Discipleship is a way of life and is not bound by the constraints of programs or processes. It progresses at a pace willed by the Holy Spirit. Time and trust are the currencies of discipleship, but when the time we spend with our students is limited to one hour a week between September and May, our ability to be present in their lives is challenged. Finding ways to connect outside the classroom with students and […]
I recently completed participating in a very enriching experience of the 19th Annotation of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola with a group of colleagues and friends here at Loyola Press. The Spiritual Exercises were originally designed for Jesuits to experience over a 30-day retreat. Realizing that most lay folks are unable to arrange for a 30-day retreat, St. Ignatius made an accommodation. In his notes or annotations to the Spiritual Exercises, Ignatius […]
The summer months provide a perfect time for us catechists and DREs to grow in our own faith lives. Even if you still have fall planning or summer events like a parish VBS on your agenda, it’s important to intentionally set aside time to take advantage of sunny weekends and longer days for deepening your own relationship with Christ. And you don’t need to travel to a retreat center to do this. Weather permitting, take […]
For those of you involved in RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults), I don’t need to tell you what an important week this is! One of the responsibilities of the RCIA team is to facilitate a Holy Saturday retreat for the Elect (those to be baptized at the Easter Vigil). From time to time, I get e-mails from folks asking if I have any resources for such a retreat. I do indeed! My friend […]
I love that phrase! “You’ll never repent a Lent well-spent!” My wife heard that from one of the Marist brothers she teaches with at Marist HS in Chicago so I couldn’t resist “re-appropriating” it! How true it is: if we make the most of this Lenten season, we’ll not regret it. And now, with Ash Wednesday upon us, we officially enter into the Lenten season, 2013. A great big THANK YOU to all who participated in […]
In last night’s Webinar on The 7 Keys to Spiritual Wellness (if you missed it, a recording will be available here on my blog within a few days), I began by asking what folks are doing to maintain their spiritual wellness before I added my suggestions. Here’s a sampling of what folks are doing (I love the variety!) What are YOU doing to maintain your spiritual wellness? Daily mass Daily prayer active participation in […]
The beginning of Lent often coincides with the beginning of spring training and the reporting of pitchers and catchers, so I can’t help but dip into my bag of sports metaphors to talk about Lent. Lent is nothing more than a 40-day retreat and a retreat is basically an opportunity to step back from ordinary activities to connect with God in a special way. It’s the spiritual equivalent of throwing a change-up. For those of […]
To celebrate the 5th anniversary of my blog, Catechist’s Journey, we’re hosting a little contest. Each day this week, I’m posting a video in which I ask a trivia question and, in order to correctly answer, you’ll need to go back and look at one of my posts. The first person to post a comment with the correct answer will win a prize! Here are the prizes: Monday: Three Children’s books by Amy Welborn: Book of […]
“Not Bad, If I May Say So Myself!” Bernadette shares some wonderful thoughts about a very successful lesson she taught: I was one of the facilitators at a weekend retreat for a small group of Confirmation candidates. The theme was”Who am I?” In the introductory session I invited them to play a simple game. As they sat in a circle we pinned the names of well know people (local & international) on their backs. Their […]
Here’s a nice Lenten idea shared by a catechist named Anna Marie. Thanks, Anna Marie! Here’s a Lenten idea that I have done in 7th-10th graders. The last day before we depart for Spring/Easter Break or during Holy Week, I create the classroom as a Retreat/Desert experience. Shades are pulled down, lights are dimmed if possible, and the window of the classroom door is covered. There is a sign placed outside the door: Do Not […]
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