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Spirituality of the Catechist: Online Retreat for Catechists

The Spirituality of the Catechist: An Openness to the Church (Online Retreat Week 3)

Welcome once again to the Spirituality of the Catechist, our online retreat. Remember that you can join in at any time, starting with today’s post or going back to catch up on earlier weeks. In this Week Three, we look at the second characteristic of a catechist’s spirituality: An Openness to the Church. Whether you are a long-time catechist or starting for the first time this fall, your stories are inspiring as we share with […]

2017 Catholic Press Association Book Awards for Loyola Press

Award-Winning Catholic Books from Loyola Press

Joe Paprocki

I’m excited to announce that my book A Church on the Move: 52 Ways to Get Mission and Mercy in Motion received second-place honors in the Pastoral Ministry category of the 2017 Catholic Press Association Book Awards. The judges said: “This book provides practical, realistic strategies for the clergy, lay leaders and faithful to work at transforming parish life to lead others to an encounter with the transforming grace of Jesus Christ. This is a […]

Don’t Chase God; Be Caught Instead

Jayne Ragasa-Mondoy

This reflection is part of the Spirituality of the Catechist Online Retreat. Craig, Janice, and their two young daughters could always be counted on to participate in parish family life programs. By all accounts Craig was the super-Catholic dad: a humble man of faith; a role model for other dads. After a particularly long afternoon of family-ministry activities, I noticed Craig sitting in a far corner of the church lawn. I wandered over, sat beside […]

The Spirituality of the Catechist: An Openness to God (Online Retreat Week 2)

Joe Paprocki

Welcome back to the Spirituality of the Catechist, our online retreat. This week we’ll look at the first characteristic of our spirituality: An Openness to God. Thank you for posting your introductions last week as we began our retreat. Your stories were very inspiring, and they helped to form a sense of community among us retreatants. If you’re just joining us, you can read the overview and introductions here (Feel free to add your own!) […]

7 Keys to Spiritual Wellness: What Do You Have That Cannot Be Taken Away?

Joyce Donahue

Editor’s note: This post is one in a series inspired by Joe Paprocki’s book 7 Keys to Spiritual Wellness. In the book, Joe introduces each key with a fun or thought-provoking question. Each Friday we’ll share an excerpt from 7 Keys to Spiritual Wellness that poses a question, followed by a response by a catechist or catechetical leader. What do you have that cannot be taken away? If you can identify and cultivate the answer […]

We do not re-create ourselves but are re-created by Christ. - words next to St. Paul

Faith Formation Isn’t Self-Improvement

Joe Paprocki

You may hear parents or others in your faith community talk about catechesis like it’s a self-improvement course. While following Jesus and growing closer to God will hopefully improve our lives, the goal is not self-improvement. The entire message of Salvation through Jesus Christ is that we are incapable of saving ourselves and are in need of a divine intervention, which means a renouncing of the self. Our destiny is not to become a better […]

Possibly the Most Important Paragraph in a Church Document: RCIA #75

Joe Paprocki

Several years ago, a campaign began to invite former Catholics to return to the Church: Catholics Come Home. But did you ever ask, “What are folks coming home to? And why? What am I doing to help welcome them to my parish faith community?” People stop coming to church for a variety of reasons. The question is, are we inviting them back to the very same experience that caused them to leave in the first place? […]

Living the Liturgical Seasons at Home: Ordinary Time - family around dinner table

Living the Liturgical Seasons at Home: Summer/Fall Ordinary Time

Joyce Donahue

The liturgical year is 365 days a year, and the season of Ordinary Time is a course of instruction in the Christian life. Ordinary Time after Pentecost and before Advent is a period when we celebrate no particular aspect of Christ, but honor him in the fullness of his mystery. (Universal Norms of the Liturgical Year, 43) We spend time with Jesus and let him be with us and in us as we grow closer […]

The Fire and the Light

Vinita Hampton Wright

We are in the last week of Easter, which culminates in Pentecost. On the first Pentecost, the Holy Spirit “fell upon” the followers of Jesus of Nazareth, and at that point the community of faith became home to God, each person a dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. There was the “speaking in tongues,” with the Apostles proclaiming the story and work of Jesus in the languages of all people-groups present in Jerusalem at the […]

Three Ways to Teach the Saints According to St. Teresa of Ávila

Bob Burnham

I hate to admit this, but I often give the saints short shrift in my faith-formation classes. Since I am helping ninth-graders prepare for the Sacrament of Confirmation, my focus is usually on having them pick a Confirmation name. To that end, I ask them to write a paper, produce a video, or perform a skit about a saint. If I can find the time, I will set aside a lesson in which I give […]