Today people expect the books they purchase to have “extras,” such as online activities and games. We don’t just read books anymore; we interact with them! With that in mind, Loyola Press has two new wonderful books that come with extras. Audacious Ignatius by Paul Mitchell, illustrated by Katie Broussard—First of all, I love this book! I love its playfulness while telling the story of St. Ignatius of Loyola so that children can come to […]
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, […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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