evangelization Archives - Page 6 of 8

Seven Principles of an Evangelizing Community

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 […]

Pope Francis on Catechesis Beyond the Scholastic Sphere

Joe Paprocki

Recently, Pope Francis made some very interesting comments about evangelization and catechesis. In particular, he said that catechesis needs to go beyond just the “scholastic sphere” and lead people to an encounter with Christ. I’m thrilled to hear him talk about this because, as important as familiarity with doctrinal concepts is, it means nothing unless we have a relationship with the living Christ. Catechesis needs to speak to both the head and the heart. In […]

Setting the Stage for Evangelizing Parents

Joe Paprocki

I recently came across a good article from a good Web site written by a good resource (someone you should know). The article, “Setting the Stage for Evangelizing Parents,” is written by Patrice Spirou, the Assistant Director of Religious Education for the Office of Formation and Discipleship in the Archdiocese of Atlanta. I had the pleasure of meeting Patrice when I was in Atlanta not too long ago and even had the opportunity to enjoy sitting […]

How Two People Can Change a Parish

Joe Paprocki

It is no accident that Jesus sent his disciples out in pairs (Mark 6:7, Luke 10:1). Think about it: if you want to convince people of something or be persuasive, it helps to have another person backing up your story. In a trial, it helps if there is more than one witness to testify. In the Old Testament, no one could be convicted of a crime based on the testimony of a single witness. The […]

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, […]

Evangelization and Joy-Filled Witness

Margie Copeland

One of the pastoral recommendations provided during the 2012–2013 Year of Faith jumped off the page for me: The Year of Faith is intended to contribute to a renewed conversion to the Lord Jesus and to the rediscovery of faith, so that the members of the Church will be credible and joy-filled witnesses to the Risen Lord in the world of today—capable of leading those many people who are seeking it to the “door of […]

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 […]

The Spiritual Life of Catechists, Part 4: Dedication to the Evangelizing Mission of the Church

Joyce Donahue

Editor’s Note: Several of our new Catechist’s Journey contributors will be familiar to those of you who read DRE Connect. Today, we share with you one article in a series by Joyce Donahue. This post originally appeared on DRE Connect. This is the fourth article in a series about the spiritual life of catechists, inspired by the list of characteristics in the National Directory for Catechesis. In the film The Blues Brothers, the main characters, […]

Responsiveness

Joe Paprocki

Recently, I stopped by a parish to see a staff member. The receptionist greeted me warmly, inquired how she could be of help, contacted the staff member, and then invited me to have a seat until he was available. Then, she did something that I’ve never exprienced in all my years of visiting parish offices and rectories. She asked if I wanted something to drink! I was indeed thirsty and requested a glass of water […]

For Catechetical Leaders

Joe Paprocki

Here are some quality resources for catechetical leaders from my friend Tom Quinlan designed to help explore important aspects of catechetical ministry through the lens of evangelization. Equipping Catechetical Leaders to Deliver Evangelizing Faith Formation