Joe's Comings and Goings Archives - Page 4 of 31

Little Lessons from the Mystics - book cover and image of author Bob Burnham

Mystical Catechesis: Little Lessons from the Mystics

“Religion is belief in someone else’s experience. Spirituality is having your own experience.” —Deepak Chopra This quote pops up frequently on social media, and it speaks an important truth: spirituality is an experience of a relationship with the Divine. Such an experience is one of mystery. Another word we use for such an experience is mystical. Unfortunately, in our culture, the word mystical has come to be synonymous with the word magical: something beyond the […]

The 12 Books of Christmas from Loyola Press

12 Books of Christmas: A Respite from Screen Time

Joe Paprocki

Parents and children are no doubt eager to catch a break from all of the screen time that comes with working and schooling from home during the pandemic. The Christmas holidays provide just the kind of respite that is so needed—an opportunity for families to gather around something other than a computer screen! I’d like to suggest reading books as a family as the perfect option for the Christmas holidays. Loyola Press is making that […]

Pope Francis Says covers in English and Spanish

Experiencing Screen Fatigue? Engage Children with Books This Fall!

Joe Paprocki

Let’s face it: as a result of social distancing, many of us and our children are spending a lot more time sitting in front of a screen these past few months! While convenient, it does indeed result in a kind of fatigue. Do yourself and your children a favor this fall, and get your hands on some great books in hard-copy form. One of my favorites, and a book that my wife and I read to […]

Confronting Racism: Everyone Belongs

Joe Paprocki

I’ve always found John 4:4 to be a strangely intriguing passage. The passage tells us that Jesus left Judea and returned to Galilee and that, to do so, “he had to go through Samaria.” The reason it is intriguing is because he did not have to go through Samaria. There were, in fact, other ways to get from Judea to Galilee. While passing through Samaria was the shortest route, it was a route that many Jews avoided, because […]

Bringing Sports and Faith Together: “All In” by Coach Porter Moser

Joe Paprocki

Early on in my career, I was once gently criticized by a colleague for using too many sports metaphors in my writing and speaking. Having taught religion for a decade in an all-boys high school, I found that references to sports resonated with my students, and so I relied on them quite often. My colleague suggested that sports references were “masculine” and excluded the girls. Perhaps there was a time when this was true, but we […]

Start with Jesus by Julianne Stanz - author and book pictured

Our “Why” Is a “Who”—Start with Jesus by Julianne Stanz

Joe Paprocki

Popular author and speaker, Simon Sinek, made a splash a few years ago with his book, Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action. His point is well-taken: people won’t truly buy into a product, service, movement, or idea until they understand the why behind it. For Christians, our “Why” is a “Who!” OK, I know this is beginning to sound like the old “Who’s on First?” bit by Abbott and Costello, […]

The Adaptive Teacher: Faith-Based Strategies to Reach and Teach Learners with Disabilities - book cover with images of authors John E. Barone and Charleen Katra

Becoming an Adaptive Teacher/Catechist and Including Those with Disabilities

Joe Paprocki

Whenever I go out to eat with a group of people, I quickly scan the seating arrangements at the table and select a location that will be acceptable to me. No, I’m not looking for a place of honor at the head of the table! I’m looking for a location that will enable me to most effectively hear and enter into the conversation taking place. Why? Because I am hearing impaired. I have profound hearing loss in […]

Why We Have Processions: We Are to Be a Church on the Move!

Joe Paprocki

Many things are associated with Catholicism: novenas, rosaries, statues, holy water, scapulars, and so on. We call these “things” sacramentals. They are symbolic words or actions that remind us of the presence of God in our lives and draw us to the sacraments. One of my favorite sacramentals is the act of walking in procession. When our non-Catholic friends attend Mass with us, they very often comment on the amount of movement required of the […]

Every Symbolic Action Tells a Story: Living the Sacraments

Joe Paprocki

Every symbolic action invokes a narrative—it tells a story. When a child falls down and scrapes a knee, he or she goes to Mommy or Daddy and asks her or him to “kiss it and make it better.” Now, we know that this act is symbolic and does not heal damaged cells at the molecular level, but we do it because we know that it does make it better! The symbolic act transports the child from a […]

Dear Pope Francis covers in English and Spanish

Instead of Giving Money as a Gift for First Holy Communion

Joe Paprocki

I’ve touched on this issue before: the strange tradition we Catholics have of giving children money as a First Holy Communion gift. While a well-intentioned gesture, it makes little sense: “You’ve received the Body of Christ; now go out and buy something for yourself!” Anyway, I’ll get off my soapbox, but not before suggesting an alternative gift idea. I suggest the wonderful Dear Pope Francis book (also available in Spanish) as a most fitting First […]