I’ve been reading The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, a professed atheist and I must say I am very disappointed. His tone is so bitter and the way he speaks of people of faith is so belittling that I find nothing compelling in his stance. Not that I want to be compelled! However, I was under the impression that his book was an attempt to offer a logical and practical argument for atheism but it […]
On Sunday, I attended Mass at St. Emily parish in Mount Prospect, immediately before my Theology on Tap presentation. After Communion, a young man (probably in his twenties), came up to the microphone and gave a witness talk about his calling as a catechist. He did an excellent job of talking about the need for catechesis and the spiritual growth that comes with serving as a catechist. He also extended a powerful invitation to folks […]
I’m beginning my Theology on Tap talks this week with the following story. At the time of 9/11, I was working for the Archdiocese of Chicago, Office for Catechesis, as a Vicariate Catechetical Coordinator. The DREs I was working with felt that it would be good to engage in Muslim-Catholic dialogue and I agreed. I visited a mosque and invited the Imam there to meet with a group of DREs and he cordially accepted. A few […]
So while I was on vacation, the Pope issued his “long awaited” document allowing for the return of the Latin Mass. Some people have fond memories of the Latin Mass. I’m not one of them. Of course I was only 7 years old when the Mass changed to English but I have definite memories of the Latin Mass at the parish where I grew up. My most vivid memory is how, when we’d get home from […]
When asked to become a catechist, many people hesitate. “Me? A Catechist?” That hesitation is based on many things. Below are some common reasons that people hesitate to become a catechist. What I really wanted to do is write a response to each reason but I’m in a bit of a time crunch to get a lot of work done before I begin vacation tomorrow, SO, I’m hoping that y’all can pitch in and send […]
Take a look at “What I’m Reading” in the right column below to see what I’m wrapping my head around this summer…as usual, pretty ecclectic!
Fellow catechist Denise sends along these top reasons for becoming a catechist (she wrote these without seeing my list from yesterday): A common recruitment answer is that you’ll learn more about the Catholic faith by teaching it. That’s certainly true, but my experience has been more that I gain new insights on knowledge already floating around my brain, new ways of looking at faith. The kids draw out those insights, and do it in such […]
Acknowledging that God has no gender and with respect and sensitivity to those who prefer not to use male metaphors for talking about God, I’d like to offer a few thoughts about God on this Father’s Day weekend. (I have no doubt that everything I’m about to say could have been said on Mother’s Day too…I just didn’t think of it then and, being a father myself, these thoughts come more naturally to me!) So […]
The other day, my wife and I took our daughter to register for her first year of college at the University of Illinois, Champaign. Everything went very well and she got all of the classes she needed and we got to see a lot of the campus as well. While she was in the building registering, my wife and I had a chance to scope the grounds and find the Catholic Center! We weren’t about […]
I’ve run across a story in the last couple of days about a group of Salesian nuns in San Antonio who are praying for the Spurs in the NBA finals. It makes for a fun story but there’s a part of me that bristles. My personal reaction is, “so what?” Stories like this pop up every so often. In Chicago, they pop up whenever the Cubs or Bears are in the playoffs…which isn’t often!) The […]
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