8 Steps to Energize Your Faith Archives

lone tree in Tanzania - image courtesy of Kathleen Butler

Where Creation Inspires

Every summer, I take time to recharge my catechetical batteries, and this year, reading Joe Paprocki’s book, 8 Steps to Energize Your Faith, was exactly what I needed. Reflecting on his thought-provoking questions each week, I renewed my focus on God’s work in my life. In the chapter on delighting in nature and all of creation, Joe points out that Jesus was often catechizing outdoors—on mountaintops and seashores and any number of other places. He […]

8 Steps to Energize Your Faith video series

8 Steps to Energize Your Faith, Step Eight: Be Still

Joe Paprocki

God knew the importance of taking a rest after six days of hard work creating the cosmos! We can participate in the divine life and tap into divine energy by observing the Third Commandment that insists we take a day off from work to remind ourselves that we are human beings, not human doings. As we conclude our reflections on the steps from my book, 8 Steps to Energize Your Faith, I invite you to […]

8 Steps to Energize Your Faith, Step Seven: Share Generously and Selflessly

Joe Paprocki

One of the most well-known Gospel verses is John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” This passage captures one of God’s most defining attributes: generosity and selflessness. What an incredibly generous and selfless act on God’s part to give us his only Son, Jesus, who, in turn, gave his life for us on the […]

8 Steps to Energize Your Faith, Step Six: Make Repairs

Joe Paprocki

Some people fix things for a living: cars, teeth, HVAC systems, plumbing, legal issues, electrical problems, and so on. Many others repair things as a hobby: furniture restoration, auto repairs and restoration, gardening, sewing, and so on. There is something innately pleasing about either repairing something or seeing something get repaired. It’s as if something is restored to the “way God intended it to be!” The truth is, God has spent (and continues to spend) […]

8 Steps to Energize Your Faith, Step Five: Show Compassion

Joe Paprocki

Often, we come to know someone’s “true colors” as a result of an experience with that person in which he or she speaks and acts in a significant manner. For the Jewish people enslaved in Egypt, they came to know God and his true colors as a result of the Exodus/Passover experience, when God revealed his overflowing compassion for an oppressed people. Throughout Scripture, we find compassion to be a defining attribute of God, as […]

8 Steps to Energize Your Faith, Step Four: Build and Celebrate Relationships

Joe Paprocki

What does the doctrine of the Trinity have to do with our everyday living? Quite a bit, actually! We are all made in the image and likeness of God, and our God just happens to be a community of Persons. In other words, one of God’s defining attributes is relationality. God reveals himself to us as a community of three Persons—the Trinity—whose love is so great and so intimate that God is One. We can […]

8 Steps to Energize Your Faith This Easter Season: A Webinar with Joe Paprocki

Joe Paprocki

Spring is a time when signs of life begin to pop up all around us, and our energy levels hopefully begin to rise with increased Vitamin D from the more plentiful sunshine and warmer weather. What a perfect season for us Christians to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and the new life that we share in as a result of our Baptism! In the spirit of this wonderful season, I am excited to offer […]

8 Steps to Energize Your Faith, Step Three: Simplify Your Life

Joe Paprocki

Scripture never tells us that money and possessions are evil. However, Scripture does warn us, over and over, that money and possessions are dangerous. Why? Because they can subtly insert themselves between us and God. They can act as mirages that lead us away from the true source of fulfillment: divine grace. As we continue to reflect briefly on the steps from my book, 8 Steps to Energize Your Faith, I invite you to reflect […]

8 Steps to Energize Your Faith, Step Two: Delight in Nature and All of Creation

Joe Paprocki

When we think of going on vacation, we usually think of a place where we can spend a lot of time outdoors. Even when we are at work, we often look for an opportunity to step outside and get some fresh air. There is something regenerative about being outdoors. As we continue to reflect briefly on the steps from my book, 8 Steps to Energize Your Faith, I invite you to reflect on step two: […]

8 Steps to Energize Your Faith, Step One: Create Something

Joe Paprocki

It’s common for adults, when observing little children running around and playing games, to say, “If I had even half of their energy, I’d be happy!” We do, indeed, seek to be energized, both physically and spiritually. Over the coming weeks, I will be sharing brief videos based on my book, 8 Steps to Energize Your Faith, designed to provide concrete suggestions for tapping into divine energy. Step one is: Create something! Be sure to […]