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

Catechists as Mystagogues: Helping Others to Think, Speak, and Act Differently

As mystagogues, we catechists are called to invite and accompany others into the Paschal Mystery of Jesus Christ. This transformative experience is essentially about embracing another way of being human: thinking, speaking, and acting as citizens of the Kingdom of God. In practical terms, this means that we must be about the work of helping others think, speak, and act differently! How do we do this? By encouraging and teaching Catholic practices. In many ways, […]

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Adult Faith Formation

How to Use Mentoring as a Tool for Adult Faith Formation

When the topic of adult faith formation comes up, we Catholics have a tendency to immediately shift to a default mode which is the classroom model: there must be a topic, a presenter, and “students.” The topic is usually doctrinal, the presenter is typically the only one who speaks, and the students are passive receptors of the speaker’s wisdom. More and more parishes are recognizing the reality that adult faith formation must come in many […]

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Books

Catholic Press Association Awards – 2 of My Books Honored!

I am humbly grateful to learn that 2 of my books have been singled out for awards by the Catholic Press Association!             Living the Mass: How One Hour a Week Can Change Your Life (co-authored with Fr. Dom Grassi) was awarded second place in the Liturgy category. BTW, this book will be available in Spanish come this Fall, 2012! Practice Makes Catholic: Moving from a Learned Faith to a Lived Faith was awarded third […]

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Books

Practice Makes Catholic – Finalist for “Excellence in Publishing Awards”

I’m very proud to announce that my book, Practice Makes Catholic is a finalist for the Excellence in Publishing Awards given by the Association of Catholic Pubishers in the category of Resources for Ministry. I’m honored to receive such consideration and am very proud of this book which is being used by so many people in parish ministry, especially in the areas of catechist formation, RCIA, and general adult formation. I’m also proud to be […]

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Comings & Goings

Practice Makes Catholic in Wisconsin Rapids

I enjoyed an evening with about 100 catechists in Wisconsion Rapids, WI, on Wednesday, focusing on Practice Makes Catholic and our Catholic identity. The folks who hosted the event went out of their way to make sure that each table had a unique centerpiece that represented various aspects of Catholic identity. Here’s an example: Thanks to all the folks who came out to spend such an enjoyable evening! BTW, here’s where I stopped for breakfast […]

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Joe's Comings and Goings

Thanks and So Many Other Things…

First, I want to extend a great big THANK YOU to all of the people who expressed their thoughts and prayers over these last few days as we mourned the death and celebrated the life of my mother-in-law, Sophie, who passed away on Tuesday at the tender young age of 95. The funeral was a beautiful experience and it was good to be surrounded by so much love. While I was away, I hear a […]

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Miscellaneous

4000th Comment Coming Soon!

I see that soon, my blog will record its 4000th comment…that is, if y’all continue adding comments as you have been so generously doing over the years! I’ll send a free copy of my new book, Practice Make Catholic, to the reader who contributes the 4000th comment. Good luck!