New Evangelization Archives - Catechist's Journey

Using Facebook Live for Evangelization and Catechesis

The New Evangelization encourages us to proclaim the Gospel with new ardor, methods, and expression. One feature now at our fingertips is Facebook Live, which allows the sharing of live video with followers and friends on Facebook. Gone are the days when churches had to spend large amounts of money to broadcast something live such as the worship service, the pastor’s homily, a concert, or a presentation. Now, Facebook Live and other similar online tools enable anyone […]

Evangelization Starts Here: A Welcoming Community

Joe Paprocki

I hear people say all the time that they wish more young families would attend Mass regularly. That’s not going to happen unless regular attendees are more welcoming to those young families who venture forth to test the waters of our parishes. For too long, Catholics have arrived/settled into their pews in church in a manner similar to passengers boarding a certain airline: once you get your seat, you try not to make eye-contact with […]

Watch Your Language!

Joe Paprocki

I recently came across the article, “Be Aware of Your Language” by Justin Knowles, in which he warns about not assuming that our young people have any “real background of the Bible, its stories or any of this church talk that many of us keep using.” While not written from a Catholic point of view, this article gets at the heart of the New Evangelization, which tells us that we must not assume that those we […]

One Parish’s Initiative to Be More Welcoming

Sophie Lorenzo

Just over a year ago, Steven Serafin and his pastor were the new people at St. Mary’s Parish in Dover, NJ. This gave them the opportunity to approach faith formation with fresh eyes. As Pastoral Associate and Director of Faith Formation, Steven shared about a parish initiative called the “theology of welcome” in an interview with Loyola Press. Following the message put forth by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI with the New Evangelization, St. Mary’s is […]

Sharing Stories of Faith

Joe Paprocki

We don’t make disciples of Jesus Christ by engaging others in debate or by lecturing to them about principles of dogma. Jesus’ preferred method of engaging others and teaching about the Kingdom was through storytelling. People are more open to hearing a story about an everyday life experience in which God’s nearness is revealed. As a Church, we need to take our cue from the highly successful TED talks, which effectively persuade and inspire countless numbers of […]

Speaking to the Heart

Julianne Stanz

Parishes report that Easter Sunday and Christmas Mass are the highest attended services of the year and our congregations are made up of people at many different places in their spiritual journeys. As ministers we have a whole litany of terms for people who do not attend Mass regularly: “Chreasters” and “Eastmasses” for those who attend Mass at Christmas and Easter and “PACErs” for those who attend services on Palm Sunday, Ash Wednesday, Christmas, and […]

Stories, Not Labels

Julianne Stanz

I work in the Office of New Evangelization for my diocese, and I remember a phone call from an 86-year-old woman named Gladys. She wanted to find out more about the “coming home” programs the diocese was offering for Catholics who had been away from the Church for a while. After a period of active listening and some gentle questioning, it became clear that Gladys herself wanted to return to the Catholic Church, but she […]

Forging Pathways to Christ: The New Evangelization and Families

Eric Gurash

Talk of the New Evangelization is sweeping parishes and dioceses around the globe. We know it is necessary, but we can be confused about what it actually is, what it is not, and how to do it. There is often some confusion between evangelization and catechesis. Most people seem to respond to the “how” of evangelization by providing information about the faith and/or increasing opportunities to teach the faith. These are good practices, but they […]

Reaching Parents on the Margins of Parish Life

Julianne Stanz

A catechist friend of mine recently commented that there was a general attitude among parents. She called it the “drag-drive-drop” mentality: parents dragged their children into the car, drove them to the faith formation center, and dropped them off at class! While not true in every parish, the question of how we reach parents who are disengaged or disinterested in their children’s faith formation is becoming an increasingly difficult task for us all. There are […]

A New Look at the Phrase “Church Militant”

Joe Paprocki

I was impressed by the Mass for Veterans that was celebrated at St. Barnabas parish in Chicago this past Sunday. Military personnel, past and present, from all five branches of the military were invited to participate in a rousing entrance procession complete with flags representing each of their branches. The music, which was splendid, was focused on the themes of marching and victory and peace. The homily, delivered by army chaplain Fr. Matt Foley, meshed the […]