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Book Club Bonus: Elizabeth M. Kelly and Robin Davis - Blessings in the Home

Book Club Bonus: Blessings in the Home

Editor’s note: In our online book club, we’re reading Jane Knuth’s The Prayer List…and Other True Stories of How Families Pray. Each Tuesday through August 7, 2018, we’ll bring you Book Club Bonus Days—sharing additional stories of family prayer, continuing the weekly conversation, and more. Find all the book club posts here. Blessing Before Bed A few years ago, my brother married a widow. Her husband died in a car crash—a crash that two of […]

Thank you - words written on a garden scene

Affirming Catechists Is Not Just a “Warm Fuzzy”

Joe Paprocki

I keep a cartoon on my desk in my office that shows a mechanic leaning over a car engine while his boss stands looking over his shoulder, asking, “Did I tell you that you’re doing a good job?” The mechanic replies, “No,” to which the boss responds, “I didn’t think so.” Affirmation is a tricky thing. With over 35 years of experience in ministry, I’ve learned not to rely on affirmation and to find it […]

green and silver rosary - Peter Dazeley/The Image Bank/Getty Images

Smiling Rosary

Jane Knuth

Today, I have a story about family prayer that is not in my book, The Prayer List. This one requires a visual, so go put your hands on a set of rosary beads before you read any further. If you don’t have a rosary, that’s fine; a simple necklace of any kind will work. My daughter, Ellen, age seven, had just made her First Holy Communion, and I had followed tradition by buying her a […]

How Introverts Learn: Intrapersonal Learning

Joe Paprocki

When delivering presentations, I often ask participants to raise their hands if they consider themselves an introvert. Usually about 40% of hands go up, to which I reply, “OK, almost half of you, and then a number of you didn’t raise your hand because you’re an introvert!” The truth is, I count myself in this category. Now, you may be surprised to learn that I am an introvert, but to be one doesn’t mean that […]

Collaborating with Catechists

Jayne Ragasa-Mondoy

The Vietnamese Holy Martyrs Catholic Community in the Diocese of Honolulu have an annual youth camp. The core team had finalized their plans for 2018. The campsite was booked; the program content was finalized; the activities and their optimum placement were all mapped out: prayer service in the chapel, sessions in the common room, outdoor grilling for lunch, a Scripture-themed scavenger hunt on the playing field, skits and s’mores around the outdoor fire pit. Now […]

Book Club Bonus: Jane Knuth Book Giveaway

Special Contributor

We hope you’re enjoying our online book club. Jane Knuth, the author of The Prayer List, has written several other books, and today we’re offering you the chance to win a copy of her popular first book, Thrift Store Saints. We have five copies to give away to lucky readers of Catechist’s Journey. Thrift Store Saints: Meeting Jesus 25¢ at a Time is a collection of true stories based on Jane’s experiences serving the poor […]

Online Book Club Week 3: I Don’t Even Like You

Jane Knuth

Editor’s note: Jump into our online book club! We’re reading Jane Knuth’s The Prayer List…and Other True Stories of How Families Pray. This week we focus on chapters 6–9. Learn more about the book club here. In chapter 6, Debbie is praying in front of the crucifix in her parish church. Her daughter is asleep, wrapped in a blanket, on the last pew near the door. Debbie’s husband has just died, and she is there […]

Incorporate visuals into your classroom as a means of evangelization. - quote next to painting of St. Francis of Assisi

Using Visuals to Evangelize in the Classroom

Julianne Stanz

The expression “a picture speaks a thousand words” is particularly apt for the culture in which we live. Image-intensive social media platforms promote sharing through memes, stories, and snippets of information that go viral. For young people, images are not a distraction from the central message but constitute the message itself. Authenticity and thoughtful imaging of the Christian message are particularly important for us as a Church. For those who are in a pre-evangelization stage […]

End-of-Year Reflection

Barb Gilman

Let the Lord define your life! This was our school-wide theme for the year, and it was a fitting theme for my classroom as well. As our year wound down, I once again realized that the Lord was in charge. The service projects and the textbook lessons laid out in August were perfectly suited to each of my third graders, even if we didn’t accomplish all I had hoped. I was very pleased with several […]

Supporting Your Catechists

Jayne Ragasa-Mondoy

I was about to meet with a parent who had a reputation for being overly assertive. I was a little nervous, but as a catechetical leader, it was my duty to support my ministry team. This parent had upset a second-grade catechist; she had tried to reason with him to no avail. She pleaded with me to intercede. He sat across the table from me, whipped out his phone and rather ceremoniously set the timer. […]