Catholic identity is characterized by five traits that are integral to the Christmas story, and Christmas can help us to strengthen our Catholic identity. Learn more in the video below. Read the post that inspired this video: Christmas and Catholic Identity.
You can always expect to receive certain kinds of Christmas presents from certain people. For example, I could always expect to receive gifts of some kind of clothing from my mom, because she felt it was her duty to keep me properly dressed. And she made no apologies for that! As catechists, we should make no apologies for offering gifts to others at Christmas that focus on the centrality of Christ. In other words, the gifts […]
To help you share the Christmas story with children, we’re happy to share a Christmas Bible story booklet with you. The text of the booklet is from the Loyola Kids Book of Bible Stories by popular Catholic children’s author Amy Welborn. Print out the booklet and share with your class in a session on the birth of Jesus, or send copies home for families to enjoy together. Use copies as Christmas cards to your students, […]
To be asked to be a child’s godmother or godfather is such an honor, because we know that we are being asked to play an important role in that child’s faith development. Unfortunately, we often feel at a loss for how to do that. This is especially true at gift-giving times when we often resort to giving money, which I’m sure the kids love, but which does not really express the depth of the relationship […]
People often ask me about making arrangements to purchase books at a special rate for teachers and catechists at Christmastime, which is right around the corner! I’m happy to say that Loyola Press has heard your request and is responding by making the following books available at a special rate ($5 each when you order 15 or more of the featured books in any combination) so that you can say “Merry Christmas” and show appreciation […]
The celebration of Christmas is unabashedly Catholic. I describe Catholic identity as being characterized by five traits: a sense of sacramentality a commitment to community a deep respect for the dignity of human life, leading to a commitment to social justice a reverence for tradition a disposition to faith and hope and not despair These five characteristics are integral to the Christmas story, and Christmas can help us to strengthen our Catholic identity. I offer […]
Here’s a resource from a friend of mine that I know you will like. Bret Nicholas worked with me at Loyola Press for a number of years and contributed greatly to the titling and marketing of many of my books and for that, I am eternally grateful. He runs his own publishing business and has authored an outstanding little resource called The Manger and the Message: The Real Story of Christmas in Less Than Two […]
On pg. 40 of my book, The Catechist’s Toolbox, I mention that one of the top ten things that can go wrong for a catechist is “You’re done with your lesson and you still have 35 minutes to go!” Would you believe 50 minutes? That’s exactly what happened to me last night! We took our 6th graders to church for the Sacrament of Reconciliation and we were told to anticipate that it would take the […]
This is a guest post by Pamela Tremblay. Christ’s Birth as an Invitation to Enter the Messiness The reflection states that Christ, “enters messily into the imperfection of our lives.” It then ends with the challenging question of “How will she bring his light to the world?” Young adults are a generation filled with passion and desire to change the world. They want to be people of greatness and are at a time in their […]
The Gospel for the Fourth Sunday of Advent provides us with a key for how to enter into Christmas. We hear of Mary visiting her cousin Elizabeth. Mary enters and Elizabeth is filled with joy. Why? Because Mary is carrying Jesus within her. She is bringing Good News into Elizabeth’s home. She is bringing the nearness of God to Elizabeth. Mary knows how to light up a room! As we gather with family and friends […]
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