Books

My 4 Minutes of Fame – The WGN-TV Morning Show

I had a very exciting experience this morning appearing on the WGN-TV Morning Show for a brief (4 minutes!) segment on my book 7 Keys to Spiritual Wellness. I’ve been watching Larry Potash and Robin Baumgarten on this local Chicago morning show for years and it was a thrill to be interviewed by them. They were so friendly and welcoming and put me at ease and I thought the segment went extremely well (thank you, […]

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Comings & Goings

The Jesus Approach to Evangelization

While at the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress, I had the pleasure of listening to a keynote delivered by Rev. Anthony Gittins, CSSp on the Urgency of Discipleship and Evangelization. In his talk, Fr. Gittins made some excellent points about evangelization. First, he identified 4 requirements for evangelization: Proclamation Witness (which he says is “proclamation with our mouths shut!” – I love it!) Dialogue (with an emphasis on listening) Liberation He also went on to explain […]

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Comings & Goings

More From Los Angeles Religious Education Conference 2012

I had a great experience delivering a presentation on Practice Makes Catholic yesterday to about 1000 people here at the L.A. Religious Education Conference! It was very exciting to speak to a crowd that big! Thanks to all who came out to make this such a wonderful experience. Here’s a pic of HALF the room before it filled up with folks. After my presentation, I had an encounter with someone who made the “soup nazi” (from Seinfeld)  look […]

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Comings & Goings

I Love L.A.!

I’m celebrating Catholicism California style at the annual Los Angeles Religious Education Congress, which draws about 40,000 people over four days! It is always an exciting experience. I’m thrilled to be giving a talk this afternoon and I’ve met so many wonderful people in just the few hours I’ve been here. I’ll tell you more about it as the weekend goes along. Here are a couple of pics. Here I am enjoying dinner in Downtown […]

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Comings & Goings

Terrific Time in Tucson!

I had the most wonderful weekend in Tucson, AZ, speaking at their catechetical conference Co-Workers in the Vineyard. First, it was wonderful because my wife, Joanne, was able to travel with me for once and we got a chance to visit with her sister, nieces, and god-daughter. Second, it was wonderful because we got to see Bishop Gerald Kicanas who hired me right out of college to teach at the high school seminary almost 30 […]

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Comings & Goings

A Different Kind of Big MAC!

  I had a great time at the MAC (Mid Atlantic Congress) conference in Baltimore this past week and enjoyed numerous opportunities to meet and talk to so many wonderful people. Thanks to all the people who worked so hard to make this conference such a success, especially the Association of Catholic Publishers. For me, the highlights were: getting a chance to listen to Fr. Jim Martin, SJ, once again and to chat with him […]

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Joe's Comings and Goings

A More Robust Liturgy – My Article In Ministry & Liturgy Magazine

Here’s an excerpt from an article (“7 Steps to a More Robust Liturgy”) I just had published in Ministry & Liturgy Magazine: On a recent trip to Hawaii, I visited the Polynesian Cultural Center and got a firsthand glimpse of the ritual expression of the Polynesian people: bold, dramatic, rich, deeply expressive, highly energizing. I found my imagination stirred, my heart moved, and my senses stimulated as young people explained and performed ancient rituals to the […]

Books

They’re Here! 40 Ideas for 40 Days of Lent AND My New Book!

Just in time for Lent! I’m happy to once again provide my very popular 40 Ideas for 40 Days of Lent – a resource that provides catechists and families with 40 practical, creative, and inspiring catechetical activities for the Lenten season, many of them placed specifically on days/dates to which they connect in the Lenten liturgical calendar. This year, to keep things fresh, I have included 7 brand new ideas, one for each week of Lent. […]

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Books

Talking About Humility

I noticed that author Jane Knuth (Thrift Store Saints) asked a question about humility yesterday on the People for Others blog. In particular, she mentions the following quote from St. Vincent de Paul and then asks readers to share their understanding of the quote. The most powerful weapon to conquer the devil is humility. For, as he does not know at all how to employ it, neither does he know how to defend himself from […]

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Books

Getting Spiritually Fit this New Year!

I commented a few days ago about the fact that many of us commit to getting physically fit in the New Year and, while there is certainly nothing wrong with that, perhaps it would be even more important to get spiritually fit! My new book, 7 Keys to Spiritual Wellness will help you to do just that. To be spiritual is to recognize that, in life, there is more than meets the eye. Spiritual wellness enables […]