Church on the Move Archives - Catechist's Journey

A Church on the Move by Joe Paprocki - book cover

Why We Have Processions: We Are to Be a Church on the Move!

Many things are associated with Catholicism: novenas, rosaries, statues, holy water, scapulars, and so on. We call these “things” sacramentals. They are symbolic words or actions that remind us of the presence of God in our lives and draw us to the sacraments. One of my favorite sacramentals is the act of walking in procession. When our non-Catholic friends attend Mass with us, they very often comment on the amount of movement required of the […]

How a Church on the Move Forms People in Faith: Theology by the Glass

Joe Paprocki

Recently, I had the pleasure of speaking at the Lay Ministry Assembly in the Diocese of Saginaw, MI, on the topic of A Church on the Move, drawing from my book of the same name in which I discuss how a Church “on the move” thinks, functions, worships, forms people in faith, and engages the world. In the section of the book on how a Church on the move forms people in faith, I wrote: […]

Synod on Young People—Learning from Tony Bennett

Joe Paprocki

As the Synod on Young People is taking place in Rome this month, my mind turns to 92-year-old singer Tony Bennett. Why? Over the past several years, this ageless crooner has taken to doing duets with young talent, most notably Lady Gaga (and currently, Dianna Krall, who, though not as young as Lady Gaga, is still nearly 40 years Bennett’s junior!). I’ve used the Tony Bennett-Lady Gaga example on numerous occasions to encourage those of […]

2017 Catholic Press Association Book Awards for Loyola Press

Award-Winning Catholic Books from Loyola Press

Joe Paprocki

I’m excited to announce that my book A Church on the Move: 52 Ways to Get Mission and Mercy in Motion received second-place honors in the Pastoral Ministry category of the 2017 Catholic Press Association Book Awards. The judges said: “This book provides practical, realistic strategies for the clergy, lay leaders and faithful to work at transforming parish life to lead others to an encounter with the transforming grace of Jesus Christ. This is a […]

52 Ways to Get Mission and Mercy in Motion

Joe Paprocki

As you may know, my most recent book is now available: A Church on the Move: 52 Ways to Get Mission and Mercy in Motion. Many parishes are using this book with their parish staff and/or parish pastoral council and other groups of parish leaders to jump-start some creative brainstorming for energizing their parish faith communities. In the book, I provide 52 practical ideas that can contribute to getting a parish out of the rut of […]

Coming Soon: A Church on the Move (My New Book!)

Joe Paprocki

Welcome to the New Year, friends! I am excited to announce that in just a few short weeks, my newest book—A Church on the Move: 52 Ways to Get Mission and Mercy in Motion—will be available! If the New Evangelization is to have any hopes of success, our parishes must experience a radical revitalization. In order to accomplish this, however, we do not have to implode our parishes and rebuild them from scratch. In my new book, […]