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Liturgy and Sacraments

The Ponderings of an RCIA Catechist

I came across these thoughts from an RCIA catechist pondering the first session of breaking open the Word. Take a look… http://catholicwideweb.wordpress.com/2009/10/11/rcia-catechist/

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Newsworthy

Catholic Athletes for Christ

No class tonight because of Columbus Day. I was thinking yesterday that it will be unusual to have a Monday night off. Then, I was looking at the Chicago Blackhawks’ schedule and saw that they are playing a home game tonight and I thought to myself that it’s unusual for the Hawks to play a home game on a Monday night…but at least I’d be home to watch the game on TV.  Then, at 10 pm last […]

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Creative Moments

A Walk Through the Bible

For last night’s class, I did my best  to walk the young people through the Bible. Unfortunately, as happens, we had some interruptions (a fire drill and a time out to have the kids sign a banner for the Year of the Priest) so in the end I only had about 40 minutes to teach…I got as far as getting the Jewish people out of Egypt and across the Red Sea and ran out of […]

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Junior High

Teaching About the Holy Spirit and the Trinity

I’ve had just enough time to prepare my lesson for tonight and have not left enough time to tell you about it in detail! Suffice to say that we will be learning about the Holy Spirit and how we are never alone because of the Spirit’s presence. We’ll focus on the word ADVOCATE to talk about how the Spirit helps us (my aide is a nurse and I’ve asked her to talk about how as […]

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Creative Moments

Teaching the Trinity: What's Your Opinion on This Approach?

This coming Monday, my lesson will be on the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity, and I plan to also talk about the mystery of the Trinity. I’ve been observing a thread on Catholic Catechist dealing with how to teach the Trinity. One suggestion caught my eye. It is from a catechist named Cheri and I think it is a good approach: Use ice, water, and steam as a visual aid. Show your students […]

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Miscellaneous

Catechists and Spiritual Direction

At one time (and perhaps in the minds of many people still today), spiritual direction was considered something reserved for the “spiritual elite” – priests and religious. Today, more and more lay people are discovering the value of spiritual direction. I’ve been seeing a spiritual director for about 5 years now and find it extremely enriching. At a recent presentation I was giving, I asked catechists what they are doing for their own ongoing spiritual […]

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Creative Moments

Off to a Good Start?

Are you off to a good start this year as a catechist? Please share your comments with me and your fellow catechists about your first session (click on Comments below). My first session last night went very well, thank God! Today I’ll share some observations about the Engage step, which, being the first class, took about 35 minutes: My aide had a family issue to tend to and was unable to be there last night […]

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Joe's Comings and Goings

Don't Miss My Article in RTJ!

I had the pleasure of writing an article for the September, 2009, issue of Religion Teacher’s Journal titled “A Beginning-of-the-Year Checklist for Teaching: Prepare For a Successful Year with These Helpful Tips”(page 20) Be sure to pick up a copy.

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Newsworthy

A Sample Guided Reflection

In tonight’s Webinar presentation, I offered tips for leading guided reflections. I promised to post a sample on my blog for your convenience. This is taken from the Finding God program which includes scripts for guided reflections in each unit. Another good resource for guided reflections is Guided Reflections for Children, Volumes 1 and 2 (Loyola Press). Called to Holiness – (Time: approximately 10 minutes)   We all have imagination. Imagination allows us to go places […]

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Newsworthy

Top Ten Reasons to Become a Catechist

Some of you may recall this short video I did last year to encourage people to become a catechist. I offer it once again for those who are considering becoming a catechist or as a recruitment tool for someone you’d like to see consider becoming a catechist.