For the past week, while traveling from coast to coast, I’ve been rambling about my lesson for this evening on the Sacraments of Initiation (and a connection to the Old Testament) and posting bits and pieces here and there as I came up with them. Now, I’ve put it all together into a coherent (hopefully!) lesson plan for this evening! Here ’tis: The Sacraments of Initiation Big Idea: We pledge allegiance to God through the Sacraments of […]
Here is the latest addition to my lesson for tomorrow evening on the Sacraments of Initiation and how they tie-in to the Exodus/Passover story. I developed a chart that the young people will once again need to manipulate (I will do it as a projection but you can use it as a worksheet) to put the correct words in place to show the connection between the Sacraments of Initiation and the Exodus/Passover experience. The chart, when […]
I’m on my way to Brooklyn, NY, for a presentation this evening, however, here’s my latest thinking about teaching the Sacraments of Initiation this Monday and tying it to the Old Testament. I plan to introduce the session by inviting the kids to say the Pledge of Allegiance and to talk about what it means to pledge one’s allegiance to someone or something (loyalty, obedience). I’ll use that as an opportunity to talk about how […]
WEEK TWO: Sacraments (Celebrating the Christian Mystery) DAY 3: “I Just Melted” (The Sacraments of Initiation) I remember asking my Dad before he passed away how it is that he and Mom never fought throughout their nearly 50 years of marriage. He said that, when they were dating, Mom once stood him up because she was unable to get back in time from another outing. He said he was all set to ream her out the […]
One of the stories in Catholic news recently is the issue of some dioceses requiring catechists and religion teachers to take an oath of fidelity. In particular, the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, has been in the news after some teachers and catechists quit rather than submit to taking the required oath of fidelity. The oath, which is to be signed and publicly administered on Catechetical Sunday, basically asks catechists to state that they, “with firm faith, belive […]
In this segment of Catechists in Action, we observe 2nd grade catechist Katie Elwood as she helps her students prepare to learn about the Mass. Watch as Katie… alerts the children to the fact that they will be going over to the church for a tour by the pastor shows the children a picture in their book of the sanctuary and all of the sacred vessels and furniture and tells them that the pastor will […]
In my 40 Ideas for 40 Days of Lent calendar, Monday, March 14 is an activity titled “What’s with the Pretzels?” which goes into the meaning of the pretzel as a traditional lenten food. I received an email from a 6th grade catechist named Marie who had quite a bit to say about the topic. Thanks, Marie! Enjoy! Joe, I’ve been on your mail list for about three months and have enjoyed the information and […]
Last evening’s session featuring Learning Stations on the Sacraments of Initiation was a great success! The kids were highly engaged in an activity that invited them to explore the rich symbols of the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist. I have a complete summary with more pictures below, but I might add here that the only real drawback I experienced was a lack of time (is that any surprise for a catechist?) to be able […]
You may have come across some stories this past weekend about the U.S. Bishops hosting a conference on exorcism. In particular, the conference was organized by Bishop Thomas John Paprocki of Springfield, IL…yes, my brother. How he ended up coordinating that event, I don’t know, other than maybe the bishops figured that growing up in a family of 9 children, he and his siblings had a little “devil” in us! 🙂 Seriously, though, I just […]
I’ve had a few ideas for my next class kind of percolating for a while but haven’t had a chance to sit down and create an actual lesson plan until now. Here’s what I have planned for this Monday (Oct. 18), Session 5: Theme: Jesus’ Law of Love Big Idea: We imitate Jesus’ love Review last session Show can of Play-Doh and ask what we learned last session (God can shape us into holy people; God […]
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