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New Roman Missal Translation: What You Need to Know – Articles 8 & 9!

That’s right, it’s a two-fer! The next TWO installments of my Roman Missal articles are now available. Here’s the scoop: As you probably already know, I am co-authoring (with D. Todd Williamson, Director of the Office for Divine Worship, Archdiocese of Chicago) a series of ten articles for Loyola Press on the new Roman Missal. These articles will provide you with what you need to know to better understand the changes when we implement the […]

FREE Webinar: Roman Missal Changes

Joe Paprocki

Facilitator: Joe Paprocki, DMin Brought to you by Loyola Press, A Jesuit Ministry Wednesday, February 9, 2011 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. (CST) [Find out what time this is for you.] Beginning with Advent 2011, we will celebrate the Mass following the English translation of the 3rd Edition of the Roman Missal. While the changes for the Mass may be exciting for some people, they may be confusing for others. Participate in this free Webinar to […]

Fresco of The Vision of Angel to St. Joseph in church Chiesa di Santa Croce by Giovanni Maria Conti della Camera - sedmak/iStock/Getty Images

Joseph Shows the Way in the Last Days of Advent

Joe Paprocki

Sometimes, our head is telling us one thing, but our heart and our gut are telling us something else. Matthew 1:18–25 tells us that St. Joseph was experiencing this inner turmoil. His betrothed, Mary, is pregnant—and he’s not the father. According to Jewish law, she should be stoned. Joseph decides instead to divorce Mary quietly; that would be the righteous thing to do. And yet, something within him continues to question this, interrupting his sleep. […]

Show Me a Day When the World Wasn’t New

Joe Paprocki

I received an email yesterday from a co-worker announcing that another co-worker had given birth to a healthy beautiful baby boy. The subject line of the email was “Show me a day when the world wasn’t new.” This really caught my attention. Apparently the quote is attributed to Sr. Barbara Hance (1928-1993) and I think it’s a wonderful Advent thought. In fact, this quote and the email about the newborn baby made me think of my pastor’s […]

Keeping it Simple

Joe Paprocki

I plan on keeping things very simple for today’s class for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, we are experiencing brutally cold weather with wind chills of -20 so I have a feeling I’ll be missing a few students tonight. Secondly, we need time to process last weeks’ learning stations on the Sacraments of Initiation, so I intend to just gather with them on the floor and talk through each of the sacraments, asking […]

New Roman Missal – What You Need to Know

Joe Paprocki

As you probably already know, we will be preparing to implement the new Roman Missal one year from now, in Advent, 2011. This will be an issue of critical importance to catechists who will be on the front lines of teaching others about how to adapt to the changes in the texts of the prayers we say at Mass. The time between now and then is to be used for catechesis on the liturgy and […]

Advent: Love is Coming!

Joe Paprocki

Back in the day, 1970 to be exact, Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young released a song titled Carry On. In the refrain they sang, Carry on. Love is coming. Love is coming to us all. I thought of this song this past Sunday while at Mass for the First Sunday of Advent. No, my mind wasn t drifting! Actually, quite the reverse. The pastor was delivering a splendid homily about the Gospel’s call for us […]

4th Graders Understand the “Darkness”

Joe Paprocki

Last evening, we did an Advent procession (to a recording of O Come, O Come, Emmanuel) in our classroom, carrying all of the objects and symbols needed to set up our prayer table/Advent wreath. With the lights dimmed and the first candle lit, I asked them what is happening this time of the year in terms of light and darkness. Of course they noted that darkness is increasing and the light decreasing each day. I mentioned that […]

Welcome Advent! A Prayer Service

Joe Paprocki

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I know I did! 🙂 Here we are in the First Week of Advent! Hard to believe this great season of joyful anticipation is upon us already. Tonight, we’ll be celebrating an Advent Prayer service with the kids in church. I had the privilege of working with my DRE, Arlene, to put together the prayer service. Here it is: Advent 2010 Prayer Service After the prayer service, […]

Q & A from Yesterday’s Webinar

Joe Paprocki

A number of people sent in some excellent questions during our Webinar last night. Here’s a sampling along with my responses. You’re most welcome to chime in on the discussion. _______________________________________________________________ ‑Steven Q: What are the biggest differences between teaching religion in a five day school and as a catechist once a week. For the first time in almost 30 years I am doing both at the same time. A: Steven, the most obvious of […]