Pop-Up Catechesis: Holy Week

I wonder how many parents have a dandelion, given to them by a child, pressed in a memory book somewhere. A dandelion is a very ordinary thing—a weed, actually. And yet, when a child picks a dandelion to give to Mommy or Daddy to show love, it becomes a precious thing. It is not tossed out, but is set aside, first in a vase with water and then pressed in the pages of a memory […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: St. Joseph and a Place for Introverts in the Church

We live in a culture that idealizes extroverts. As a society, we too often tend to equate success, not only with money, but also with the person who can talk the loudest and fastest. We live in a culture of personality. Unfortunately (and this is a pet peeve of mine), the same is often true in our Church: we too often equate discipleship with the ability to talk loud, fast, and convincingly about our faith in […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: Finding Hidden Heroes in Our Everyday Lives

We usually think of a hero as someone who has done something very dramatic, such as running into a fiery building to save someone who is trapped or rescuing someone who is drowning in a lake, river, or pond. Certainly, such acts are heroic. However, a hero is simply someone who puts personal needs aside and goes above and beyond the call of duty to make a profound and positive impact on the life of another. […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: The Stations of the Cross

One of the hallmarks of Catholic spirituality is the practice of going on a pilgrimage, a spiritual journey to a location of significance to our faith. In the centuries following Jesus’ Death, Resurrection, and Ascension, it was common practice for people to visit Jerusalem and retrace the steps of Jesus as he was led to his Crucifixion on Calvary. As time passed and Christianity spread, it became increasingly difficult for people to travel to the Holy Land for this pilgrimage. As […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: Dealing with Temptations

You know what it’s like to have a mosquito bite that you want so badly to scratch! Of course, the more you scratch, the more it itches and, eventually, you risk breaking the skin. It’s not easy to avoid the temptation to scratch such an itch. Similarly, in life, we sometimes grow restless or “develop an itch” that we are tempted to scratch in a variety of ways, not all of them healthy. These temptations […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: The World Day of the Sick

Let’s face it: being sick is no fun. Serious illness is one of the most depressing things we can face in life. Not only does it make us feel powerless, it also makes us feel alone and isolated. For this reason, the Church encourages us to practice the corporal work of mercy of visiting the sick. Even if we can’t care in-person for those who are sick—especially during the pandemic—we can let others know that […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

One of the hallmarks of Catholicism is sacramentality, which means that we rely on tangible, visible objects in our prayer and worship to raise our awareness of the intangible, invisible graces of God. One popular example of this sacramentality is our use of candles for prayer and worship. We know that we’ve entered into a Catholic church when we see the flickering of vigil candles and smell the scent of burning wax. These burning candles represent the […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: Practicing the Lenten Disciplines

With Lent coming upon us very soon, it’s a good idea to begin thinking about how best to observe this wonderful season of renewal. Too often, it seems, we rack our brains trying to think of what to do during Lent when the formula is laid out for us: we are to pray, fast, and give alms. While that may sound like the “same old, same old,” it’s important to know that these three practices, […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: Crafting Faith

Did you realize that the Bible begins with a craft activity? The Creation stories of Genesis chapters one and two tell us that, out of the Divine imagination, God crafted the heavens and the earth, animals and plant life, night and day, oceans and sky, and human beings. That’s quite a craft activity! For this reason, crafts have always played a part in faith formation and deservedly so: when we craft something, we are imitating […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: Doing a First Reconciliation Retreat at Home

With vaccinations arriving, we are seeing light at the end of the tunnel as far as the pandemic goes. In the meantime, however, many of our in-person activities are still being limited. For many children, a First Reconciliation retreat is part of their preparation at the parish. Since the present crisis precludes such gatherings in many parishes, I offer some suggestions for doing a First Reconciliation retreat at home, in today’s episode of Pop-Up Catechesis. Here are some […]

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