Catechetical Sunday 2018: Enlisting Witnesses for Jesus Christ

The theme for Catechetical Sunday 2018 is “Enlisting Witnesses for Jesus Christ.” The following articles by Joe Paprocki, Julianne Stanz, and other catechists and catechetical leaders explore themes of discipleship and evangelization related to that theme.

joyful gathering of people
Catechetical Leaders

Seven Principles of an Evangelizing Community

Julianne Stanz

The Church which “goes forth” is a community of missionary disciples who take the first step, who are involved and supportive, who bear fruit and rejoice. —Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, no. 24 How can we tell if our evangelization efforts are working? We know that many times we are called to scatter the seeds of Good News without ever reaping the harvest. Part of the difficulty in assessing evangelization efforts is due to the highly […]

Discipleship Pledge Cards for Pentecost
Catechetical Leaders

Discipleship Pledge Cards for Pentecost

Joe Paprocki

Pentecost is right around the corner, so it’s not too early to talk about how the parish can approach this important day in our Church calendar. Too often, we stop at the perfunctory: ask everybody to wear red, sing some Holy Spirit hymns, and invite people to read the Prayers of the Faithful in different languages. If we really want to form adult disciples, however, and honor this day for what it truly stands for, […]

stories - the word
Approaches/Techniques

Show and Tell: Sharing Your Story of Faith

Julianne Stanz

Children ask a lot of pointed and profound questions about God that can be difficult for us to answer. Right up there with the question of “Why do bad things happen to good people?” has to be the question “What’s your story of faith?” or “Why do you believe in God?” While our students might not ask such questions using exactly these words, they will often try to ferret out from us why we believe […]

group of young people
Junior High

Being a Disciple Takes Practice

Denise Gorss

In a recent session, my class talked about being a disciple in the context of Ordinary Time. Since this Church season occupies most of the liturgical year, the discussion centered on how we can follow Jesus in everyday life. We focused on the works of mercy as ways to practice our discipleship. I set the stage by holding up a poster-sized copy of the liturgical calendar and gave a brief introduction to how we mark […]

enthusiastic woman with megaphone
Growing as a Catechist

The Spiritual Life of Catechists, Part 5: Missionary Zeal

Joyce Donahue

This is the fifth article in a series about the spiritual life of catechists, inspired by the list of characteristics in the National Directory for Catechesis. Have you ever met someone who was “on fire” for God? When you encounter someone who speaks about faith with contagious enthusiasm, that’s missionary zeal. It’s memorable—and contagious. Zeal is not a word we use much today. The dictionary defines zeal as “great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of […]