Last evening was the last teaching session for this year with my 8th graders. Next week, we gather for Mass, some presentations, and then pizza. I enjoyed last night and overall, I feel it went very nicely, a fitting ending to a good year with a good group of kids. Here are the highlights: I met the young people at the door as they arrived. I was holding a tray with their little vigil candles […]
Another element that I’ve developed for this coming Monday’s session is a look back on our year together, inviting the young people to select what their favorite session(s) was/were and what they learned from it/them. I put together a handout that summarizes briefly what we did in each session and asks them to rate the sessions on a scale of 1-10 (1=poor and 10=excellent). After we’ve read through the descriptions of the sessions and the […]
I have an article appearing in the current issue of Today’s Catholic Teacher magazine! It is directed to religion teachers in Catholic schools however I’m sure that catechists in parish RE programs can benefit as well. Enjoy! (click on the link below) http://www.catholicteacher.com/archive/articles_view.php?article_id=2174
“We are entering a period of new vitality for the Church, a period in which adult Catholic laity will play a pivotal leadership role in fulfilling the Christian mission of evangelizing and transforming society. For adults to fulfill their role in this new era of the Church, their faith formation must be lifelong, just as they must continue to learn to keep up in the changing world.” (Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us: A Pastoral […]
Since September, 2008, I’ve been writing a column for CATECHIST magazine entitled What’s Your Catholic IQ? It’s been a very enjoyable experience and I’m told it is one of the most popular features in the magazine (it already was before I took over writing the column from Page Zyromski). These quizzes are a fun way for catechists to wrap your own head around the vast treasury of knowledge that the Catholic faith offers us. Likewise, […]
“Catechesis must make it clear that the person of Jesus Christ offers a realistic alternative to immediate gratification and the satisfaction of personal deeds.” (The National Director for Catechesis, 4C)
The effective catechist knows how to use just about any event as an opportunity for catechesis. Some Catholics feel that because Dr. King was not Catholic, it’s not proper to hold him up as a role model and to reflect on his life, his words, and his accomplishments. Nonsense. God works through all people and God’s grace worked through and continues to work through the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Resources […]
In this weekly feature, I post a particularly significant quote from a particularly significant catechetical document, for inspiration and edification. The primary and essential object of catechesis is, to use an expression dear to St. Paul and also to contemporary theology, “the mystery of Christ.” Catechizing is in a way to lead a person to study this mystery in all its dimensions: “to make all men see what is the plan of the mystery…comprehend with […]
Once a week, I plan to post a particularly significant quote from a particularly significant catechetical document, for inspiration and edification. I hope you enjoy this new feature! Catechesis acquires certain characteristics in virtue of being an “essential moment” in the process of evangelization, in the service of Christian initiation. It is [a] comprehensive and systematic formation in the faith. [T]his comprehensive formation includes more than instruction: it is an apprenticeship of the entire Christian […]
Now that my blog is coming up on its 2nd anniversary, it’s time to give my site a little “face-lift!” In just a few days, you’ll notice that Catechist’s Journey has a new look to it while maintaining the same quality content that you’ve come to enjoy. In addition to the new look, my blog will also be integrated into the new Loyola Press Web site www.loyolapress.com. For the past 7 years, I have had […]
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