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If a Young Mr. Spock Were in Your Religious Education Class

Sometimes I like to imagine what it would have been like to teach Catholic faith formation to either a famous or a fictional character. Recently, I thought to myself, “What would a catechist do if a young Mr. Spock showed up as a student in religious education class?” Of course, you remember Mr. Spock, the fictional character from Star Trek, who was half-human and half-Vulcan: an alien species that operated solely on logic and eschewed emotion. […]

A Mother’s Gaze

Joe Paprocki

One of the advantages of being a grandparent in the digital age is receiving a constant stream of pictures of our granddaughter Olivia (born 3/11/18) from our daughter-in-law Sarah. It seems that Sarah is capable of catching every mood on Olivia’s face, whether she is sleeping like an angel, screaming like a banshee, or everything in between. What impresses me most is that, in order to do this, Sarah needs to have her gaze constantly […]

Teaching the Corporal Works of Mercy

Cindy Coleman

Even though I have a lot of topics to cover in preparing second graders to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation and First Holy Communion, I always make it a point to introduce the corporal works of mercy to my students. I start by reading Matthew 25:31–46, and together we list the actions listed in these Gospel verses. I then ask the children to answer the question, “What are ways you share God’s peace?” I point […]

Increasing Mass Attendance, Part Two

Joe Paprocki

One of the biggest frustrations that catechists and Catholic school teachers have is the lack of Mass attendance of those they teach (and their families). Recently, I shared a story of a parish that made some significant, albeit short-lived, gains in Mass attendance—64% to be precise. That post has generated a lot of attention. First, thanks to the many folks who engaged in conversation at the end of that post. (Please take the time to […]

Are You Ready for Lent?

Joe Paprocki

What an odd occurrence this year that Ash Wednesday falls on Valentine’s Day and Easter falls on April Fools’ Day! Of course, Valentine’s Day/Ash Wednesday is right around the corner: February 14. Lent invites us to turn our minds and hearts back to the God of mercy. Discover inspiring ways to observe the season in your faith formation setting with these ideas. For Helping Children and Their Families Liturgical Year: Lent Bookmark this link for a full […]

Excellence in Ministry - The Effective Catechetical Leader series

The Centrality of Evangelizing Households

Joe Paprocki

Right before the holidays, I had the pleasure of enjoying a long, lazy lunch with my friend Tom Quinlan, Director of the Religious Education Office for the Diocese of Joliet and author of Excellence in Ministry: Best Practices for Successful Catechetical Leadership, part of the Effective Catechetical Leader series from Loyola Press and NCCL. Over a period of almost three hours, Tom and I chatted about a myriad of issues related to our shared passion—the catechetical […]

A Different Kind of Leadership

Joe Paprocki

Following is an excerpt from Catechetical Leadership by Adrián Alberto Herrera. As you peruse a bookstore or browse books online, you will find no shortage of titles on leadership. The books you find, however, will tend to be confined to three areas: business, sports, and politics. If you are looking to run a corporation, coach a championship team, or rule the world, you’ll be in luck! Unfortunately, those books don’t translate well to the world […]

The Key to Effective Family Catechesis: Adult Faith Formation

Joe Paprocki

Recently, I shared information about our exciting new Family Catechesis programs from Loyola Press. I can’t emphasize enough that the key to an effective family catechesis program is the formation of the parents and that, if you are taking the time to form parents well as part of a family catechesis approach, you have “killed two birds with one stone”—you have not only introduced a new model for children’s faith formation, you have successfully implemented […]

Low-Tech Ideas for Engaging Students

Kathleen Butler

You don’t need the latest technology to capture your students’ attention. They’re probably so plugged in during their day that low-tech (or no-tech) activities will seem novel. I have created a variety of resources with nothing more than markers and construction paper. Add variety to your lesson by incorporating activities that use low-cost teaching supplies. Make sure that whatever you create has a learning component to it. Flash Cards Buy pre-cut flashcards or simply cut […]

Bringing an Ignatian Flavor to V Encuentro

Joe Paprocki

It is no secret that the largest growing demographic in the U.S. Church is our Latino/Hispanic brothers and sisters. In order to better serve the needs of this vital and fast-growing segment of our Church family, the U.S. Bishops occasionally convene a process known as Encuentro—a multi-year process of ecclesial reflection and action that invites all Catholics in the United States to intense missionary activity, consultation, leadership development, and identification of best ministerial practices in […]