Spiritual Growth Archives - Page 24 of 30

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

Joe Paprocki

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 […]

The Six Tasks of Catechesis #6: Promoting a Missionary Spirit

Joe Paprocki

Recently, we began a series here on my blog about the six tasks of catechesis, focusing on the notion that God is calling each of us to fulfill a role that he has planned for us. Just as actors rely on certain strategies to immerse themselves in character, we too rely on certain strategies to “immerse” ourselves in the role that God is calling us to fill: the “best version of ourselves” (to borrow a phrase from […]

The Six Tasks of Catechesis #5: Preparing to Live in Community

Joe Paprocki

Recently, we began a series here on my blog about the six tasks of catechesis, focusing on the notion that God is calling each of us to fulfill a role that he has planned for us. Just as actors rely on certain strategies to immerse themselves in character, we too rely on certain strategies to “immerse” ourselves in the role that God is calling us to fill: the “best version of ourselves” (to borrow a phrase from […]

The Six Tasks of Catechesis #4: Teaching to Pray

Joe Paprocki

Recently, we began a series here on my blog about the six tasks of catechesis, focusing on the notion that God is calling each of us to fulfill a role that he has planned for us. Just as actors rely on certain strategies to immerse themselves in character, we too rely on certain strategies to “immerse” ourselves in the role that God is calling us to fill: the “best version of ourselves” (to borrow a phrase from […]

The Six Tasks of Catechesis #3: Promoting Moral Formation

Joe Paprocki

Recently, we began a series here on my blog about the six tasks of catechesis, focusing on the notion that God is calling each of us to fulfill a role that he has planned for us. Just as actors rely on certain strategies to immerse themselves in character, we too rely on certain strategies to “immerse” ourselves in the role that God is calling us to fill: the “best version of ourselves” (to borrow a phrase from […]

The Six Tasks of Catechesis #1: Promoting Knowledge of the Faith

Joe Paprocki

Yesterday, we began a series here on my blog about the six tasks of catechesis, focusing on the notion that God is calling each of us to fulfill a role that he has planned for us. Just as actors rely on certain strategies to immerse themselves in character, we too rely on certain strategies to “immerse” ourselves in the role that God is calling us to fill: the “best version of ourselves” (to borrow a phrase from […]

Finding God in the Ordinary – Seinfeld’s “Show About Nothing”

Joe Paprocki

The comedy Seinfeld was often known for being a show about “nothing.” When you think about it, the episodes rarely had a story line and yet, somehow, the series touched on some of the most recognizable human moments and experiences that occur in ordinary everyday life and caused us to laugh for 9 seasons. While so many TV shows “jump the shark” in search of profound story lines to engage the audience, Seinfeld’s genius was […]

Summer Vocation

Joe Paprocki

Memorial Day, of course, signals the official start of summer. As we look forward to the coming summer months, we find that we have many plans: trips, to-do lists, a little down-time. I suggest you grow that list to include some ideas for what you plan to do to enhance your spiritual life, advance your ministry, and grow closer to God. Tell us what you plan to do this summer to renew your faith!

Ends With a Whimper, Not a Bang

Joe Paprocki

Alas, the catechetical year with my 6th graders ended with more of a whimper than a bang last evening! Suffice it to say that their eagerness to be done with Monday night religious education sessions outweighed any anguish they were feeling about not seeing Mr. Paprocki any more! 🙂 Part of the problem stemmed from the usual shenanigans that one encounters when supervising a large group of pre-adolescents attending Mass on a Monday evening after […]