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Grow Your Soul: 7 Ways to Experience New Life During Easter: #4 Hold On Loosely

Welcome to the next post in our Easter series, “Grow Your Soul: 7 Ways to Experience New Life During Easter,” drawing from my book, 7 Keys to Spiritual Wellness. Today we explore the fourth tip, which is to “Hold On Loosely.” One of the most-read and most-loved books in recent Christian history is Henri Nouwen’s With Open Hands. This seminal book begins with Nouwen telling the story of an elderly woman in a psychiatric ward who […]

Forming Discipleship Among Your Catechetical Team

Julianne Stanz

Our parishes include people in all stages of their faith journey. While each Christian shares certain characteristics in their spirituality as children of God, there are differences. Every person’s spirituality is unique, because each of us is a unique human being. Differences can depend on education, formation, geographical location, age, ethnic background, and so on. Each of us is at a different stage of growth in our spiritual life. How can catechetical leaders accommodate catechists […]

Not Done with Prayer Yet

Denise Gorss

We had just finished a silence challenge, and I called the young people to our regular opening prayer when I was disheartened to hear one boy mumble, “What, we’re not done with prayer yet?” Prayer time is usually not met with such resistance in my classroom. In fact, I think many of the young people enjoy the quiet and reflective experiences built in to our time together, whether they are able to vocalize it or […]

Grow Your Soul: 7 Ways to Experience New Life During Easter: #1 See Yourself as You Really Are

Joe Paprocki

Welcome to the first installment of our Easter series, “Grow Your Soul: 7 Ways to Experience New Life During Easter,” drawing from my book, 7 Keys to Spiritual Wellness. We begin by looking at the notion of “seeing yourself as you really are.” So much of the Resurrection narrative has to do with sight and perception. Mary Magdalene did not recognize the Risen Christ at first. The two disciples on the road to Emmaus did not […]

The Triduum and Discernment

Bob Burnham

I’m in a period of discernment, not sure where God is calling me. I may discover that the old ways I’ve been doing things are no longer appropriate; in a sense, a part of me may have to die so that I can discover a new way of serving God. In this way, I will be living the Paschal Mystery, which is the whole point of the Triduum. Maybe you too are asking, “Lord, what […]

Grow Your Soul: 7 Ways to Experience New Life During Easter

Joe Paprocki

One of my favorite quotes is attributed to the great Mahatma Gandhi, who said, “When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the creator.” I like to ask myself if what I have done or am doing presently serves to expand my soul or if it is diminishing it. I think that there are many things we do in life for recreation […]

The Cross Is Heavy…In So Many Ways

Joe Paprocki

As we approach Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and the Triduum, our focus is increasingly on the Cross of Jesus Christ. On Holy Thursday, the entrance antiphon proclaims, “We should glory in the Cross of our Lord, Jesus Christ!” On Good Friday, we venerate the Cross. Throughout Lent, we have been praying the Stations of the Cross. Historians tell us that victims carried the crossbeam on their way to the site of crucifixion where upright “poles” […]

Loyola Kids Book of Catholic Signs & Symbols by Amy Welborn

Teaching Children a Language of Mystery—Resource for Catechists and Parents

Joe Paprocki

If you’re a regular visitor to my blog, you know that I have previously talked about the concept of a language of mystery. What is a language of mystery? It is a language that transcends words and relies on sign, symbol, ritual, song and music, silence, gesture, and movement. It is the language that God uses to communicate with his people. Think of how, in Scripture, God’s presence is manifested through a burning bush, a mighty […]

video screenshot of "How Jesus Responds to Suffering as Demonstrated in the Scriptural Stations of the Cross"

How Jesus Responds to Suffering (VIDEO)

Denise Gorss

We know the Stations of the Cross as a traditional Lenten devotion, but how can we connect the Way of the Cross to our lives? Author Gary Jansen suggests that by walking through each station, we see the unique ways in which Jesus responded to suffering, and we are challenged to react similarly in our own struggles. Jansen writes: Though Jesus seems passive throughout his Passion—he never lifts a finger against anyone and he barely […]

Sometimes the Young People Surprise Me

Denise Gorss

Sometimes the young people surprise me. Such was the case at the beginning of Lent, when I led a session on the season that focused on Christ’s temptation in the desert. I asked the young people what they already knew about Lent. An informal assessment of their previous knowledge, the question gave the students an opportunity to tell me things such as the season was 40 days and that they got ashes on Ash Wednesday. […]