Catechist's Journey

10 Tips for Maintaining Discipline—Free Downloads

Volunteer catechists come to a new year of faith formation with enthusiasm, excitement, and a love for God, the Catholic faith, and children. But often they also come with apprehension because they have had little to no training in classroom management—things like what to do when the children won’t stop talking or when they interrupt the flow of the lesson in other ways. No catechist should panic, because this month we’re offering 10 Tips for […]

Start-of-the-Year Parent Gathering—Free PowerPoint Presentation

Joe Paprocki

As you plan for the new catechetical year, schedule a start-of-the-year parent gathering. This is a great opportunity to meet parents and encourage them in their role as their children’s first catechist. To help you, I’m offering a free PowerPoint presentation, complete with suggested script, for hosting a parent gathering. The message it conveys is that faith formation isn’t just another activity; it’s a way of life. Support the domestic church with this encouraging presentation […]

Works of Mercy Prayers and Activities Resource Packet

Works of Mercy Prayers and Activities—Free Resource Packet

Joe Paprocki

Mercy is a virtue that influences a person’s compassion for another. Mercy inspires the will to ease another’s misfortunes or suffering in either body or soul. The corporal and spiritual works of mercy are charitable actions that extend God’s compassion and mercy to those in need. However, the works of mercy are more than gestures or obligations. To gain merit in heaven, the actions must be performed as acts of love for our neighbor as […]

Understanding Church Tradition: Catechist Meeting Resource Packet

Understanding Church Tradition—Free Catechist Meeting Resource Packet

Joe Paprocki

When journalists report, listeners or readers want to know the source of the information and whether or not those sources are reliable. When it comes to religion, it helps to know the source of the information we are being asked to embrace as the truth. For Catholics, we identify our source as Scripture and Tradition—not two sources, but one single source that comes to us in two ways. Scripture, of course, is the written Word […]

Ascension to Pentecost: The First Novena - free downloads

Ascension to Pentecost: The First Novena—Free Poster and Booklet

Joe Paprocki

During the Easter season, we look at the Gospel stories of Jesus Christ’s appearances after the Resurrection. At the end of 40 days, Jesus ascended into heaven, promising to send a helper to the disciples as they took on their mission of spreading the Good News. That helper—the Holy Spirit—came 10 days later on the day of Pentecost. Between the Ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Apostles and Mary waited in prayer […]

Holy Week, the Triduum, and Easter—Free PowerPoint Presentation

Joe Paprocki

Whether it’s with a deep breath, a soft prayer, or a slight push, there are things we do to get ready. These final touches, and many others, are examples of our personal preparedness, and it is just as important to prepare and ready ourselves as it is to experience. Today I’m offering a way to help us get ready for the end of Lent with a free PowerPoint presentation on Holy Week, the Triduum, and […]

7 Ways to Practice Lent—Free eBook

Joe Paprocki

Lent is the season when God calls his people to return to him with their whole heart. God says that when we return to him, we will find him gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in kindness. During the 40 days of Lent, we reflect on how we can more fully turn our lives over to God so that we can celebrate Easter with joyful hearts. The Church has given us many tools […]

Facilitating Small Faith Groups for Lent

Hosting Parish Small Faith Groups—Free Discussion Materials for Lent

Joe Paprocki

Jesus was often surrounded by large crowds, clamoring to hear the Teacher speak. But Jesus first was only known to a small group, the Apostles. After the Resurrection, the Disciples continued spreading Jesus’ message to other small groups—the Philippians, the Ephesians, the Corinthians—and the tradition of small groups of devoted followers continues to this day. That’s what we’ve been focusing on with the series on how to host parish small faith groups. The series strengthens […]

Marian Devotions—Free Poster

Joe Paprocki

Our Lady. Blessed Virgin. Queen of Heaven. Madonna. Maria. Mary. The mother of Jesus and the Church is known by many names, which reflect just how revered she is all over the world. The importance of Mary as Mother of God lies not only in that Mary was the woman who gave birth to Jesus, but in that she was the one who had faith in God and freely said yes to participate in God’s […]

Actively Waiting for Advent—Free Prayer Packet

Joe Paprocki

We wait at the doctor’s office. We wait in traffic. We wait in line at the coffee shop. We wait our turn. We wait for a sign from God. We wait to be heard. We wait. Advent is waiting, also, but not in the listless, zoned-out way like we might wait at the local coffee shop, nor in the anxious, bored way we might wait at the doctor’s office or in traffic. Advent is active […]