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Looking for Ideas for Do-it-Yourself Service Projects

I’m looking for ideas for “do-it-yourself” service projects—things that can be done on site at the parish with 20 or 30 adult volunteers in a couple of hours. One such idea, albeit quite ambitious, is the Helping Hands project from Catholic Relief Services. This requires 40 volunteers and a minimum of two hours to package 10,000 meals! For the upcoming Year of Mercy, I hope to work with a local parish to organize opportunities for […]

Family Catechesis: Reporting from Inside the Home

Joe Paprocki

Recently, I had the privilege and pleasure of being invited into the home of a family to observe a mom working with her third-grade son on a Finding God faith formation lesson! I’m excited to share my observations of this wonderful experience. Mrs. K. is participating in the Finding God family catechesis program at St. Barnabas Parish. As regular readers know, I have been volunteering there this year to lead the monthly parent sessions. Mrs. […]

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Advent: Sharing Stories of Hope

Joe Paprocki

Recently, my wife Joanne and I went on a trip to Cabo, Mexico, for our best friends’ daughter’s wedding. We spent four wonderful days in Mexico with our best friends, and when we returned home, we gathered with them, just three days later, to look at pictures and share stories. That might seem like a strange thing to do, since we had just been together for this shared experience. However, it is human nature to […]

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The Growing Popularity of Advent Calendars: A Teachable Moment

Joe Paprocki

Have you noticed that “Advent calendars” are all the rage these days? I put that in quotes because the “Advent calendars” I’m referring to are secular in nature and have become a big part of holiday marketing and sales. There are “Advent calendars” for wine, tea, chocolate, books, gemstones, spices, cookies, and a host of other delights, most of which have nothing to do with the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Now, I’m not […]

Lenten Disciples - icon of Jesus and Samaritan Woman at the Well

Lenten Disciples: The Woman at the Well

Julianne Stanz

In the Scriptures, we see examples of disciples at different stages of their journeys. For the next few weeks of Lent, we will explore three different encounters with Jesus and what these encounters tell us about discipleship. We will focus first on perhaps one of the best-known stories in the Bible: Jesus and the woman of Samaria (John 4:1–42). In this story, Jesus approaches a Samaritan woman and strikes up a conversation with her at […]

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The Act of Contrition and the Sacrament of Penance

Joe Paprocki

If you are preparing children to celebrate their First Reconciliation (Penance), you might want to be aware of a couple of small changes that have been made in the wording of the order. Last year, the Vatican approved a new translation of the Order of Penance (previously the Rite of Penance). The only significant change to be aware of is a slight change in the wording of the priest’s prayer of absolution. The changes are […]

Catechists as Mystagogues - text over watercolor background by Sergey Ryumin/Moment/Getty Images

Catechists as Mystagogues: Leading Others to Encounter the Risen One

Joe Paprocki

There’s a big difference between telling someone, “I can tell you a lot about __________” (Fill in the blank with the name of any celebrity.) and “I’d like to introduce you to ___________.” (Fill in the blank with the same name.) Often faith formation has been thought of and approached as a version of the first option above: a vehicle for telling others about Jesus Christ. This boils down to the teaching of a subject. […]

raising of Lazarus - Elena Mertin/iStock/Getty Images

Proclaiming the Miracles (the Mighty Deeds) of Jesus

Joe Paprocki

When a company promotes a product, it goes to great lengths to convince us of what it can do for us. When candidates seek votes, they will provide long lists of accomplishments as proof that they can deliver. When we invite others to embrace Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, we need to provide “evidence” of what Jesus has done, is doing, and can do for each of us. A crucial part of the […]

Small Group Facilitator Training

Joe Paprocki

I have long been an advocate of parishes forming small groups for adult faith formation and sharing, and I have blogged previously about the importance of small faith groups. I have also talked about the importance of training people to serve as small group facilitators. While it is helpful, it is not necessary for a small group facilitator to have formal theological training. What is needed are basic facilitating skills. With that in mind, I […]

Our 15th Anniversary Giveaway: A Church on the Move

Joe Paprocki

We continue our year-long celebration of the 15th anniversary of the launch of Catechist’s Journey and publication of The Catechist’s Toolbox. Our celebration continues today with the chance to win a copy of my book, A Church on the Move: 52 Ways to Get Mission and Mercy in Motion. Well before the pandemic, I wrote A Church on the Move, recognizing that our parishes were in crisis and in need of new approaches to engaging […]