illustration of New Year celebration with clock at midnight - agny_illustration/Shutterstock.com
Growing as a Catechist

What’s Your Catechetical New Year’s Resolution?

Happy New Year, everyone! While I don’t make a big thing out of New Year’s resolutions, I think it is always good to set goals and to articulate them. As we begin our next year, I thought it would be fun for us to make and share some catechetical New Year’s resolutions! Mine is to cut down on the amount of talking I do during presentations so as to leave more time and space for […]

Pop-Up Catechesis with Joe Paprocki
Ten Commandments, Sin, & Morality

Pop-Up Catechesis: Exploring the Value of Compassion

As kids, most of us dream of finding a buried treasure, something of great value. We use the word values to refer to those beliefs and principles that we believe are most important for guiding the way we live and work and treat ourselves and others. Lent is a great time to reflect on our values and to reshape them so that we truly treasure, or value, that which God treasures and values most. In this […]

Countdown to First Penance and Reconciliation
Liturgy and Sacraments

Countdown to First Penance and Reconciliation

Assist families in preparing for First Reconciliation by sending home a calendar that counts down the last four weeks leading to the celebration of the sacrament. This tool guides parents in helping their children prepare at home, and it gives children a great visual as they count down to First Reconciliation. From praying the Act of Contrition to giving a compliment or reviewing the Ten Commandments, the countdown activities will help children grow in their […]

Discovering the Nearness of God: A Series on the Catholic Sacramental Vision by Joe Paprocki
Liturgy and Sacraments

Discovering the Nearness of God: Reconciliation: Rescue Me!

Welcome to the fifth installment of my series “Discovering the Nearness of God: An Eight-Week Series on the Catholic Sacramental Vision.” This week we will explore the Sacrament of Reconciliation, with the theme of “Rescue Me!” All of us can recall watching footage on TV of heroic rescues as a victim finds himself or herself in swirling flood waters. The rescuer enters the swirling torrents and extricates the flailing victim, carrying him or her to […]