Discipleship Archives - Catechist's Journey

Understanding Discipleship: A Webinar with Fr. Brice Higginbotham

In Catholic circles, we hear the word discipleship mentioned more and more. However, what exactly is discipleship? What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus? How do we make disciples of Christ? Where do we go to learn more about what discipleship looks like? To explore these and other questions related to the concept of discipleship, join me for a webinar with Fr. Brice Higginbotham. Understanding Discipleship A Webinar with Fr. Brice Higginbotham […]

stand-up paddle boarding - photo by Tiana on Pexels

What’s SUP? Catholic Mentoring on the Deck of a Stand-Up Paddle Board

Jayne Ragasa-Mondoy

“I’ll meet you on the beach tomorrow morning in front of lifeguard station 9B.” Bernadette is a force to be reckoned with. Smart, bold, and athletic, she spent months attempting to convince me that I was capable of mastering a stand-up paddle board (SUP) on the open ocean. I finally agreed to give it a try. So there I stood, scrunching my toes into the sand in front of station 9B, awaiting her arrival and […]

Lenten Disciples - icon of Jesus and Mary and Martha at tomb of Lazarus

Lenten Disciples: Martha and Mary at the Raising of Lazarus

Julianne Stanz

In this Lenten disciples series, we have explored the stories of Jesus and the woman of Samaria (John 4:1–42) and the man who was blind since birth (John 9:1–41). We now turn to the dramatic story of the raising of Lazarus (John 11:1–45). Set in the small town of Bethany, which was about two miles from Jerusalem, we hear that Lazarus, the brother of Martha and Mary, was very sick. The sisters sent word to Jesus, […]

Lenten Disciples - icon of Jesus giving sight to man born blind

Lenten Disciples: The Man Born Blind

Julianne Stanz

In the Scriptures, we see examples of disciples at different stages of their faith journeys. Through the story of Jesus and the woman of Samaria (John 4:1–42), we explored the early stages of the discipleship journey. Later in the Gospel of John, we hear the story of Jesus restoring sight to a man born blind. (John 9:1–41) This story represents the next stage in the journey of discipleship. In this story, a man who was […]

Lenten Disciples - icon of Jesus and Samaritan Woman at the Well

Lenten Disciples: The Woman at the Well

Julianne Stanz

In the Scriptures, we see examples of disciples at different stages of their journeys. For the next few weeks of Lent, we will explore three different encounters with Jesus and what these encounters tell us about discipleship. We will focus first on perhaps one of the best-known stories in the Bible: Jesus and the woman of Samaria (John 4:1–42). In this story, Jesus approaches a Samaritan woman and strikes up a conversation with her at […]

Catechists as Mystagogues - text over watercolor background by Sergey Ryumin/Moment/Getty Images

Catechists as Mystagogues: Apprenticing Others into Discipleship

Joe Paprocki

Years ago, it was common for a young person to learn a trade by being apprenticed by someone who was a master in that trade. When it was published in 1997, the General Directory for Catechesis (#67) created some excitement by declaring that faith formation was to be understood as an apprenticeship. What does it mean to apprentice someone into the Catholic faith? To answer that, let’s look at the essentials of an apprenticeship: The […]

woman leading catechist meeting - Getty Images

Stop, Look, and Listen in Evangelization

Jayne Ragasa-Mondoy

How can we reach out to others and have their best interests in mind as we evangelize? Thinking about that question reminded me of Jesus’ own way of “seeing us” through being compassionately aware and present, especially in our time of need. In a recent prayer project with Joe Paprocki, I described prayer as a process through which we regularly take the time to stop whatever we may be engaged in, look around and connect […]

Sent to Evangelize Prayer Service Celebration

Sent to Evangelize Prayer Celebration

Joe Paprocki

Schedule a prayer celebration to help young people reflect on their role in evangelization and accept their mission to evangelize. Our “Sent to Evangelize” prayer service takes its focus from Matthew 28:16–20 and includes roles for multiple readers. The accompanying Commitment Cards are a concrete reminder for young people to take to heart their role as disciples. The prayer celebration is from Christ Our Life, Grade 8. Use battery-operated candles if traditional candles are not […]

St. Lorenzo Ruiz - photo by Judgefloro, used under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The Saints as Missionary Disciples: St. Lorenzo Ruiz

Julianne Stanz

This is part four of a series exploring saints who lived as missionary disciples. Jesus called ordinary people to become his disciples, and through the gift of faith, they accomplished many extraordinary feats. He transformed simple fishermen and merchants into men and women who utterly altered the society in which they lived. We might not think we are capable of the same kinds of miraculous deeds, but we are. If the thought of carrying out […]

Love Inspires Evangelization

Joe Paprocki

The primary reason for evangelizing is our love for Jesus, which we have received, as well as the experience of salvation, which urges us to love him more and more. What kind of love would not feel the need to speak of the beloved, to point him out, to make him known? If we do not feel an intense desire to share this love, we need to pray insistently that [Jesus] will once more touch […]