You’ve arrived at the first catechist meeting of the year just in the nick of time. Your DRE hands you your catechist book, your class roster, and a list of expectations for the year. At the end of the meeting, your DRE wishes you the best of luck. You gather your things, head back to your car, and wave good-bye. Upon returning home, you’re faced with an abundance of materials, a couple of new ideas […]
From time to time I find it helpful to stop what I am doing and listen. I mean really listen. My family has learned to recognize when I am no longer hearing what they are saying to me. I am completely honest when this happens and no longer feel guilty when I say to my spouse or child, “You know, I’m just not listening to you anymore.” We know that any further attempts to convey […]
Here I go again! I’m starting my twelfth year of teaching third grade. Each year produces new challenges, joys, and adventures with my students. Even though I approach the new year knowing that my class will be different from previous ones, I always prepare in the same way. I always begin by praying for my new class. Over the summer I make rosaries out of twine for my new students. I learned how to make […]
As you and your catechists begin the new learning year, what might you say is the most important thing that you can do to prepare? When I consider that question in light of my own ministry work, I may be tempted to say something about having my materials and my space in order. But when I pause to reflect more deeply, I remember that the most important thing I can do to prepare is pray. […]
Before I do any planning or take action in my catechetical ministry, I try to pray for the particular graces I need to do the work Christ has entrusted to me. I begin by imagining that my life is like a house with many rooms. Much like in my own home, there’s the room I work really hard on to get “just right” when company is on the way—the room in which I am proud […]
Working with young children can be a challenge, but children can also be fun and even give you insights into our faith when you look through their eyes of innocence and imagination. With that in mind, here are five tips for working with little children in faith formation sessions. Know that logic doesn’t always work. While it is possible to reason with older elementary students, as well as middle and high schoolers, young children have […]
As you prepare to begin a new catechetical year, take a few moments in prayer, reflecting on how the first day of classes might begin. Imagine Jesus visiting you in your office. Pause for a few moments to be still. Relax and turn your focus inward. Recognize that God is with you as you continue the journey of faith. It is September. It is also the first day of faith formation sessions. How are you […]
Training and retaining volunteers is a major responsibility of a DRE. In my parish, we have about 200 volunteers assisting in various ways with faith formation, and my staff and I have the responsibility of ensuring that they are equipped to do their ministry. Preliminaries for Volunteers Long before we allow someone to volunteer, he or she fills out a volunteer application, which includes reference checks. In our archdiocese, as in others, we must follow […]
When I talk about adult faith formation going “mobile,” I’m not talking about anything involving mobile phones! Rather, I’m talking about getting adult faith formation “off campus,” so to speak, and taking it on the road, namely to people’s homes. Pope Francis is encouraging us as a Church to “go forth from our own comfort zone in order to reach all the ‘peripheries’ in need of the light of the Gospel.” (Evangelii Gaudium, 20) I suggest […]
As I’m sure you know by now, Pope Francis has declared an extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, which will begin December 8, 2015, and last until November 20, 2016, the Feast of Christ the King. As I’ve described here before, mercy can be understood as treating people like they are one of the family. With that in mind, I am happy to announce that I will be working with two outstanding catechists at St. Cajetan Parish […]
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