Advent

Advent wreath

Browse the collection of Advent articles for catechists from the contributors at Catechist’s Journey. Highlights include:

For even more Advent ideas, including the e-mail series Reimagining Advent with the Examen, visit Advent Resources from Loyola Press.

O Antiphons Activities Pack
Advent

O Antiphons Activities Pack

Denise Gorss

The familiar Advent hymn “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” has as its verses paraphrases of the O Antiphons. These special prayers are prayed at Evening Prayer and as the Alleluia verse at weekday Masses from December 17–23. Introduce young people and families to the O Antiphons this Advent with our O Antiphons Activities Pack. Young people can learn the Latin words of the O Antiphons and compose a special poem. Or invite families to pray […]

John the Baptist mosaic - MykolaIvashchenko/iStock/Getty Images
Advent

Advent: Sharing Stories of Hope, Part 3

Joe Paprocki

Welcome to the final installment of this brief series on sharing stories of hope during Advent. Previously, we’ve talked about how, through storytelling, we share our most important values, and how the stories we share, especially about people in need, must be stories of hope or “action motivators” rather than “action inhibitors.” During the holiday season, it is common to share stories about people in need of our charity and support. In his book, Cannonball […]

Cannonball Moments book by Eric A. Clayton (pictured)
Advent

Advent: Sharing Stories of Hope, Part 2

Joe Paprocki

In part one of this series, Advent: Sharing Stories of Hope, I wrote about how storytelling is a way of sharing our values (that which is most important to us) and how hope is a virtue that we highlight during the Advent season. Advent reminds us that we are to be a people of hope year-round, each and every day. We are to be people who carry and exude a confident and joyful anticipation of […]

family telling stories around Christmas tree with Nativity scene in front of them - ferrantraite/E+/Getty Images
Advent

Advent: Sharing Stories of Hope

Joe Paprocki

Recently, my wife Joanne and I went on a trip to Cabo, Mexico, for our best friends’ daughter’s wedding. We spent four wonderful days in Mexico with our best friends, and when we returned home, we gathered with them, just three days later, to look at pictures and share stories. That might seem like a strange thing to do, since we had just been together for this shared experience. However, it is human nature to […]

boy with Advent calendar - Philippe Lissac/GODONG/Stone/Getty Images
Advent

The Growing Popularity of Advent Calendars: A Teachable Moment

Joe Paprocki

Have you noticed that “Advent calendars” are all the rage these days? I put that in quotes because the “Advent calendars” I’m referring to are secular in nature and have become a big part of holiday marketing and sales. There are “Advent calendars” for wine, tea, chocolate, books, gemstones, spices, cookies, and a host of other delights, most of which have nothing to do with the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Now, I’m not […]

Advent Traditions Explained: A Webinar with Amy Welborn (pictured next to Advent wreath)
Advent

Advent Traditions Explained: A Webinar with Amy Welborn

Joe Paprocki

I’ve always loved the opening scene of Fiddler on the Roof, when Tevye explains the importance of tradition: “You may ask, ‘How did this tradition get started?’ I’ll tell you! I don’t know. But it’s a tradition. And because of our traditions, every one of us knows who he is and what God expects him to do.” I especially love that last line in which he explains that tradition helps us to know who we are […]

Reimagining Advent with the Examen
Advent

Advent: Reimagining Our Lives and Our World

Joe Paprocki

The wonderful season of Advent is just weeks away! One of my favorite Advent homilies was delivered by the late Fr. Jack Daley to the students at Quigley South High School, where I taught in the 1980s. Fr. Jack began by doing some of the most incredible imitations of cartoon characters, including Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, and Woody Woodpecker. He had the students in stitches. He then went on to talk about how […]

Pop-Up Catechesis with Joe Paprocki
Advent

Pop-Up Catechesis: Advent Reminds Us That We Need a Savior

Joe Paprocki

From time to time on social media, we come across stories and videos of dramatic rescues (such as this one). In such situations, people who are incapable of saving themselves turn to first responders who intervene and save them from danger. This is the definition of a savior: someone who rescues another who is incapable of saving him- or herself. Aside from physical dangers, we encounter other realities in life from which we are incapable […]

Advent Attitudes
Advent

Advent: A Season of Anticipation

Joe Paprocki

Years ago, a TV commercial effectively used Carly Simon’s song, “Anticipation” to accompany images of thick, rich ketchup slowly making its way to the opening of the bottle before being generously slathered on mouthwatering burgers and crispy French fries while a voice says, “Think of how good it’s gonna taste when it finally gets there!” The commercials ended with the claim that this ketchup has “the taste worth waiting for.” I can’t help but think […]

Pop-Up Catechesis with Joe Paprocki
Advent

Pop-Up Catechesis: An Advent Jesse Tree

Joe Paprocki

With the season of Advent soon upon us, I want to share about a great Advent tradition that you can do as a family: the making of a Jesse tree. The Jesse tree, named after the father of King David, helps us to connect the custom of decorating Christmas trees to the events in our salvation history that lead to Jesus’ birth. It is, in essence, Jesus’ family tree. We adorn a Jesse tree with […]