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The Six Tasks of Catechesis #4: Teaching to Pray, or Praying Our Faith

The fourth of the Six Tasks of Catechesis is teaching to pray, or in terms of the remembering phrase HELP ME, praying our faith. Read what the bishops say: Conversion to Christ and communion with him lead the faithful to adopt his disposition of prayer and reflection… His prayer was always directed toward his Father. Catechesis should invite the believer to join Christ in the Our Father. Prayer should be the ordinary environment of all catechesis […]

Summer Planning for the DRE: Developing Goals and Objectives

Kathy Henry

“Do you work during the summer?” No matter how often I hear this question, I am surprised by its suggestion. Do others really believe there is nothing to do once the religious education programs wrap up for the school year? Although the pace may slow somewhat (aside from summer programs and Vacation Bible School), most DREs have plenty to keep them busy during June, July, and August. Summer is often a time for me to […]

Mike Lorenzo and the 1 Percent Prayer Challenge

The 1% Prayer Challenge

Special Contributor

What would happen if you gave 15 minutes of your day completely to God? That’s what Mike Lorenzo is asking the community at St. John the Evangelist Parish in St. John, Indiana. Mike is the Pastoral Associate for Evangelization at the parish. He works closely with the pastor and his colleagues to instill a desire to be closer to God and strengthen their prayer lives. Over the Lenten and Easter seasons they launched an initiative […]

Adult Faith Formation Does Not Take Off for the Summer

Joe Paprocki

Summer provides us with the perfect time to forge ahead with plans for more robust adult faith formation in the year ahead. At Christ the King Parish, my home parish, we are taking advantage of the summer to lay the foundations for our best year ever in adult faith formation. Building on the success of our small faith groups during Lent, we are now inviting a number of parishioners to consider/discern serving on an adult […]

Saint Anthony of Padua

Paul Gallagher

I was sitting in a meeting at my parish, and in the corner of the room sat a life-size statue of Saint Anthony of Padua. Several years ago, the statue was moved up from a basement storage room, and there he now sits, with the baby Jesus in his arms. Our image of St. Anthony is a bit chipped and the paint has faded, but it’s always nice to know that he’s around. Maybe some […]

Summer Reading from Loyola Press

Joe Paprocki

Summer is a wonderful time to renew your soul! With that in mind, Loyola Press is making available some excellent books for summer reading at a very special price of only $9 each. Take advantage of these savings and enjoy reading some wonderfully inspirational books while you relax on your porch or deck, in your backyard, at the park, or on the beach. Don’t forget to take a peek at some of the books I […]

Evaluating Your Catholic School/Religious Education Liturgies

Joe Paprocki

Recently, I was invited by a pastor to observe his parish’s weekly Catholic school liturgy, which leads me to this post suggesting that it would be a good idea for every Catholic school and parish religious education program to evaluate the liturgical experiences they invite their young people to participate in. Before I go any further, let me ask you, what is your overriding concern about your school’s or religious education program’s liturgies? I’d love […]

Introducing Catholics to the Bible: Free Parent-Child Session

Joe Paprocki

Host a hands-on, engaging session to introduce children (fifth grade or higher) and their parents to how the Bible is arranged. The Bible is like a library—God’s Library—made up of 73 books, and the best way to get to know the layout of the Bible is to break it down into smaller pieces, eight sections that make up the whole. This month’s free download gives you instructions for hosting a 90-minute session in your parish […]

10 Ways to Pray Online

Joe Paprocki

You’ll notice I did NOT say that this is a “Top” 10 list of ways to pray online. I’d rather not get into ranking prayer! Rather, I’d like to offer some online prayer resources that I encourage you to pass along to parishioners by sharing the following list in the parish bulletin or in your religious education or school newsletter. Those of us in ministry sometimes forget that we may be privy to resources that […]

Ending the Year on a Good Note

Shannon Chisholm

When we approach the end of faith formation classes for the year, we can be overwhelmed by a flurry of activity. During this period, our highest priorities are the celebration of the sacraments, planning for the final classes, end-of-year meetings, and looking forward to the next year. Amidst all these priorities—as well as tying up any loose ends—we can easily forget to take a step back and reflect on some of the gifts that are […]