rest or fulfillment in any number of things. In reality, as St. Augustine famously wrote, “our hearts are restless, Lord, until they find rest in you.” […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: Celebrating the Queenship of Mary

Joe Paprocki

One of the traditional characteristics of royalty is someone who leads an army into battle. Before Israel had a king, they would go into battle led by the Ark of the Covenant, which represented the presence of Almighty God in their midst. Eventually, the Ark of the Covenant was lost to history. However, Christians see Mary, the Mother of Jesus, as the new “Ark of the Covenant”—one who bears within her the presence of the […]