Recruit and Reenergize Your Catechists!

The Church of Mercy, Pope Francis’s first book detailing his vision for the Church, encourages each of us to ignite the flame within to help share the light of Christ and revitalize the Church. Ask any DRE and they’ll tell you that passionate catechists are the fuel to that flame. The Heart of a Catechist shares Pope Francis’s message that is directly focused on catechists and emphasizes their importance and value to the New Evangelization, […]

What Grade Will Joe Teach Next Year? Drum Roll Please…

At this time of the year, I get many questions from people asking what grade I will be teaching next year. The last couple of years, I taught 6th grade. Before that, I did a year of 4th grade and previous to that, I did several years of 8th grade Confirmation. So, just what WILL I be teaching next year? Drum roll please… ADULT CATECHESIS!!! I am so excited to be turning my attention to […]

YouTube Videos as Supplemental Resources for Jr Hi and HS Faith Formation

The General Directory for Catechesis states clearly that NO resource, no matter how well-tested or glitzy, “can dispense with the person of the catechist in every phase of the catechetical process.” (156) Some faith formation programs would have you believe that their resources, whether a textbook or a series of DVDs, will do all the work and that all a catechist needs to do is to facilitate the turning of pages in a book or […]

Lawn Chair Catechism at CatholicMom.com Featuring A Well Built Faith!

I’m excited and flattered that my book, A Well-Built Faith, has been chosen for CatholicMom.com’s Lawn Chair Catechism this summer! I’ve had fun working on the promotional materials with them for this endeavor (see left and below!). Here is how they describe the experience: Welcome to the second “Lawn Chair Catechism” at CatholicMom.com! This is an opportunity for you to kick back while you study along with us. We’ll be using A Well-Built Faith: A […]

A Catechist’s Self-Assessment

With the end of most religious education program years occurring, this is a good time for catechists to do a little bit of self assessment. Feel free to use the following by yourself, with a peer or group of peers, or with your DRE. 1 = poor/I disagree 2 = fair/I somewhat disagree 3 = good/I somewhat agree 4 = excellent/I agree I became more aware of my vocation as a catechist 1 2 3 […]

How to Lead Spontaneous Prayer – As Easy as Ber-a-khah!

For many Catholics, the thought of being called upon to lead a spontaneous prayer can darn near bring on a panic attack! Never fear! Our Judeo-Christian heritage provides us with a simple formula to follow that will guide you in organizing your thoughts into a cohesive, intelligent, and heart-felt spontaneous prayer. First, take a look at his prayer offered by King Solomon (2Chronicles 6:14-17). At first, it looks like a lot of words, however, we’re […]

Catechizing Like Colbert

For some years now, I have been a fan of Stephen Colbert, host of “The Colbert Report” (pronounced Col-behr Re-pohr) on Comedy Central. Colbert makes no secret of his Catholicism and uses his show, from time to time to do some unconventional catechizing. Below is one of my favorites Now, America Magazine has done a feature on Colbert titled “Truth and Truthiness: What Catholic catechists can learn from Stephen Colbert.” In short, the article emphasizes how Colbert […]

Under the Influence of Jesus – My New Book is Now Available!

Yesterday was my first day back at work after the Christmas break and it turns out that Santa was still in the giving mood! I was surprised to receive a copy of my new book, Under the Influence of Jesus: The Transforming Experience of Encountering Christ. I believe this book will be a wonderful tool for the New Evangelization! In it, I capture the essence of what happens to a person when he or she […]

The Ignatian Key to Opening Doors of Faith – or – Going Contagious with Ignatius!

The theme for Catechetical Sunday (September 15, 2013) this year is…     It just so happens that St. Ignatius of Loyola holds the key to unlock and open the “Door of Faith!” St. Ignatius taught that the most effective way to persuade someone to your way of thinking is to “enter through their door but be sure to leave through your door.” What he means by this is that we need to make a connection between […]

The Engaged Catechist: Forming Catechist Enrichment Groups

In his book, Growing An Engaged Church (Gallup Press), Albert L. Winseman explains that, without true engagement, volunteers burn out quickly. He identifies 3 ways to make an immediate impact on the level of engagement of church members: clarify the expectations of membership help your members discover what they do best create small groups I think these can (and should) be easily applied to catechists, who, without engagement, do indeed burnout quickly. Those catechists who […]

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