Spiritual Growth Archives - Page 26 of 30

Year of Faith Retreat – Week 3, Day 4: Learning to Detect Patterns (Social Justice)

WEEK THREE: The Moral Life (Life in Christ) DAY 4: Learning to Detect Patterns (Social Justice) The children’s show Sesame Street has a feature called One of These Things is Not Like the Others in which they show a series of images, inviting the viewer to identify which of the things was different or doesn’t match or belong to the group. The activity is accompanied by a song with the following lyrics: One of these things is not […]

Year of Faith Retreat – Week 3, Day 3: First-Aid (The Works of Mercy)

Joe Paprocki

WEEK THREE: The Moral Life (Life in Christ) DAY 3: First-Aid (The Works of Mercy) What would you expect to find in a typcial first-aid kit? No doubt bandages, antiseptics, pain relievers, burn ointment, and so on. What would you include in a spiritual first-aid kit? The fact is, we provide first aid for people when they have an urgent physical need. Some physical needs that people have are ongoing and are not the result of a medical emergency. […]

Year of Faith Retreat – Week 3, Day 2: What’s Your Secret? (The Commandments, Beatitudes, and Virtues)

Joe Paprocki

WEEK THREE: The Moral Life (Life in Christ) DAY 2: What’s Your Secret? (The Commandments, Beatitudes, and Virtues) Did you ever try to find out if someone was planning a surprise party for you or try to find out what kind of gift they may have gotten you for your birthday or Christmas? It’s not easy to pry a secret out of someone! Thankfully, we have a God who does not keep secrets. In fact, God is quite the opposite. God […]

Year of Faith Retreat – Week 3, Day 1: Before They Were Famous (Human Dignity, Sin, and Mercy)

Joe Paprocki

WEEK THREE: The Moral Life (Life in Christ) DAY 1: Before They Were Famous (Human Dignity, Sin, and Mercy) httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWmZ98dOEEA Every so often, on the Internet, you come across these fun features that show pictures of celebrities when they were young – before they were famous – and ask you to guess their identity. Try your hand at some of these. Recognizing someone’s true identity can be challenging. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells a parable […]

Year of Faith Retreat – Week 2, Day 5: Because It’s the Right Thing To Do (The Sacraments at the Service of Communion)

Joe Paprocki

WEEK TWO: Sacraments (Celebrating the Christian Mystery) DAY 5: Because It’s the Right Thing to Do (The Sacraments at the Service of Communion) I once took a group of high school youth to visit Fr. Larry Craig, who was the chaplain at Cook County Jail in Chicago. Fr. Larry was a pretty tough cookie with a chiseled face like Clint Eastwood and a husky voice like Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone). One of the kids asked him […]

Year of Faith Retreat – Week 2, Day 4: We Are All Broken (The Sacraments of Healing)

Joe Paprocki

WEEK TWO: Sacraments (Celebrating the Christian Mystery) DAY 4: We Are All Broken (The Sacraments of Healing) No doubt you are familiar with Horatio Alger. Horatio Alger, Jr. was a 19th century American author who wrote a number of what came to be known as “rags-to-riches” stories, which embodied what became known as the American Dream—that is, the idea that through hard work, determination, and courage, anyone could lift themselves up out of poverty. This kind of thinking is […]

Year of Faith Retreat – Week 2, Day 3: “I Just Melted” (The Sacraments of Initiation)

Joe Paprocki

WEEK TWO: Sacraments (Celebrating the Christian Mystery) DAY 3: “I Just Melted” (The Sacraments of Initiation) I remember asking my Dad before he passed away how it is that he and Mom never fought throughout their nearly 50 years of marriage. He said that, when they were dating, Mom once stood him up because she was unable to get back in time from another outing. He said he was all set to ream her out the […]

Year of Faith Retreat – Week 2, Day 2: Learning the Language Spoken in the Kingdom of God (Mystery and Sacramentality)

Joe Paprocki

WEEK TWO: Sacraments (Celebrating the Christian Mystery) DAY 2: Learning the Language Spoken in the Kingdom of God (Mystery and Sacramentality) Recently, I did some research into my ancestry, uncovering stories of forefathers and foremothers who came to the shores of the United States from Poland in the late 19th century. In particular, I was impressed with the story of my great, great grandmother (on my mother’s side), Julia, who, as it turns out, spoke 7 languages […]

Year of Faith Retreat – Week 1, Day 5: You’ve Got the Network (Church, Mary, Saints, and Eternity)

Joe Paprocki

WEEK ONE: The Creed DAY 5: You’ve Got the Network (Church, Mary, Saints, and Eternity) I’m sure you recall the Verizon ad with the message “It’s the Network,” showing people on Verizon wireless phones backed up by a huge crowd of Verizon workers who represent their support network. The message is clear: wherever you go, the network is there with you and you are never on your own. A huge part of our Catholic faith is our […]

Year of Faith Retreat – Week 1, Day 4: What Are You Afraid Of?

Joe Paprocki

WEEK ONE: The Creed DAY 4: What Are You Afraid Of? (Sin, Salvation, and the Cross of Jesus) Fear is a natural human condition. The following are considered some of the most common fears. Which do you share? Spiders, snakes, heights, closed spaces, lightning, injections, social situations, flying, germs/dirt, public speaking, darkness It often seems as though we have many things to fear. Perhaps this is why one of the most commonly used phrases in the […]