Catechetical Issues & Topics Archives - Page 44 of 71

young girl praying - text: Introducing young people to lectio divina and guided reflection

First Experiences with Two Forms of Prayer

One of my favorite parts of teaching religious education is introducing young people to various forms of prayer. In addition to starting sessions with three traditional prayers—the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the Glory Be to the Father—I’ve led them in lectio divina and guided reflection. When I mentioned to another catechist that I was doing lectio divina with seventh graders, she questioned how that worked, unsure that the technique was one young people […]

How to Make a Portable Labyrinth

Joe Paprocki

One of the mistakes we make in adult catechesis when it comes to prayer—one of the six tasks of catechesis—is that we talk about prayer instead of simply engaging people in experiences of prayer and then unpacking those experiences later. I have learned that a very effective tool for engaging people, especially beginners, in the life of prayer is the labyrinth. A labyrinth is a circular pattern with a cross at its center, and a person […]

Celebrating the Saints: Four Ways to Be a Catholic Superhero

Darcy Osby

As a child I always thought of the saints as Catholic superheroes. While they may have started out as normal people like you and me, I imagined that they received their super powers of holiness after being bitten by a radioactive, grace-infused spider or by falling into a chemical pit of sacred ooze. The fact is, however, that we have all received super powers of holiness through our Baptism! Baptism transforms us from ordinary people […]

Best Practices for Leading Group Prayer

Joyce Donahue

This is the second article in a series about leading prayer. Whenever Catholics pray before group activities—whether a staff, catechist, or parent meeting or a gathering of the parish youth group—we offer all our efforts to the Father. We acknowledge that when we are gathered, Jesus is present with us. We invoke the Holy Spirit to guide us. Group prayers sanctify the activity, reminding us that the ultimate goal is to glorify God. Yet how […]

Can Your Catechists Tell THE Story?

Joyce Donahue

Whenever I serve in my parish as a catechist, I notice something distressing: children generally have little knowledge of Bible stories. Many of them cannot connect the dots from Jesus’ birth in a stable to his Death and Resurrection. Even fewer can connect Adam and Eve to Jesus; only a few have heard of such key ancestors in faith as Abraham, Moses, and David; and almost none of them realize how they personally are connected […]

Which American Saint Are You? Lesson Plan with Posters and Prayer Cards

Which American Saint Are You?—Free Lesson Plan

Joe Paprocki

When we learn about the saints, we must remember that they were ordinary people just like us. Like us, the saints had to figure out who they were in the eyes of God and then live out that vision. They give us examples of how people dedicate their lives to God. Learning from them, we can figure out how to dedicate our lives to God, each in our own way. We can use each saint’s […]

Creating People for Others Partnerships

Joe Paprocki

Last Friday, I posted about creating mercy opportunities for fifth graders, tied in with the doctrine being taught in each chapter of the Finding God fifth-grade book. Several of the suggestions made mention of partnering with Loyola Press’s “People for Others” campaign. Here’s some background and a proposal. Being a “person for others” is a very important Ignatian principle and is something that we strive to practice here at Loyola Press. Throughout the year, we provide […]

Celebrating Catechetical Sunday

Darcy Osby

The theme for this year’s Catechetical Sunday is essential to our ministry as catechists: Safeguarding the Dignity of Every Human Person. As catechists, we are charged with this task in different ways. First, we are charged with safeguarding the dignity of those in our classes. We do this by treating each child with loving respect and by ensuring that each child has an opportunity to share his or her unique gifts and perspectives. In this […]

Setting the Stage: Creating the Space for Prayer

Joyce Donahue

This is the first article in a series about leading prayer. When Catholics pray, we are often surrounded by reminders of who we are. At Mass, we can easily identify the current liturgical season or feast from how the sanctuary is decorated, the color of the priest’s vestments, the hymns we sing, and sometimes from the aroma of incense. We are accompanied in our liturgical prayers by statues of the saints, Scripture stories in stained […]

Connecting Catechesis to Social Action

Eric Gurash

With the catechetical year set to get underway in just a few weeks, now is a good time to reflect on where you are directing your efforts and decide on any changes that you may need to make in the year to come. This evaluation and planning process may benefit from a brief review of the General Directory for Catechesis (GDC). Intended to be a central reference point for all aspects of catechesis, the GDC […]