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An Advent Retreat!

Here’s another opportunity for you to find enrichment during this wonderful Advent season. Loyola Press is hosting an Advent retreat on the Days of Deepening Frienship Web site. The retreat features a new Advent article each week written by some pretty talented authors! November 30: James Martin, SJ, shares tips on going from the secular to the spiritual in our Christmas preparations and celebrations. December 7: Liz Kelly will share some insight on Advent rituals […]

An Evening of HOPE

Joe Paprocki

Last evening’s class went very nicely. I was especially grateful for the very relaxed rapport that the 8th graders seem to have developed with me. They are upbeat and pleasant, smiling and talking with one another and with me. They genuinely seem to enjoy being there and we seem to be very comfortable with each other. With Advent beginning, our focus was on the theme of HOPE. Because of the good vibes, we were able […]

A Light Shines in the Darkness

Joe Paprocki

Happy Advent! I hope that your Thanksgiving weekend was an opportunity to enjoy family, friends, and some recreation and renewal! Well, it’s back to “work” for me tonight, wrapping up the short unit on Church history. Here’s my plan: As the kids enter, I’ll give them pages from daily newspapers and set them to work finding examples of “bad news.” Each of the kids will share their examples of bad news stories with the group and I’ll talk […]

Unforeseen Distractions

Joe Paprocki

Interestingly enough, one of the problems that I ran into while walking my class through the Bible on Monday evening was the unforeseen distractions that occurred while they were reading aloud…and these distractions came from the text itself! What am I talking about? Here’s what I mean: Exodus 20:10 – “No work may be done then either by you….or by the alien who lives with you.” Had to pause and explain that this was not […]

Summary of My Session on 9/21/09

Joe Paprocki

I had a very enjoyable session last night! Here are the highlights: We began in church with an opening prayer service with the pastor. I met my group out in the parking lot and they were jovial and polite. I had a full class with the 2 absentees from last week being present. The kids were very well behaved in church…I was quite pleased to see that. My aide Lucy was there as well and […]

More About My First Session

Joe Paprocki

Yesterday, I told you about the first 35 minutes or so of my first session on Monday evening during which time my focus was to ENGAGE the young people. My Engage step normally does not take that long however, being the first night, there was more engaging to do! With the focus on the theme of TRUST, we next moved into the EXPLORE step of the lesson, where we look at the story of salvation […]

As Our Online Retreat Wraps Up: THANK YOU!

Joe Paprocki

As our online retreat for catechists winds down, I’d like to take this opportunity to send out a great big THANK YOU to all of you who participated and made it such a success! Over these past 7 weeks, we have formed an online community of catechists, dedicated to deepening our spirituality so that we may follow Jesus more closely and invite others to do the same. While it is a “virtual” community, it is […]

Online Retreat for Catechists – Week 6: Missionary Zeal

Joe Paprocki

Welcome to the 6th week of our online retreat focusing on the spirituality of the catechist. Last week, we looked at the characteristic of an authenticity and coherence of life. Thanks so much for all of your wonderful and inspiring comments! This week, we focus on the 6th aspect of our spirituality: missionary zeal. If you’re just joining us, you can go back and “catch up” and then come back to jump in to week […]

An Online Retreat for Catechists – Week 5: An Authenticity and Coherence of Life

Joe Paprocki

Welcome to the 5th week of our online retreat focusing on the spirituality of the catechist. Over the last few weeks, we’ve looked at the unique openness that we catechists are called to incorporate into our spirituality: an openness to God, to the Church, and to the world. Thanks so much for all of your wonderful and inspiring comments! This week, we focus on the 4th aspect of our spirituality, what the Church refers to […]

Ending on a Good Note – A Summary of Last Night's Class

Joe Paprocki

Last evening was the last teaching session for this year with my 8th graders. Next week, we gather for Mass, some presentations, and then pizza. I enjoyed last night and overall, I feel it went very nicely, a fitting ending to a good year with a good group of kids. Here are the highlights: I met the young people at the door as they arrived. I was holding a tray with their little vigil candles […]