oprah Archives - Catechist's Journey

Viewing Oprah’s “Belief” Series From a Catholic Perspective

Beginning this Sunday, October 18, 2015 (8 p.m. ET/PT), a worldwide phenomena of sorts will take place as Oprah Winfrey launches a seven-night event, Belief, on the OWN network. This series will explore humankind’s ongoing search for connecting with something greater than ourselves. It is part of Oprah’s ongoing quest to have a conversation on the topic of spirituality. No doubt, Oprah’s Belief series will be the topic of water-cooler conversations in the week to […]

YOU Get a Bowl! YOU Get a Bowl! YOU Get a Bowl!

Joe Paprocki

I just had to share one of those moments as a catechist that just make you laugh! Last night, for the last half hour of class, we had a little film-fest as a treat for the kids on their last night. With the DRE’s permission, we brought some popcorn for them to enjoy. Joanne employed some of the kids to help her distribute the goodies and one young man was in charge of distributing the […]

What She Said

Joe Paprocki

I was getting set to organize my thoughts to say something intelligent about Richard Rohr’s article (actually taken from his Web site) on Eckhart Tolle (Oprah’s current co-teacher on “spirituality”) when lo and behold, a comment came in from a reader who says precisely what I had hoped to say! I thought I would post her comment here in additon to its place with last Friday’s post. Thanks, Maura! Joe After reading both your article […]

Discussing Oprah and Tolle

Joe Paprocki

Here is my initial e-mail response to the contributor who raised questions about my article on Oprah and Tolle. Following that is the contributor’s e-mail response. Isn’t it wonderful when people can truly dialogue?! I intend to comment on Richard Rohr’s essay on Tolle in the days to come. Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers who provide us with God’s compassionate and steadfast love! -N-, thanks for your e-mail and for engaging in discussion about […]

Let's Talk More Oprah and Tolle

Joe Paprocki

I received the following e-mail which challenges my stance on Oprah and Tolle which I wrote about in my blog and also in a published article in The Catholic New World (joe-article-on-oprah-for-new-world.pdf), the Chicago archdiocesan newspaper. I believe this e-mail was sent in good faith with a desire for dialogue and I am happy to further converse about the Oprah/Tolle phenomenon. Be sure to read the attachment referred to in the e-mail. Hi Joe, […]

More On Oprah's "Spirituality" Classes

Joe Paprocki

Oprah Winfrey is hosting a 10-week course (online, free of charge) titled A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose, based on the book of the same name by Eckhart Tolle. Over 700,000 people enrolled for the class with over 500,000 attempting to participate live on Monday, March 3 for the first session. Some had trouble viewing because of the overload. Tolle describes himself as a contemporary spiritual teacher who is not aligned with any […]

Let's See What Oprah's Up To

Joe Paprocki

I hear that Oprah Winfrey is boasting that nearly 3/4 of a million people are signed up for a free online course that she is offering on “spirituality.” It’s titled A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose (based on a book of the same name by Eckhart Tolle). It invites participants to “connect with others who are seeking to become more aware of themselves-and the world around them.” 750,000 participants is nothing to sneeze […]