Newsworthy

A DRE in the northern suburbs of Chicago, Matt Furjanic, published a nice article in his parish bulletin titled “Top 10 Ways to Help Your Child Get the Most of His/Her Religious Education Sessions.” Nice job, Matt! Take an active interest in your child’s work – review lessons together, look in your child’s folder each week when he/she brings it home. Help your child complete any homework assignments. Post papers/artwork on the refrigerator or bulletin […]

I’ve been reminding my young adult audiences at Theology on Tap that, according to the Code of Canon Law, they have a right to sound catechesis! All too often, young adults (and for that matter, adults in general) are neglected when it comes to offering catechesis which is to be a lifelong endeavor and not relegated to a childhood experience. Many young adults are surprised to discover that catechesis is their right according to canon law. […]

I doubt that the average catechist is going to read Sacramentum Caritatis (The Sacrament of Charity), Pope Benedict XVI’s Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on the Eucharist. For one, the document is nearly 27,000 words long. For another, most catechists and average Catholics for that matter don’t make a habit of reading Apostolic Exhortations. For the most part, it is a beautifully written document, presenting the truths about the Eucharist in language that speaks to our times. […]

Today is Good Shepherd Sunday. The image of the Good Shepherd is often depicted in stained-glass windows and on holy cards, showing Jesus in spotless white robes holding a lamb. Nice image but not at all realistic. Shepherds are the equivalent of cowboys in the Old West. They are rough and gritty, working under often difficult conditions to tend to cattle. I offer this image, not to dismiss the Good Shepherd image, but to re-visit […]

In recent years, many catechists are finding themselves involved in teaching over the summer in “Vacation Bible School,” once a phenomenon found fairly exclusively in Protestant circles. Several Catholic versions of VBS exist and other creative DREs have found ways to adapt Protestant VBS to Catholic settings. I’ve not been involved in VBS although I think its a great idea. The parish where I serve as a catechist has run a very successful VBS for […]

We’ve all heard the phrase, “Seeing is believing.” This is pretty much what the apostle Thomas was saying in response to the other apostles who had encountered the Risen Lord. Thomas wanted and needed something tangible to put his faith in. In many ways, Thomas is symbolic of the age we live in. More and more, people are putting their faith and trust into that which is material and tangible. Pope Benedict XVI addresses this […]

Happy Easter to all! I was overwhelmed at the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday at the Gospel Acclamation which was so joyful and thunderous. It occurred to me that we have no secrets as Christians. What we have is mystery but we PROCLAIM it loudly to the world. As catechists, we do not pass on a secret…we proclaim the mystery of faith revealed to us in the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus. This is […]

I will be doing a radio interview (by phone) tonight about my book God’s Library: A Catholic Introduction to the World’s Greatest Book on The Catholic Channel (Sirius Satellite Radio, channel 159). The interview is by Fr. Paul Keenan who hosts As You Think, weekdays from 9pm – 1 am (ET). I’m scheduled for 10:40 pm (ET). I’ll be sure to say something wonderful about catechists!!! As You Think Weekdays 9 pm – 1 am ET […]

Summer is a good time for catechists to get some spiritual enrichment from reading. More often than not, however, catechists I speak to are not sure of where and how they can locate Catholic publishers to explore their reading materials. I recommend the following resource: the Member Directory of The Catholic Book Publishers Association (www.cbpa.org/members.html). From their Web page, you can identify various Catholic publishers and then follow the links to the publishers’ own Web […]

Be sure to check out a couple of very helpful online resources for catechists: Doreen Gerczak is a religion coordinator and instructor for grades 6, 7, and 8 at St. Edward’s Catholic Community in Spring, Texas. She invites catechists to her site “Catholic Catechist” – (www.CatholicCatechist.org) – dedicated to providing Catholic resources, lesson plans and classroom ideas to catechists worldwide. She also has a discussion group. Gilles Côté, located in Canada, taught grades 7 through 12 for […]