More and more today, we hear people saying that they are spiritual but not religious, meaning that they believe in God but choose not to encounter him within the context of the institutional church. One young man has chosen to post a video on YouTube in which he recites a poem about how he loves Jesus, but hates religion. I applaud him for taking the initiative to talk publicly about his faith. I couldn’t disagree more […]
So this morning, we had our first date with the new Roman Missal and it was very much like a first date – filled with novelty, curiosity, and awkwardness. Thankfully, the parish I attend, St. Julie Billart in Tinly Park, IL, had done a wonderful job of preparing the assembly for the changes and provided a very helpful guide for the assembly to follow along. Even so, you could hear a number of “and also with […]
As one of my “catechist-at-large” responsibilities, I did an introduction to the Bible last evening with the 6th graders at Most Holy Redeemer parish in Evergreen Park, IL. It was a very enjoyable experience. Here are the details: There were about 30-35 kids present along with their 3 catechists and 3 aides. Each child had a New American Bible (although there were 2 different editions which precluded me from relying on page numbers. I don’t mind, […]
Some time ago, a catechetical leader shared her comments here about the total revamping of the catechetical program at her parish. I invited her to update us which she has done. Some interesting and innovative approaches: Dear Joe, I shared with you how we completely revamped our religious ed. program. You invited me to share more, so “here goes.” I had been a catechist for about 16 years before I became the Director of Faith […]
Interesting post on Deacon Greg Kendra’s blog today about the dearth of Catholic influence in the arts today: Catholic Artists are Virtually Invisible. I would disagree with Dana Gioia’s conclusion, however, that American culture is to blame. While there may be some truth to that, I believe we have no one to blame but ourselves. I don’t think we encourage artistic expression in catechesis as much as we should. As a child, I remember drawing, […]
I came across some nice thoughts about parents of children in religious education from Lisa Mladinich. She relates how many catechists lament the fact the some parents take little interest in their children’s faith formation. She then goes on to offer some positive advice for honoring them instead of critizing them and provides some practical ideas for catchists to reach out to parents. Good article. Honor Their Fathers and Their Mothers I do have a […]
I was recently made aware of a very nice review of my book Living the Mass (co-authored with Fr. Dom Grassi) by Jen at Happy Little Homemaker. Thanks Jen! This Sunday is the Fourth Sunday of Lent. Be sure to take a look at The Sunday Connection for ideas about how to break open the Word for this Sunday. You’ll also find the following there: The Fourth Sunday of Lent is traditionally called Laetare Sunday. […]
Here is an outline from the Sunday Connection for reflecting on this Sunday’s Gospel (Luke 4:1-13, Jesus’ Temptation) with intermediate age kids (grades 4, 5, 6). Making the Connection (Grades 4, 5, and 6) Older children are learning to distinguish between the things they need and the things they want. We can help them to resist negative temptations by teaching them to distinguish between needs and wants. Materials Needed (Grades 4, 5, and 6) Poster […]
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