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Growing as a Catechist

Celebrating Catechetical Sunday: How Do You Pray the Faith?

How do you pray? What is your favorite form of prayer? When was the last time you thought about your personal prayer life and the way you pray in the classroom? The theme for this year’s Catechetical Sunday, which falls on September 18, is “Prayer: The Faith Prayed.” The USCCB Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis offers resources for catechists, adults, and families to explore what prayer is, how to pray, how to prepare for prayer, […]

The Six Tasks of Catechesis #2: Liturgical Education, or Expressing our Faith

Special Contributor

The second of the Six Tasks of Catechesis is liturgical education, or in terms of the remembering phrase HELP ME, expressing our faith. Listen to our bishops: Since Christ is present in the sacraments, the believer comes to know Christ in the liturgical celebrations of the Church and is drawn into communion with him…Catechesis should promote “an active, conscious genuine participation in the liturgy of the Church” (NDC 20). Liturgical education calls for preparation before […]

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 […]

God's Gift DVDs for sacramental preparation

New DVDs for Sacramental Preparation: God’s Gift

Joe Paprocki

I am very excited to tell you about a new DVD series for sacramental preparation—a project that I was privileged to be intimately involved with from writing scripts to hosting segments! This new video series enhances instruction and parent involvement in sacramental preparation for First Reconciliation and First Eucharist. As part of the God’s Gift 2016 program, these DVDs are to be used in retreats, parent meetings, faith-formation sessions and more. There are five DVDs […]

Stealth Catechesis: Teaching without Teaching

Bob Burnham

One evening, my 10th-grade Confirmation class revolted. “We do not want to use the book anymore,” said their leader. “Why not?” I asked. “We’ve been in school all day, and we’re tired of sitting around listening and reading. This is supposed to be church, not school.” I could see her point. After all, I had been working all day, had gone straight to the church from the train, and I had yet to eat dinner. […]

The Six Tasks of Catechesis: A Series of Articles to HELP ME

Special Contributor

The National Directory for Catechesis (#19B) tells us that, “The definitive aim of catechesis is to put people not only in touch but in communion, in intimacy, with Jesus Christ” and goes on in #20 to state that the fundamental task is the “formation of disciples of Jesus Christ.” The bishops then go on to outline six key elements that need to be incorporated to form disciples seeking this intimacy—the six tasks of catechesis. In […]

Ignatian Spirituality: An Introduction - poster and booklet download

Ignatian Spirituality: An Introduction—Free Poster and Booklet

Joe Paprocki

St. Ignatius of Loyola founded a school of spirituality that is continued today by his community, the Jesuits, along with many others. Ignatian spirituality focuses on creating a deep bond with Jesus, as well as working to promote God’s plan and action in the world. Most important, Ignatian spirituality concentrates on “finding God in all things,” which integrates prayer and service, meditation and action, emotion and reason. Let our free poster and booklet introduce you […]

Parent-Teen Date Night

Megan Arteaga

Editor’s note: This summer, we will be highlighting success stories from the field. Let’s share our stories of what works to inspire each other to great things in faith formation ministries! Today, Megan Arteaga tells us about Parent-Teen Date Night in youth ministry. As youth ministers, we want more parental involvement. We want more parents as adult leaders; we want more parents driving carpools; we want more parents as chaperones; heck, we’d be happy with […]

The Measure of Success

Lisa Brown

By what yardstick do we measure the success of teaching the faith to the children with whom we’ve been entrusted? I asked myself this question as I prepared my last two classes of the year. I may be tempted to use an objective measure, such as a minimum percent-correct score on the unit review. I may be tempted to use a more subjective measure, such as gauging how much the children were entertained. I’ve come to […]

The Gift of a Less-Than-Perfect Year

Lisa Jones

Another year of faith formation classes has come to an end, and I’ve got a big smile on my face and a few tears in my eyes. This has been my sixth year of teaching third-grade religious education classes at my parish, and as I look back on the year, I know I will happily sign up to teach again next year. This wasn’t my best year. I missed classes due to illness; I didn’t […]