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You. Look. Great: A Marian Reflection for Catechists

Pregnant with twins and in her third trimester, Sarah—a catechist on maternity leave—settled into the chair next to me at the café. She let out a huge sigh and closed her eyes. “Yes, I’m quite pregnant,” she said. “Whenever I encounter another person there are just three words that I’m interested in hearing: You. Look. Great.” After sharing a good laugh, she continued, “Seriously, though, I’m not looking for compliments. ‘My soul proclaims the greatness […]

Engaging Children Online

Kathleen Butler

Like many others, my parish has turned to virtual faith formation classes. Last spring, we had a few virtual sessions to close out the year, so I got a sample of what was in store. The difference this year was that I had never met any of my students in person, and I wondered how I could engage them. I mailed each child a postcard to say welcome to the class. I e-mailed each family […]

Pop-Catechesis: The Transfiguration

Joe Paprocki

I’m sure you can think of an experience in which you felt that someone you thought you knew showed their “true colors.” To show your true colors means to reveal yourself as you really are, for better or for worse. The Feast of the Transfiguration tells us the story of when Jesus took Peter, James, and John to the mountaintop and showed them his “true colors.” He revealed himself as he really is: the Son […]

Facilitating a Small Group Online: St. Andrew Parish in Chicago

Joe Paprocki

For years, it seemed as though faith formation at the parish level tended to lag behind the rest of the world when it came to taking advantage of technology. That all changed with the pandemic, didn’t it? Suddenly, we realized that, if we wanted to reach people, we would have to enter the online world. One successful example could be found just a few blocks away from Loyola Press at St. Andrew Parish, where Pastoral Associate and Director […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: Saints Peter and Paul and Overcoming Rivalries

Joe Paprocki

Rivalries can be harmful, but they can also be productive as rivals seek to “up their game” to keep up with and perhaps outdo the other. In today’s episode of Pop-Up Catechesis, we look at the rivalry between Saints Peter and Paul, whose feast we celebrate on June 29, and how the two were able to set aside their rivalry to work toward the same goal: spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the ends […]

Rediscovering the Value of Crafts in Faith Formation

Joe Paprocki

As families find themselves spending more time together at home during the ongoing pandemic, parents and children alike are stretching their imaginative muscles to fill extra time on their hands due to canceled activities. Many parents are rediscovering the value of doing crafts, especially as a way to teach faith to their children. Too often dismissed as “fluff,” craft activities in religious education can serve as effective concrete expressions of the concepts being taught. They can […]

Preparing Hearts and Minds: 9 Simple Ways for Catechists to Cultivate a Living Faith - blog series based on book of same title

Preparing Hearts and Minds Strategy 2: Introduce Jesus as Someone You Can Trust

Joe Paprocki

As we continue our summer series, Preparing Hearts and Minds: 9 Simple Ways for Catechists to Cultivate a Living Faith (based on my new book of the same name), we explore establishing a climate of trust. Strategy #2: Introduce Jesus as someone you can trust. Advertisements seek to gain your trust. The goal is to convince you that your money will be well-spent on whatever product or service is being sold. In a similar way, […]

Preparing Hearts and Minds Strategy 1: Focus on Brokenness

Joe Paprocki

Welcome to my summer series, Preparing Hearts and Minds: 9 Simple Ways for Catechists to Cultivate a Living Faith. Today we look at the first strategy for tilling the soil of people’s hearts and minds: Strategy #1: Point out that potential believers’ current “way” is broken or unsatisfactory and needs to be repaired or replaced. In other words, we need to begin the faith formation journey by drawing attention to our human brokenness, and we proclaim […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: Spending Time in Quiet

Joe Paprocki

In today’s Pop-Up Catechesis episode, we explore the value of spending some time in quiet. During this time of sheltering-at-home, the isolation we are experiencing may tempt us to surround ourselves with noise and stimulation. And while it is good to be engaged in activity, let’s not lose sight of the fact that this is an opportunity to cultivate the practice of encountering God’s presence in the quiet. It is especially important for us to […]

“Flat Catechist” Encourages Faith Activities at Home

Kathleen Butler

Like many catechists, I found myself in a strange, new place this spring when the coronavirus closed our parish and required us to suspend all activities. I was determined to find ways to stay connected with my first-grade class. I knew the parents were already feeling overwhelmed, so I wanted to create easy and engaging activities that would make them want to participate with their children. I also wanted to create something that had a […]