involving parents Archives - Catechist's Journey

The Catholic Parents' Survival Guide: Straight Answers to Your Kids' Toughest Questions by Julianne Stanz - author pictured next to book cover

Supporting Parents Beyond Baptismal Prep: The Catholic Parents’ Survival Guide

I’ve written previously about the importance of remaining connected with parents following the Baptism of their children and before the children reach catechetical age. Rather than simply requiring parents to attend a required class for Baptism and then check it off their list, we need to accompany them on their journey as they rise to the challenge of raising a family in today’s complex world. I’d like to suggest one great way that we can […]

Answering Your Kids' Toughest Questions: A Webinar with Julianne Stanz

Answering Your Kids’ Toughest Questions: Learning from Julianne Stanz

Joe Paprocki

Join me for a webinar with Julianne Stanz on Thursday, January 25, at 10 a.m. CST, as she talks about her newest book, The Catholic Parents’ Survival Guide: Straight Answers to Your Kids’ Toughest Questions. This will be a great opportunity for parents, grandparents, catechists, and other interested adults to learn how to speak to children about Catholic beliefs, ethics, morality, and faith practices. It will also be a great chance for you to get […]

Archbishop Hughes on the Impact Parents Have on Their Children’s Faith Formation

Joe Paprocki

One of the leading voices about the critical importance of effective catechesis in the life of the Church has been Archbishop Alfred Hughes, Archbishop Emeritus of New Orleans. Archbishop Hughes, who serves on the U.S. Bishops’ Subcommittee on the Catechism, was recently asked to share some insights about the role of parents in their children’s faith formation. He told the most wonderful story about his own father’s role in his and his siblings’ faith formation. […]

Supporting the Domestic Church: The Catholic Parents’ Survival Guide

Joe Paprocki

Being a parent in today’s world is challenging. Now, add to that the job of being Catholic parents trying to raise children with Catholic values in a world where such values can be thought of as countercultural, and we’re talking about a major challenge. This is why we, as a Church, must do all we can to support parents in their efforts to make their home a domestic church. Thankfully, help has arrived in the […]

Reaching Parents Virtually

Joe Paprocki

Catechists and catechetical leaders are always searching for ways of connecting with parents of the children in their religious education programs. We all know that parents are pulled in a million different directions, which means that connecting with them in person is not always feasible. One of the lessons we learned from the pandemic (hopefully!) is how to connect with people virtually. There are many simple ways we can connect with parents online to share […]

Helping Parents Prepare Children at Home for First Eucharist and Reconciliation

Joe Paprocki

One of the things that we learned from the experience of the pandemic over the last few years was how to assist parents at home with the faith formation of their children. This help often took the form of providing parents with digital resources they could use at home with their children, utilizing them when their schedules allow quality time for faith formation. First Eucharist is one of the primary moments in the life of […]

Resources for Putting Parents First During the Catechetical Year

Joe Paprocki

Whenever we fly somewhere and listen to the instructions from the flight attendants, we are reminded that, if there is a sudden drop in pressure and the oxygen masks come down, adults should put their own masks on first and then assist their children in doing so. The logic is simple: adults will be needed to assist young people throughout the crisis and beyond. We need to take the same approach to our faith formation. […]

Good Shepherd illustration - © Loyola Press. All rights reserved.

The Good Shepherd and Hallway Shepherds

Kathleen Butler

When I pray with my first-grade students, I often tell them they have to listen for Jesus’ voice not with their ears but with their hearts. Granted, it’s an abstract concept for young ones to understand. This year, when I taught a lesson on the Good Shepherd, I decided to try something new. Before class, I slyly arranged for two of the fathers to wait in the hall and asked them not to tell their […]

Speaking God’s Language at Home

Joe Paprocki

It is an established fact that language and culture go hand in hand. Language is a crucial part of identity. When a language becomes endangered, the culture associated with that language also becomes endangered. According to linguist Noam Chomsky, “Language embodies the world view of a culture and is unique to the culture that created it. It reflects values and concepts that are deemed to be the most important by a culture. A language describes the culture […]

Inviting Parishioners to Help

Kathleen Butler

“The more the merrier!” is my philosophy about volunteers in my religious education classroom. I’m always on the lookout for adults who will share their talents with the children. (I’m fortunate that the parents I ask rarely say no.) I ask my parents at the beginning of the year if anyone has a talent or skill to share. Parents who sew or play an instrument are good allies. Having a different person in the class […]