Pop-Up Catechesis with Joe Paprocki
Trinity: Father, Son, Holy Spirit

Pop-Up Catechesis: Christ the King and Noble Leadership

Recently, Americans went to the polls to elect leadership that they hope will serve the country well. Before democracy came on the scene, most nations were headed by royalty, dating back thousands of years. While we tend to think of leaders like kings and queens as rulers, in truth, leaders are called to serve, and this service is called to be noble (virtuous, dignified, distinguished, extraordinary). In short, it is a call to be heroic, which means […]

Pop-Up Catechesis with Joe Paprocki
Advent

Pop-Up Catechesis: Advent Hope

People seem to be interested in knowing what the future holds for them—so much so that some will do everything from reading their horoscopes to visiting a fortune teller. The truth is, we don’t know what the future will hold for us, except for the one thing that we can be sure of: Jesus will be a part of our lives! We celebrate the season of Advent with this confident joy, knowing that abundant graces […]

Pop-Up Catechesis with Joe Paprocki
Liturgical Seasons & Feasts

Pop-Up Catechesis: November, the Month of All Souls

For Catholics, the entire month of November (leading up to the First Sunday of Advent) is commemorated as the Month of All Souls—an opportunity to remember, honor, and pray for all of our deceased loved ones. In this episode of Pop-Up Catechesis, we explore the practice of setting up a home altar of remembrance with pictures of deceased loved ones and candles to help us recall these special people and to pray for them throughout the […]

Pop-Up Catechesis with Joe Paprocki
Mary and the Saints

Pop-Up Catechesis: St. Martin de Porres

When an orchestra prepares to perform together, they spend a few minutes before the performance ensuring that they are all in tune with one another. Without this effort, the audience would no doubt hear the disharmony and cringe at the discordant sound. In our human relationships, we are called to live in harmony with one another. In the area of race relations, however, we continue to experience far too much disharmony. On November 3, we […]

Pop-Up Catechesis with Joe Paprocki
Mary and the Saints

Pop-Up Catechesis: Setting Your Children on a Path to Sainthood

“My child, a saint?” That might very well be your first reaction to the title of this post! The reason we might pause  when thinking of our children as potential saints is because we have the erroneous impression of the saints as perfect people, when the saints themselves would be the first to tell you how imperfect they were. First, don’t forget that we have two kinds of saints: those who have been canonized or honored […]

Pop-Up Catechesis with Joe Paprocki
Mary and the Saints

Pop-Up Catechesis: Practicing Mindfulness Like St. Teresa of Ávila

Throughout the history of the Church, there have been many notable men and women who have mastered the art of contemplation or resting in the presence of God. Today, another word used for contemplation is mindfulness, which, according to author Anne Kertz Kernion, can be described as “being fully anchored in the present moment.” (Spiritual Practices for the Brain) In this episode of Pop-Up Catechesis, we explore the notion of mindfulness as we prepare to […]

Pop-Up Catechesis with Joe Paprocki
Prayer/Guided Reflections

Pop-Up Catechesis: Our Lady of the Rosary

Generally, when we visit an art gallery or museum, we take our time, strolling from one piece to another and pausing in front of each one to take it in. We set our gaze upon each work of art and allow it to wash over us. This is a good metaphor for how we pray the Mysteries of the Rosary: each mystery is like a work of art that we stand before and set our […]

Pop-Up Catechesis with Joe Paprocki
Prayer/Guided Reflections

Pop-Up Catechesis: Letting God’s Word Sink In (Lectio Divina)

When giving directions to young people for completing a task, catechists and teachers have grown accustomed to hearing at least one participant respond with, “Wait, what?” Experienced educators know that, when giving directions to young people, we have to repeat several times and check for comprehension. We can’t assume that the first time we say something, it has been heard and received! The same holds true with the Word of God. Often, upon first hearing, […]

Pop-Up Catechesis with Joe Paprocki
Discipleship

Pop-Up Catechesis: Who Do You Follow?

There are leaders, and there are followers. It’s important to know that being a follower is not a bad thing—that is, as long as you are following the right person or thing! Disciples are basically followers. To be a disciple is to adhere to the teachings of someone. In the Gospels, anyone who adheres to the teachings of Jesus is referred to as a disciple. Today, the Church is calling each of us to discipleship—to […]