Joe's Comings and Goings Archives

The Catholic Parents' Survival Guide: Straight Answers to Your Kids' Toughest Questions by Julianne Stanz - author pictured next to book cover

Do Young Children Have the Capacity for a Relationship with Jesus?

Enjoy this excerpt from The Catholic Parents’ Survival Guide. Question: Do young children have the capacity for a relationship with Jesus? —Javier and Gloria, parents of one Answer: Yes, children have a very real capacity to understand and develop a relationship with Jesus. Let me share this story with you. When my daughter was 3 years old, she could be a bit of a challenge at Mass. Coming forward to receive Holy Communion, for example, […]

"Farming and Homesteading with the Saints" by Andie Andrews Eisenberg - book and author pictured

Saints We Encounter Outdoors

Joe Paprocki

In my book, 8 Steps to Energize Your Faith, I include “Delight in Nature and All of Creation” as one of the steps and explain that nature is a “vehicle for conversion, and because spirituality is ultimately about conversion—a deepening of our relationship with the Divine—we can experience conversion and grow in resemblance to our Creator by encountering nature and creation.” In short, the natural world serves as a significant portal to a deeper spirituality. […]

being knowing and doing - text on stained glass background

The Toolbox Series: Where Should I Start?

Joe Paprocki

After the success of The Catechist’s Toolbox, the folks at Loyola Press asked me, “What’s next? What else do catechists need and what are they looking for?” Thankfully, that question was the beginning of what has come to be known as “The Toolbox Series”—a series of books designed primarily for catechists (as well as for those seeking basic knowledge of the Catholic faith), all following the same user-friendly format of The Catechist’s Toolbox. The Toolbox […]

A Church on the Move: 52 Ideas in 52 Minutes

Joe Paprocki

There is no time like the present for a parish to pause and take stock of its way of proceeding in order to reignite energy, stop doing things “the way we’ve always done them,” and become a Church on the move! To assist in this endeavor, I’ve recorded a free presentation. In this presentation, I offer a fast-paced look at the suggestions from my book, A Church on the Move: 52 Ways to Get Mission […]

Making Faith Portable, Shareable, Adaptable, and Replicable

Joe Paprocki

My good friend and colleague in ministry, Julianne Stanz, wisely reminds us that our faith is and must be “portable, shareable, and adaptable.” I couldn’t agree more! I’ve always used the word replicable with reference to catechesis, meaning that those we teach should be able to pass along or share with others what we have shared with them. The word catechesis means “to echo!” An echo is a replication of a sound, and those we […]

Supporting the Domestic Church: The Catholic Parents’ Survival Guide

Joe Paprocki

Being a parent in today’s world is challenging. Now, add to that the job of being Catholic parents trying to raise children with Catholic values in a world where such values can be thought of as countercultural, and we’re talking about a major challenge. This is why we, as a Church, must do all we can to support parents in their efforts to make their home a domestic church. Thankfully, help has arrived in the […]

Offering Parents a Little HELP

Joe Paprocki

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 […]