mystagogy Archives - Catechist's Journey

Seeing with the Heart by Kevin O'Brien, SJ - book cover with author photo next to it

Catechists Help Others to See with the Heart

For some time now, I have been sharing thoughts here on Catechist’s Journey about catechists as mystagogues—people who invite and lead others into the Paschal Mystery. Recently, I came across a metaphor from Fr. Kevin O’Brien, SJ, that I believe illustrates the difference between being solely a teacher and being a mystagogue when it comes to passing along a spiritual tradition: A wise Jesuit friend once told me that tradition should act more like a […]

Catechists as Mystagogues - text over watercolor background by Sergey Ryumin/Moment/Getty Images

Catechists as Mystagogues: Exposing Unhealthy Paths and Narratives

Joe Paprocki

A mystagogue is someone who not only teaches, but also leads and accompanies others into mystery (Directory for Catechesis 113). The mystagogue recognizes that our biblical understanding of mystery is not as something to be solved but as something to enter into, and as something that is revealed and yet remains hidden. One of the first ways that we as catechists do this is by helping those we teach to recognize unhealthy life paths or […]

catechist and girl praying - © Loyola Press. All Rights Reserved.

Catechists as Teachers and Mystagogues

Joe Paprocki

I’m sure you’re familiar with the word guru, someone who acts as a spiritual guide for others based on the notion that the spiritual path—the quest to connect with the Divine—is best not traveled alone. St. Teresa of Ávila said as much when she wrote in The Interior Castle: It is very important for us to associate with others who are walking in the right way—not only those who are where we are in the journey, but also those who […]

question mark over shadowy forest - image by chenspec from Pixabay

Mystagogy: The Art of Asking Questions of Life

Joe Paprocki

In a recent post about mystagogy, I quoted Orthodox bishop and theologian Kallistos Ware, who said, “We see that it is not the task of Christianity to provide easy answers to every question, but to make us progressively aware of a mystery. God is not so much the object of our knowledge as the cause of our wonder.” I also wrote that mystagogy is the task of becoming progressively aware of mystery. In order to […]

Mystagogy: Becoming Progressively Aware of Mystery

Joe Paprocki

When it comes to inspiration about faith formation, one of my favorite quotes comes from Orthodox bishop and theologian Kallistos Ware, who said, “We see that it is not the task of Christianity to provide easy answers to every question, but to make us progressively aware of a mystery. God is not so much the object of our knowledge as the cause of our wonder.” The task of becoming progressively aware of mystery is known […]

Make This Word Part of Your Catechetical Vocabulary: Mystagogy

Joe Paprocki

When I worked for my Uncle Joe at his pharmacy back in the day, he once had me use his car to make some deliveries. With the sun shining in my eyes, I pulled down the visor, which resulted in a number of small slips of paper falling into my lap. I glanced at the slips of paper and saw a list of words with definitions. When I asked my uncle about those slips, he […]

Celebrate, Remember, and Appreciate: Mystagogy for Children

Joyce Donahue

Mystagogy is a time for the community and the newly baptized to “grow in deepening their grasp of the paschal mystery and in making it part of their lives through meditation on the Gospel, sharing in the eucharist and doing the works of charity.” (RCIA 244) Mystagogy is clearly a period of encounter, accompaniment, and integration. Both the community and the newly initiated grow together. Unlike adults who are instructed and mentored prior to Baptism, […]

RCIA Catechists: Getting the Newly Initiated to “Come Back” for Mystagogia

Joe Paprocki

I had a nice discussion last evening with some RCIA coordinators, catechists, and sponsors, who were lamenting how difficult it is to get the newly initiated to return for sessions following the Easter Vigil. (Sounds very similar to the struggle we have getting kids to come back after Confirmation, eh?) The Easter season is to be a period of “mystagogia” (miss-tuh-GO-jyah) – an opportunity to reflect upon the mysteries of our faith (which basically describes […]