The celebration of First Eucharist is always a special event in the life of a parish. Make it more meaningful for everyone involved by hosting a parent gathering with the help of my latest free PowerPoint presentation. Jesus Christ is present with us all the time, but in the Eucharist, we have a real presence—something substantial that we can touch, hold in our hands, taste, and consume. The Eucharist is truly the presence of Jesus—God—in […]
In the Sacrament of the Eucharist, we receive the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. When we celebrate the Eucharist, we join in communion with the family of the Church. Help children deepen their understanding of the Eucharist and the Mass with fun review games. Children will enjoy playing Mass Bingo, Eucharist Tic-Tac-Toe, and a Matching Game to review People and Things at Mass. These downloadable games can be printed out and played in sacramental […]
Our parish celebrates First Penance and Reconciliation in early December. As beautiful as it is to celebrate this sacrament in Advent and to be able to focus our efforts in the spring on First Holy Communion, the date always seems to creep up faster than I want it to. Since we have such limited time together in faith formation classes, I rely on the parents to help prepare their children for the sacrament at home. […]
With Advent being just around the corner, I want to let you know about a number of great resources at your fingertips to enhance your faith community’s experience of this wonderful season! Advent Moments of Mercy This Advent coincides with the beginning of the Year of Mercy that Pope Francis has declared. What greater act of mercy is there beyond God sending his only Son Jesus to save us from sin? The Advent season provides […]
Since the Second Vatican Council and the issuing of Dei Verbum (the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation) 50 years ago, there has been an explosion of renewed interest in Scripture among Catholics. Against that backdrop, it’s exciting to know that Catholics will observe National Bible Week in the United States, November 15–21, 2015. This is a great opportunity for your parish to promote reading, studying, and praying with Scripture. The USCCB has put together a number of […]
The Sacrament of Reconciliation is like receiving an embrace from God, but too many Catholics fear the sacrament because they don’t understand it. When we invite parents to a meeting before their children receive First Reconciliation, we have an opportunity to help adults learn more about the sacrament. Use this opportunity to encourage parents and invite them to come to confession when their children do and be embraced by God. To help you do this, […]
A catechist recently asked me for a resource that I had forgotten about! A few years back, I offered a Webinar based on my book Practice Makes Catholic and I offered a PDF with links to a number of resources that can make your religion class “more Catholic.” In looking it up, I realized that there was some pretty good stuff here so I thought I’d make it available once again. A handful of links […]
Last evening, I had the pleasure of speaking to about 65 catechists at St. Julie Billiart parish in Tinley Park, IL, on the final night of a 6 week summer series called The Monday Night Medley, sponsored by the parishes of the Southwest Suburban Cluster of DREs. This year’s focus was on Sacraments, Prayer, and Liturgy and my task was to cover the catechetical dimension, demonstrating how catechists can incorporate elements of these 3 topics […]
As promised, the recording of the Practice Makes Catholic Webinar is now available for those of you (including me!) who missed it live. Remember, the voice you hear throughout the webinar is that of my colleague Jim Moran who bravely filled in for me as I was away at my Mother-in-law’s funeral. Thanks again Jim. Also, it’s been pointed out to me that the link to the Classroom Covenant in my PDF of Resources is […]
I was delighted to receive the print out of comments and questions that participants sent in during last week’s Practice Makes Catholic Webinar. It was especially nice to see how much you enjoyed simply sharing ideas with one another. So, as you peruse the following, know that there are more comments than there are questions for me to answer. Practice Makes Catholic Q & A Remember that a recording of the Webinar will be available within […]
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