Newsworthy Archives - Page 16 of 21

“Greatest Hits” from Church Catechetical Documents

Whether you are a beginning catechist or a returning catechist, it is good to be familiar with the Church’s documentary tradition when it comes to catechesis. Over the years, the Church has provided us with numerous resources to guide and inspire the ministry of catechesis. Here are just a few of what I consider to be some of the most inspiring lines from these documents (this list is not intended to be definitive…if there are […]

8 Reasons to Bring Your Child Regularly to Mass

Joe Paprocki

One of the biggest frustrations that catechists have is the fact that so many of our students are not attending Mass (because their parents are not attending). Here is a helpful resource I recently came across titled, “8 Reasons to Bring Your Child Regularly to Mass.” It is in a parent “magazine” called “Together: Preparing at Home for First Eucharist” ((written by Tom McGrath) that is a part of the God’s Gift: Eucharist program (Loyola […]

Discerning the Call to Be a Catechist

Joe Paprocki

To be a catechist is to have a vocation – a call from God. This means that if you are contemplating becoming a catechist, you need to involved God in the decision-making. We call this discernment. Here are a few tips I’ve written on the practice of discernment: Many choices we face in life are very complex. How do we know what God wants us to do? What is God’s will for us? This is […]

Catechetical Sunday – September 21, 2008

Joe Paprocki

Have you marked your calendar for Catechetical Sunday? It officially takes place September 21, 2008. Of course, check with your parish DRE…some parishes celebrate on a different date because of conflicts in their local calendar (it’s not a liturgical feast, so parishes can celebrate it whenever they want). Be sure to check out http://www.usccbpublishing.org/client/client_pages/catsun.cfm

Catechesis as Courtship

Joe Paprocki

Does anyone remember courtship? Back in the day, the process of a young man and a young woman entering into an ever-deepening relationship followed a pattern. For some, this pattern still exists, however, with society’s casual attitudes about sex, for many the process is “out the window.” Anyway, courtship follows a definite pattern: the couple meet and introduce themselves the couple spends time getting to know one another as a relationship develops, the couple learns […]

An Excerpt From My New Book!

Joe Paprocki

Here is an excerpt from my new book, A Well-Built Faith: A Catholic’s Guide to Knowing and Sharing What We Believe: Shortly after the events of September 11, 2001, there was a great deal of tension between Muslims and non-Muslims in many parts of the United States. In an effort to respond to the situation with Gospel values, I invited the Imam of a local Muslim community in the Chicago suburbs to meet with a […]

The "Itch" to Return

Joe Paprocki

Lots of stories in the sports pages today about Brett Favre getting the “itch” to return to football after announcing originally that he planned to retire. Around this time of the summer, I get the “itch” for the religious education year to begin! Being off (from teaching) for May and June and having a wonderful vacation in Marco Island, Florida, works wonders for restoring one’s energy. Don’t get me wrong…I still look forward to having […]

Become a Catechist

Joe Paprocki

Here’s a link to a nice effort by some folks to recruit catechists for their parish: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90OcnKfpURk

Summer Intensive R.E.

Joe Paprocki

I’m hearing that some parishes are experimenting with a catechetical model that employs a summer intensive religious education program for K-8 (usually 3 weeks) while throughout the year, offering periodic intergenerational events and a weekly children’s liturgy of the Word. Sounds to me like an interesting alternative. This is not to be confused with a Vacation Bible School. it is the formal religious education program taking place in a 3-week intensive model. Instead of having twenty- […]

Catechists in Rwanda

Joe Paprocki

What an amazing world we live in today where I am engaged in a dialogue with an Anglican minister from Rwanda about catechist formation!!! See below: Good morning, Joe. First, a little background. I’m a missionary priest with the Province of the Anglican Church of Rwanda. In an ironic circumstance which could only come about by the providence of God, the missionary jurisdiction to which I’m assigned is here in North America—Africa is sending missionaries […]