Pop-Up Catechesis Archives - Page 3 of 17

Pop-Up Catechesis: Aligning Ourselves with God

During week 2 of our Faith Refreshed online retreat, we are focusing on “Aligning Ourselves with God” and how the second pillar of our Catholic faith—the Sacraments—summarizes how we, as Catholics, worship. In this episode of Pop-Up Catechesis, we explore how through our worship, we realign ourselves with God and God’s will. For more information about how we align ourselves with God by celebrating the sacraments, check out the following links: A Well-Built Faith: A […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: God’s Revealing Moments

Joe Paprocki

During week 1 of our Faith Refreshed online retreat, we are focusing on “God’s Revealing Moments” and how the first pillar of our Catholic faith—the Creed—summarizes what God has revealed about himself over the course of salvation history. In this episode of Pop-Up Catechesis, we explore how sometimes, we may need to “stare our way” into recognizing how God is revealing himself to us in our everyday lives. For more information about recognizing God’s revealing […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: Actual Grace and Sanctifying Grace

Joe Paprocki

Did you know that the Church teaches us that there are two kinds of grace? Indeed, the Catechism of the Catholic Church (#2000) speaks to us of actual grace and sanctifying grace. Grace, of course, is God’s life within us. The Church teaches that we encounter this grace in two unique ways. In this episode of Pop-Up Catechesis, we explore the Catholic understanding of actual grace and sanctifying grace. For more information about grace, check […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: Going to Mass Every Sunday

Joe Paprocki

Why, exactly, do we have an obligation to go to Mass every Sunday? Does the Eucharist “wear off” after a certain number of days? Of course not. At the same time, as human beings, we are in constant need of reinforcement. We go to Mass weekly for the same reason that people seeking recovery from an addiction attend meetings “religiously”: we stand a better chance of recovery if we attend regularly. And, the truth is, […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: The Eucharist Is One Choice You’ll Never Regret

Joe Paprocki

When eating out at a restaurant, we have so many choices to make from the menu! Unfortunately, we sometimes make choices that we later regret. In a similar way, life offers us many choices for satisfying our spiritual hunger. Some of the things we say “yes” to, however, are not always the best choices, and we end up regretting them later. When we go to Mass, the priest, deacon, or Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: Teaching Our Children Reverence

Joe Paprocki

A few years ago, my wife and I had the pleasure of visiting Hawaii, and among the many places we visited was the Pearl Harbor National Memorial. It was extraordinary to experience the quiet that envelops the entire area as people walk and stand in hushed silence out of reverence and respect for the thousands of people who died in the attack there on December 7, 1941. Reverence, in many ways, is becoming a lost […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: The Mass as Sacrifice

Joe Paprocki

While it is true that the Mass is a meal, it is also true that the Mass is a sacrifice. The concept of sacrifice is often lost on us in today’s contemporary culture. In essence, a sacrifice is the offering of something valued and precious to another. In Old Testament times, it was customary for the Jewish people to sacrifice animals in the Temple as an offering to God. Jesus did away with this form […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: Teaching the Creed to Younger Children

Joe Paprocki

According to psychologist Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development, the first stage a child goes through is the trust vs. mistrust stage. This stage is crucial, because it shapes a child’s view of the world. Basically, if a child develops trust, he or she will feel safe and secure in the world. A huge part of developing a relationship with God involves trust. One of the central tasks of faith formation is to teach children […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: The “Scandal” of Sharing the Eucharist with Others

Joe Paprocki

A popular online matchmaking and dating service in Chicago is called “It’s Just Lunch.” The name captures a common line used by people who try to deny that there is any level of seriousness or “scandal” in getting together with someone over a meal. If sharing food with another person did not suggest relationship, we wouldn’t feel the need to use a phrase such as, “It’s just lunch.” The truth is, even in our contemporary, […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: Celebrating Diversity

Joe Paprocki

One of the most beautiful characteristics of the Catholic Church is its unique diversity, which has been present since the beginning of the Church on that first Pentecost. Today, there are between 1.2 and 1.3 billion Catholics in the world. In the Archdiocese of Chicago alone, where I live, Mass is celebrated every week in more than 50 languages. It is not enough for us, however, to simply recognize or tolerate this diversity; it is […]