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What a Little Girl Taught Me About Strengthening Parish Staffs

Strengthening parish staffs has always been a cause of mine. I have ministered within a school and a parish setting, and in both cases was a part of the parish staff. I have rejoiced to be a member of a parish staff that lived vibrancy. I have also been saddened to be a member of a staff that struggled greatly and needed strengthening in order to exercise its mission and its existence effectively. Living out […]

Permit Me to Introduce You to Leo’s Gift!

Joe Paprocki

Who is this good-looking young man peeking around the corner of Catechist’s Journey? Why, it’s none other than Leo, the star of the new children’s book Leo’s Gift, written by Susan Blackaby and my friend and colleague (actually, she’s my boss!) Joellyn Cicciarelli and beautifully illustrated by my colleague Carrie Schuler. Leo is creative, shy, and in search of a special talent he can share with the world. He wonders how he’ll know what his […]

Managing and Leading Catechists

Jayne Ragasa-Mondoy

When it comes to supervising catechists, it helps to make a clear distinction between managing them and leading them. Managing what your catechists do and how they perform their duties is important. To help them flourish, an effective catechetical leader helps them understand why they serve as catechists: to help bring about the Kingdom of God. To be honest, learning to balance management and leadership took years for me to figure out. But I am […]

Catholic Social Teaching 101: Videos from USCCB and CRS

Joe Paprocki

It’s not always easy to find good resources on the topic of Catholic Social Teaching. Thanks to Catholic Relief Services and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, however, we now have a free video resource with which to engage those we teach with the seven principles of Catholic Social Teaching. CST 101 is a collaborative seven-part video series presented by the USCCB and CRS. The videos bring the themes of Catholic social teaching to life and […]

Six Ways to Celebrate Advent at Home

Joyce Donahue

Advent offers unique and beautiful opportunities to make family memories in the home. The traditions of this season allow Catholics to practice our faith more deeply and with greater attention and intent. Here are some simple ideas to celebrate a faith-filled Advent. 1. Savor the darkness. During Advent, the days are short and the nights are long. Just as we long for the warm and sunny days of summer, we long for the light of […]

Three-Dimensional Formation of Catechists

Jayne Ragasa-Mondoy

The Wai’anae and Ko’olau volcanic mountain ranges flank the Hawaiian island of Oahu. Miles of scenic hiking trails wind through their ancient forests and majestic peaks. Some trails are easy and child-friendly, others steep and strenuous. One trail in particular requires great stamina to conquer: the Koko Head Crater Steps. The stairs (pictured above) are remnants of railroad ties from the World War II era, built to haul munitions to the crater’s 1,200-foot summit. It’s […]

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 […]

The Real Life of Catechetical Leaders

Joe Paprocki

When I was a parish catechetical leader, I used to joke with my fellow DREs that we should create the real curriculum needed to earn a degree in pastoral ministry—one that would include courses in how to make coffee and serve refreshments; how to rearrange, set up, and take down tables and chairs and other furniture; how to clean bathrooms and unplug toilets; how to fix jammed printers; how to organize fundraisers; and so on. While we […]

Biblical Literacy for Catechists: Moses, Deliverer of His People

Joyce Donahue

This is the third article in a series about figures in Salvation history and their relevance for catechists. Moses’s name might conjure up images of Charlton Heston in The Ten Commandments or the 1998 animated film The Prince of Egypt. Moses’s life was so dramatic that it still inspires us today. His story is also part of our Salvation History. Through Moses, God saved his people. This tale is so important that it is retold […]

Being a Catechist in Two Parishes

Cindy Coleman

I first volunteered to be a catechist 14 years ago at my home parish of Mary, Mother of the Redeemer when my son was preparing for his First Holy Communion; a few years later, a friend mentioned that our neighboring parish, St. Jude, was in need of additional catechists. I volunteered to be a substitute catechist, but soon became a regular catechist there, where I also prepared children to celebrate First Holy Communion, which has […]