Joe's Comings and Goings Archives

Offering Parents a Little HELP

Recently, the National Community of Catechetical Leaders (NCCL) conducted a survey of more than 300 parish catechetical leaders, asking them to identify the most critical issues in catechesis today. At the top of the survey was “Parent Education and Formation.” Simply put, catechists and catechetical leaders recognize that, if we want to form children in faith, we need also to form their parents! Of course, this begs the question, “What resource(s) can we use to […]

My New Book Is Here: 8 Steps to Energize Your Faith

Joe Paprocki

I’m thrilled to announce that my new book, 8 Steps to Energize Your Faith, is now available! I am convinced that holiness is achieved by emulating (resembling) God and that, when we do, we tap into divine energy. In this book, I name eight characteristics of God that God has revealed to us in Scripture and point out how, when we emulate those characteristics in our daily living, we step into a stream of […]

Our 15th Anniversary Giveaway: Living the Mass

Joe Paprocki

We hope you’ve enjoyed our year-long celebration of the 15th anniversary of the launch of Catechist’s Journey and publication of The Catechist’s Toolbox. Our celebration concludes today with the chance to win a copy of Living the Mass: How One Hour a Week Can Change Your Life. Many Catholics believe that far more people would attend Mass if only the homilies were better, or the music were more inspiring, or . . . the list […]

Seven Clues: A Catholic Treasure Hunt book by Scott Hahn and Maura Roan McKeegan (pictured)

Seven Clues to These Sacred Mysteries

Joe Paprocki

At the beginning of Mass, the priest greets the assembly and says, “Brothers and Sisters, let us acknowledge our sins, and so prepare ourselves to celebrate these sacred mysteries.” Children are especially intrigued by mysteries! When my kids were of grade-school age and got together with their same-aged cousins, they eagerly put their heads together to solve mysteries as they played their own version of the TV show Ghostwriter. Of course, the key to solving […]

Our 15th Anniversary Giveaway: Six Weeks with the Bible

Joe Paprocki

We continue our year-long celebration of the 15th anniversary of the launch of Catechist’s Journey and publication of The Catechist’s Toolbox. Our celebration continues today with the chance to win five copies for your small group of Amos/Hosea/Micah: A Call to Justice, part of the Six Weeks with the Bible series. The prophets Amos, Hosea, and Micah convey in no uncertain terms what God thinks about oppression, injustice, and neglect of the poor. The blunt […]

Our 15th Anniversary Giveaway: Under the Influence of Jesus

Joe Paprocki

We continue our year-long celebration of the 15th anniversary of the launch of Catechist’s Journey and publication of The Catechist’s Toolbox. Our celebration continues today with the chance to win a copy of Under the Influence of Jesus: The Transforming Experience of Encountering Christ. It was during the feast of Pentecost when a dejected, cowering, frightened group of Jesus’ closest followers were suddenly transformed by the Holy Spirit into bold proclaimers of a life-changing message. […]

Our 15th Anniversary Giveaway: Practice Makes Catholic

Joe Paprocki

We continue our year-long celebration of the 15th anniversary of the launch of Catechist’s Journey and publication of The Catechist’s Toolbox. Our celebration continues today with the chance to win a copy of Practice Makes Catholic: Moving from a Learned Faith to a Lived Faith. It is said that practice makes perfect, but what else does practice make? I’d say that practice makes Catholic—that is, there are certain distinct practices that make us essentially Catholic. […]

Catechist’s Journey Anniversary Party

Joe Paprocki

Throughout 2022, we’ve been celebrating the 15th anniversary of this blog, Catechist’s Journey. Just look at what was going on in the world 15 years ago: The first iPhone was released. Ratatouille was all the rage in theaters. The Departed won the Oscar for Best Picture. Internet Explorer was the most popular Web browser. The Boston Red Sox won the World Series. Desperate Housewives was one of the most popular shows on TV. Pope Benedict […]

Our 15th Anniversary Giveaway: The Catechist’s Backpack

Joe Paprocki

We continue our year-long celebration of the 15th anniversary of the launch of Catechist’s Journey and publication of The Catechist’s Toolbox. Our celebration continues today with the chance to win a copy of The Catechist’s Backpack: Spiritual Essentials for the Journey. It is obvious that catechists spend their time guiding children and adults in deepening their Catholic faith, but we have to ask, “Who’s guiding the catechists on their spiritual journey?” While there are many […]

author Fr. Michael Rossmann, SJ, pictured next to his book, The Freedom of Missing Out: Letting Go of Fear and Saying Yes to Life

Replacing a Fear of Missing Out with the Freedom of Missing Out

Joe Paprocki

One of the most famous cases of “FOMO” (Fear of Missing Out) can be found in the Gospels: the story of the rich young man (Matthew 19:16–22; Mark 10:17–27). Although the young man was interested in following Jesus, he couldn’t get past his fear of missing out on a life of material wealth. This story is no doubt included in the Gospels to remind us catechists that our invitations to follow Jesus will be met […]