calling Archives - Catechist's Journey

Pop-Up Catechesis: Listening for God’s Call

When St. Joan of Arc was on trial for heresy, the Inquisitor mocked her for claiming that she heard God’s voice speaking to her. He said, “It’s only your imagination!” Joan responded, “Of course! How else would God speak to me but through my imagination?” This story teaches us that we need to pay attention to how God is speaking to us through our thoughts, feelings, desires, hopes, dreams, imagination, and memories. Our vocation, or […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: Responding to God’s Call

Joe Paprocki

It’s nice to be invited to take the lead on an exciting project or to accept a new job offer that has come our way unexpectedly. It can also be very frightening! Such invitations always come with a fair amount of unknowns that cause us to hesitate and perhaps even doubt ourselves and our capabilities. This often happens when we sense that God is calling us to move in a new direction in our life. […]

Faith Refreshed - text over photo of water droplets by lemonade glass by Charlotte May on Pexels

Faith Refreshed Online Retreat Week 1: God’s Revealing Moments

Joe Paprocki

Welcome to Week 1 of Faith Refreshed, an online retreat to help us “hit the refresh button” in our spiritual lives so that we might better see things we weren’t previously seeing and return to our lives and ministry with a new outlook! Throughout this retreat, I will draw from my best-selling book, A Well-Built Faith: A Catholic’s Guide to Knowing and Sharing What We Believe, as we revisit the four pillars of our Catholic […]

Lord, You Called Me book cover and author photo of Ricardo Grzona

Reflecting on Your Calling as a Catechist

Joe Paprocki

One of the themes emphasized in the new Directory for Catechesis (as in the previous General Directory for Catechesis) is the notion that catechists have a vocation. In particular, the new directory says: “The catechist is a Christian who receives a particular calling from God that, when accepted in faith, empowers him for the service of the transmission of faith and for the task of initiating others into the Christian life.” (112) This “particular calling” […]

Quote from "Sacred Space: A Little Book of Encouragement": "Jesus, your choosing me gives me a sense of my place in the world, a sense of purpose. You are not waiting until I become a better person; you choose me here and now. What do you want me to do with my life today?"

Chosen to Be a Catechist

Cindy Coleman

Jesus, your choosing me gives me a sense of my place in the world, a sense of purpose. You are not waiting until I become a better person; you choose me here and now. What do you want me to do with my life today? —Sacred Space: A Little Book of Encouragement This might sound over the top, but for me, this quote truly characterizes my life. It certainly didn’t describe me 30 years ago […]

How to Be a More Evangelizing Catechist #6: Invite! Invite! Invite!

Joe Paprocki

Ultimately, a TV commercial is an invitation: after presenting to you all of the information about their amazing product or service, the sponsors invite you to join “other satisfied customers.” They then provide you with a phone number, a website address, and convenient locations so that you can avoid being left out. At the heart of Jesus’ message is an invitation. In fact, the Gospels tell us that Jesus was constantly inviting people to follow […]

Identifying Our Gifts

Lisa Jones

At our Baptism each of us receives a call to service from Christ. In our lesson this week, we focused on how God enables each of us to fulfill that baptismal call. As fourth graders, the children typically understand that not only are each of us made in God’s image, but that we are each uniquely created as individuals. God has given each of us unique gifts and talents that make us who we are. […]

Nothing Beats the Personal Touch When Recruiting Catechists

Joe Paprocki

This Sunday’s Gospel (Matthew 4:12–23) is a reminder to us that nothing beats the personal touch when it comes to inviting people into ministry. And this time of the year—late winter—is a good time to start your catechist recruitment efforts for next year. Jesus did not put up posters or distribute literature inviting people to follow him; he used the personal approach. He asked people what they were looking for and then he invited them to […]

Called to Serve One Another

Kathy Henry

Many who serve in catechetical ministry believe they are answering God’s call. While introducing myself to parents and students on the first day of religious education classes at my former ministry site, I mentioned that I drove an hour one way to get there. One very confused dad asked, “But why are you here?” Without hesitation I responded, “Because I am called to be here.” I genuinely believe God asked me to serve this community. With […]

Meet the “Worst” Catechist

Joe Paprocki

I love this article that my friend and colleague Denise Gorss brought to my attention. It’s titled “Why I’m the Worst Catechist at My Parish, and Still Signing Up,” and it’s written by catechist Deirdre Mundy. What I love about it is her humility—something that is a great quality for every catechist to have. She is most definitely NOT the worst catechist, but the fact that she recognizes her own unworthiness and places her trust […]