discipleship Archives - Page 3 of 6

Reigniting the Post-Pandemic Church Webinar with Joe Paprocki and Julianne Stanz

Re-Igniting the Post-Pandemic Church: Whatever You Do, Don’t Return to “Normal”!

I’m very excited to be partnering once again with my friend and collaborator Julianne Stanz, from the Diocese of Green Bay, to offer a timely and engaging webinar: Re-Igniting the Post-Pandemic Church: Whatever You Do, Don’t Return to “Normal”! Wednesday, June 16, 2021 1:30–3:30 p.m. Central Twenty years from now, what will people say about this time in history and how we responded as a Church? While we all long for some semblance of “normalcy,” […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: The Lessons of the Magi at Epiphany

Joe Paprocki

As we look forward to the Feast of the Epiphany, it’s important to realize that this is much more than a sentimental Christmas story for children, and its message isn’t limited to the notion that Jesus, the Savior, is revealed to the whole world, as critical as that point is. In this story, we also find a model for discipleship in the Magi (aka, the Three Wise Men or Three Kings). In this episode of Pop-Up […]

two young men talking - photo by Anna Vander Stel on Unsplash

Accompaniment: Giving People the “Time of Day”

Joe Paprocki

In the new Directory for Catechesis, there is a good amount of attention devoted to the notion of accompaniment. This is not surprising, since Pope Francis used the phrase “the art of accompaniment” in his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium. But what exactly does accompaniment look like? Simply put, to accompany someone is to give that person the “time of day”—a phrase we use to describe acknowledging someone and giving that someone our attention. It is to […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: Who Do You Follow?

Joe Paprocki

There are leaders, and there are followers. It’s important to know that being a follower is not a bad thing—that is, as long as you are following the right person or thing! Disciples are basically followers. To be a disciple is to adhere to the teachings of someone. In the Gospels, anyone who adheres to the teachings of Jesus is referred to as a disciple. Today, the Church is calling each of us to discipleship—to […]

Start with Jesus presentation panel - L.A. Congress 2020 - video screenshot

What a Team! Speaking in the Arena at L.A. Congress

Joe Paprocki

One of my favorite phrases at Loyola Press—”What a team!”—can be traced to our president emeritus, Fr. George Lane, SJ, who often reacted to success stories in this manner. This phrase captures the experience I shared earlier this year with a group of talented colleagues at the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress. If you’re not familiar with the L.A. Congress, it is the largest religious education gathering in the country, drawing about 25,000 people over four […]

Catechists as Co-Missionaries

Jayne Ragasa-Mondoy

Each year when catechists are commissioned on Catechetical Sunday, I envision Jesus’ Great Commission before he ascended into heaven: Later he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were sitting at the table; and he upbraided them for their lack of faith and stubbornness, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole […]

The Influential Catechist

Jayne Ragasa-Mondoy

In a previous article I encouraged catechists—myself included—to move ever steadily toward God’s vision for us and the world. On this journey of accompaniment, we influence one another through our acts of Christian discipleship. Charlie is a catechist and influential civic leader. He helped re-establish a medical center in a town near under-served rural communities. He explains, “It often took over an hour for an ambulance to transport patients to a full-service emergency medical facility. […]

The Seven Ds of Discipleship - illustration of people talking

The Seven Ds of Discipleship: #3 Decision-Making for Christ

Julianne Stanz

This is part three of a seven-part series on discipleship. “Just make a decision,” I said to my two children as they were vacillating between two very simple options for dinner. If only all decisions could be so trivial! While some decisions in our life can be very simple, others will be pretty complex. This is especially true when making decisions in relation to our faith. In the last two parts of this series, we […]

The Seven Ds of Discipleship: #2 Discernment

Julianne Stanz

This is part two of a seven-part series on discipleship. In my last blog post, we discussed desire as a key to discipleship and reviewed a number of ways that we can keep the flame of our faith burning. We will now look at a critical spiritual skill to help us to grow as disciples: discernment. Being a disciple means that we must make the time to reflect upon our lives. Just as Jesus went […]

The Seven Ds of Discipleship: #1 Desire

Julianne Stanz

This is part one of a seven-part series on discipleship. In the past few years, the terms “discipleship” and “missionary discipleship” have become very familiar to those in ministry. But the concept of discipleship and mission is not new and has been a part of our Catholic faith for 2,000 years. The word disciple comes from the Greek word mathetes, meaning “pupil or student of the master.” The Master is, of course, Jesus Christ. Your […]