I’m thrilled to announce that my new book, 8 Steps to Energize Your Faith, is now available! I am convinced that holiness is achieved by emulating (resembling) God and that, when we do, we tap into divine energy. In this book, I name eight characteristics of God that God has revealed to us in Scripture and point out how, when we emulate those characteristics in our daily living, we step into a stream of […]
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 […]
This year we’re celebrating the 15th anniversary of the launch of Catechist’s Journey and publication of The Catechist’s Toolbox. We’ll have fun throughout 2022 marking these occasions, and today we kick off the party with an online scavenger hunt—with prizes! Three lucky winners will receive the books, The Catechist’s Toolbox and Beyond the Catechist’s Toolbox. To enter, play our scavenger hunt. The 15 questions in honor of 15 years of this website invite you to […]
Summer is a wonderful time for young people to get plenty of outdoor exercise as they grow physically. It’s important to remember that they are growing mentally, emotionally, and spiritually as well. With that in mind, summer is a great time to help young people exercise their imaginations! One of the most effective ways of exercising one’s imagination is through reading good literature. This is especially important in our times, when it can be tempting […]
Host a Faith Reading Camp for children at the parish, school, or right at home. Loyola Press makes it easy by providing a camp calendar with suggestions for five days of fun. Each day, wherever your camp is, read a children’s book together, complete activities based on the book, and pray for intentions inspired by the book’s themes. And since camp wouldn’t be complete without snacks, our calendar includes snack time suggestions inspired by the […]
Our Church is blessed with incredible diversity, and we are privileged to be experiencing rapid growth in the presence of Hispanics/Latinos in the U.S. Church. In fact: Hispanics account for 71% of the growth of the Catholic population since 1960. 40% of all Catholics in the U.S. have a Hispanic background. Six out of ten Catholics under the age of 18 are of Hispanic background. U.S.-born Hispanics make up two-thirds of the Hispanic population. On […]
Parents and children are no doubt eager to catch a break from all of the screen time that comes with working and schooling from home during the pandemic. The Christmas holidays provide just the kind of respite that is so needed—an opportunity for families to gather around something other than a computer screen! I’d like to suggest reading books as a family as the perfect option for the Christmas holidays. Loyola Press is making that […]
Talk about the impact a book can have on a child: my wife and I (who were a grade-level apart from one another) both recall a set of Bible storybooks that the grade school we attended used over 50 years ago! It was a two-volume set—Old Testament and New Testament—with the story on one side of the spread and a color picture on the opposite side of the spread. Unfortunately, neither of us saved a […]
Let’s face it: as a result of social distancing, many of us and our children are spending a lot more time sitting in front of a screen these past few months! While convenient, it does indeed result in a kind of fatigue. Do yourself and your children a favor this fall, and get your hands on some great books in hard-copy form. One of my favorites, and a book that my wife and I read to […]
I’ve always found John 4:4 to be a strangely intriguing passage. The passage tells us that Jesus left Judea and returned to Galilee and that, to do so, “he had to go through Samaria.” The reason it is intriguing is because he did not have to go through Samaria. There were, in fact, other ways to get from Judea to Galilee. While passing through Samaria was the shortest route, it was a route that many Jews avoided, because […]
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