The summer months provide a perfect time for us catechists and DREs to grow in our own faith lives. Even if you still have fall planning or summer events like a parish VBS on your agenda, it’s important to intentionally set aside time to take advantage of sunny weekends and longer days for deepening your own relationship with Christ. And you don’t need to travel to a retreat center to do this. Weather permitting, take […]
On my way to work each day, as I ride the train from the south side to the north side of Chicago, I see a variety of storefronts advertising spiritual wellness—places to nurture one’s body, mind, and spirit in order to achieve serenity and calmness as well as answers to life’s questions. They offer Reiki, meditative breathing, yoga, guided meditation, acupuncture, Chakra balancing, sweat lodge ceremonies, healing circles, tarot cards, and spiritual classes. While they […]
Summer can be a time of respite for the busy DRE. There is work, to be sure—VBS to run, youth activities to coordinate, fall curricula to plan. But there is, too, a leisure about summer. The school year is over. Spring sacraments have been celebrated. In a job where Sabbath rest can come all too seldom, summer can be a sabbatical season. God models for us, in the first creation story in Genesis, the rhythms […]
Our year of faith formation has ended at my parish. It is both a happy and sad time for me as a catechist. I’m thrilled to see my class of third graders move on, but I’m also sad to see them go after our year together. Our DRE asks us catechists at the end of each year to commit to teaching again the following fall and allows us first choice on the grade level. Before […]
Spring has finally arrived after another harsh winter in Green Bay. As I turn my attention to my garden, I marvel at the hardiness of the tulips I planted before the ground hardened in the fall. Their bright green sprouts remind me that spring is a time for new life and growth. Helping others cultivate their own spiritual garden is one of the most rewarding aspects of ministry; it is also one of the most […]
My earliest memory of a rosary was a string of plain stainless beads and crucifix that I had put around my neck. I was five. I still remember the look on my mother’s face. She was amused, but told me that wasn’t what a rosary was for. “It’s not a necklace?” I asked. “No,” she said. “It’s for prayer.” My grandmother had matching rosaries of clear crystal beads, one necklace-like, the other a spiral bracelet. […]
It’s fascinating to note just how integral music and singing are to the world of spectator sports. Whether it is baseball, football, hockey, or basketball, sports fans (especially at the collegiate level) often support their teams by singing and chanting. As long as music and singing are present, there’s hope for your team. When the singing stops, you know your team is in trouble. And that’s when the grumbling begins. “Why’d they leave him in […]
Parishes report that Easter Sunday and Christmas Mass are the highest attended services of the year and our congregations are made up of people at many different places in their spiritual journeys. As ministers we have a whole litany of terms for people who do not attend Mass regularly: “Chreasters” and “Eastmasses” for those who attend Mass at Christmas and Easter and “PACErs” for those who attend services on Palm Sunday, Ash Wednesday, Christmas, and […]
In this Sunday’s Gospel (the Fifth Sunday of Lent, John 12:20–33), Jesus predicts his death. But the point of this story is not to impress us with the accuracy of Jesus’ predictions. Rather, Jesus is making it quite clear that this is the way things have to happen, not only for him, but for us as well; there is no shortcut around the cross. In order to gain our lives, we must lose them. Jesus […]
On Holy Thursday Jesus explains to his disciples that he will be leaving them: Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and as I told the Jews, “Where I am going, you cannot come,” so now I say it to you. (John 13:33) These are hard words to hear. Why would Jesus ever remove himself from our lives? And yet, we know from our own experiences that […]
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