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St. Barnabas Family Catechesis: Learning About Catholic Identity

Yesterday, we had our March session of Finding God family catechesis, and our topic was Catholic identity (part of Finding God Unit 3, which focuses on the topic of Church). We had a very good session! Here are some highlights: We welcomed back Patrick McGowan, our catechetical leader, after a medical leave. Patrick remained with me to do the parent session since Deacon Andy was unavailable. One of the catechists stepped in to Patrick’s usual […]

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Family Catechesis at St. Barnabas: Preparing for Lent

Joe Paprocki

Our next family catechesis session at St. Barnabas takes place on February 4, just ten days before Lent begins. (Ash Wednesday is February 14!) So it makes sense that our topic for that day will be Lent, Holy Week, and Easter. Here are a few thoughts about this upcoming session: This will be the first time I’m with the parents since December when we covered Advent. Our January session was a safe-environment session for the […]

Family Catechesis at St. Barnabas: Introducing Advent and Christmas

Joe Paprocki

Recently, we held our monthly Finding God Family Catechesis gathering at St. Barnabas to introduce the seasons of Advent and Christmas. Here is a summary of how things went. Attendance was good once again. It appears that families are getting into a groove as the year progresses. The families, especially the children, arrive with good energy and enthusiasm, and the space where we gather is always prepared by Patrick, the catechetical leader, to be warm […]

Next Up for Family Catechesis at St. Barnabas: Jesus

Joe Paprocki

Our next session of Family Catechesis at St. Barnabas will take place on Sunday, October 29, as we venture into the second unit of Finding God, which focuses on Jesus. Specifically, our theme will be, “To Whom Can I Turn? Jesus: Fully Human, Fully Divine.” After our setting up of the prayer space and opening prayer, the session will begin by inviting families to discuss examples of unexpected problems or challenges that their families faced […]

I’m Back in the Trenches Again: Family Catechesis at St. Barnabas Parish

Joe Paprocki

Over the years that I’ve been writing this blog, Catechist’s Journey, I have served as a catechist for different age groups: intermediate (fourth and sixth grade) and junior high (eighth grade). I also have enjoyed sharing my experiences with you! Typically, I have posted my plans for upcoming sessions followed by summaries of what really happened. Eventually, my travel commitments made it too difficult to teach a weekly session, and then, of course, the pandemic […]

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Promoting Catholic Identity, Part 5: An Attitude of Faith and Hope

Darcy Osby

This is the fifth and final article in a series on the five characteristics of Catholic identity and how we can nurture those in our children. In his apostolic exhortation The Joy of the Gospel, Pope Francis cautions Catholics against becoming “sourpusses” (85). Pessimism and defeatism are not Catholic attitudes. We are people of Easter joy because of our confidence in the Resurrection. Our attitudes are rooted in our identity, so as we help our […]

Coloring as Prayer

Joe Paprocki

We sometimes think of coloring as “child’s play,” and while children especially enjoy coloring, today we know that coloring is being enjoyed by people of all ages. They recognize that it can help to reduce stress, spark creativity, stimulate the brain, promote mindfulness, and just be fun! We can add to that list that people are discovering that coloring can be a form of prayer. Sometimes, when it comes to teaching others to pray, they […]

Faith Refreshed - text over photo of water droplets by lemonade glass by Charlotte May on Pexels

Faith Refreshed Online Retreat Week 4: Three Venues of Prayer

Joe Paprocki

Welcome to Week 4 of Faith Refreshed, an online retreat to help us “hit the refresh button” in our spiritual lives so that we might better see things we weren’t previously seeing and return to our lives and ministry with a new outlook! Throughout this retreat, I am drawing from my best-selling book, A Well-Built Faith: A Catholic’s Guide to Knowing and Sharing What We Believe, as we re-visit the four pillars of our Catholic […]

First Holy Communion Novena

Joe Paprocki

Encourage families preparing a child to receive First Eucharist with a novena-style prayer to pray at home. Download the First Holy Communion Novena and make copies for parents, instructing them to begin praying 10 days before the day of First Holy Communion. Each day’s prayer time includes parts for children and parents, as well as a suggestion for a family practice for the next day. The text for the novena is from Christ Our Life, […]

Pop-Up Prayer: Guest Paul Mitchell

Joe Paprocki

In this episode of Pop-Up Prayer, author Paul Mitchell talks about the need to let go and to allow prayer to be an emptying of ourselves. Paul has taught in Uganda, Chicago, Boston, and Egypt, and studied theology at the University of Notre Dame and the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry. He is the author of The Examen Book, which uses thoughtful rhymes and beautiful illustrations to introduce children to the practice of […]