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Session 1: God Keeps No Secrets (9/17/13)

After being postponed for one week due to excessive heat in Chicago, our first session of religious education for the 2013-14 catechetical year takes place tomorrow evening! Thank goodness temps are back where they belong for September in Chicago! The focus of 6th grade religious education is primarily on the Old Testament so, with that in mind, this first session will serve as an introduction to the Bible as one of the most important ways […]

Catechetical Sunday – Open the Door of Faith

Joe Paprocki

This Sunday, September 15, 2013, is Catechetical Sunday – a day to celebrate the catechetical ministry of the Church: a “splendid ministry” as Pope Francis has characterized it! This year’s theme is “Open the Door of Faith.” As a catechist, you are responding to a call to share the gift of faith with others, even as you deepen your own faith. This call may have reached you through your pastor, the director of your parish’s […]

3-Minute Retreat: We Are on a Mission

Joe Paprocki

As we start the month of September and look forward to Catechetical Sunday and a new year of faith formation, I’ll be sharing my reflections on several 3-Minute Retreats the next few weeks. Please add your own reflections on this retreat in the comments. Now before another busy week begins, take a quiet moment to pray for your ministry and for your fellow catechists. Relationships have a way of changing us. Perhaps that’s why we […]

The “Poor Man’s” Laminator

Joe Paprocki

One tool that I encourage every catechist to invest a couple of bucks in is a 2 inch roll of clear shipping/packaging tape. I call it the “poor man’s” laminator and I use it constantly to “laminate” things for my sessions in order to extend their life. For example, this year, I have decided that for my closing prayer for each session, we will pray the Confiteor (“I confess to Almighty God…”) from the Penitential […]

Rest in Peace, Victor Valdez: Master Catechist, Faithful Servant, Good Friend

Joe Paprocki

I just learned that a friend of mine passed away last month, July 17, 2013, to be exact. I met Victor Valdez when I was doing a speaking engagement in San Francisco in 2008. Victor suffered from recurring brain tumors his entire life yet he dedicated himself tirelessly to the catechetical ministry. On that visit in 2008, he gave up an entire evening to show me around San Francisco since it was my first trip […]

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 #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 […]

State Farm Shouldn’t Be the Only Good Neighbor

Joe Paprocki

For years, State Farm Insurance has promoted itself as being a “good neighbor” with its popular jingle, “like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.” httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRS4shfH1Pw The gospel for this Sunday challenges us to be a good neighbor but adds a definition for what it means to be a good neighbor: it means to be one who shows mercy. Being a good neighbor means more than just maintaining a clean lawn and keeping the noise […]

Actual Grace and Sanctifying Grace

Joe Paprocki

I was recently asked to explain the difference between actual grace and sanctifying grace, so I went in search of some language that would help explain these realities in a meaningful way. I have to tell you, most of what I found was not at all helpful. We fall into the habit of using such “churchy” words that have little or no connection with daily living. In fact, most sources I looked at simply regurgitated […]

Nik Wallenda, the Grand Canyon, and Faith in Jesus Christ

Joe Paprocki

This is strictly an opinion piece and therefore open to debate which I invite, but as always, be charitable in your comments to me, to one another, and to Nik Wallenda! So last night, daredevil Nik Wallenda made his historic walk across the Grand Canyon on a tightrope with no tether and no safety net, gluing countless numbers of viewers like myself to the live broadcast. In addition to the drama of the stunt itself, […]