Sacraments of Initiation Archives

Sacraments of Initiation Learning Stations

We encounter Jesus through the Sacraments of Initiation—Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist. In this lesson, young people will complete activities at 12 learning stations—each sacrament has four stations—that will deepen their understanding of the Sacraments of Initiation. The free lesson plan packet includes instructions for how to set up learning stations that get children out of their seats and moving around doing simple tasks to learn about the symbols and signs used in each Sacrament of […]

Celebrate, Remember, and Appreciate: Mystagogy for Children

Joyce Donahue

Mystagogy is a time for the community and the newly baptized to “grow in deepening their grasp of the paschal mystery and in making it part of their lives through meditation on the Gospel, sharing in the eucharist and doing the works of charity.” (RCIA 244) Mystagogy is clearly a period of encounter, accompaniment, and integration. Both the community and the newly initiated grow together. Unlike adults who are instructed and mentored prior to Baptism, […]

Sacraments of Initiation Learning Stations Used with Seventh Graders

Denise Gorss

In the next-to-last session for the year, I used the Sacraments of Initiation learning stations with my group of seventh graders. As the download page for the learning stations explains, the activity gets young people “out of their seats and moving around doing simple tasks to learn about the symbols and signs used in each Sacrament of Initiation.” Overall it was a successful lesson. I was surprised by how quiet the young people were as […]

Embracing the Change of the Sacraments in Restored Order

Eric Gurash

Parishes in our diocese were asked some years ago to take on the task of introducing our families to the Restored Order of the Sacraments. For those unfamiliar with the term, it is used in regards to a shift in the preparation and celebration of the Sacraments of Initiation from the order of Baptism followed by First Eucharist at about age seven or eight, followed a few years later by Confirmation (between the ages of 12 […]

7 Parents Showed Up for Open House!

Joe Paprocki

Last evening’s session went exceptionally well and thank goodness, because parents of 7 of my 13 kids showed up for the open house! It was a great pleasure to meet so many of the parents and to have the kids do such a wonderful job of showing them what they learned! They did so by first reviewing the Exodus/Passover story – putting in chronological order the pictures portraying scenes from the Exodus/Passover experience ( Exodus/Passover Review […]

A Lesson Plan on the Sacraments of Initiation

Joe Paprocki

For the past week, while traveling from coast to coast, I’ve been rambling about my lesson for this evening on the Sacraments of Initiation (and a connection to the Old Testament) and posting bits and pieces here and there as I came up with them. Now, I’ve put it all together into a coherent (hopefully!) lesson plan for this evening! Here ’tis: The Sacraments of Initiation Big Idea: We pledge allegiance to God through the Sacraments of […]

Exodus/Passover and the Sacraments of Initiation – Update

Joe Paprocki

Here is the latest addition to my lesson for tomorrow evening on the Sacraments of Initiation and how they tie-in to the Exodus/Passover story. I developed a chart that the young people will once again need to manipulate (I will do it as a projection but you can use it as a worksheet) to put the correct words in place to show the connection between the Sacraments of Initiation and the Exodus/Passover experience. The chart, when […]

Connecting Exodus, Passover, and the Sacraments of Initiation

Joe Paprocki

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am preparing a lesson on the Sacraments of Initiation for this Monday evening and plan to connect it to our study of the Old Testament, in particular, the Exodus/Passover story. As part of that, I put together a review of the Exodus/Passover story – 10 pictures from the Exodus story that need to be placed in order – that can be used in one of 2 ways: I […]

Sacraments of Initiation: I Pledge Allegiance…

Joe Paprocki

I’m on my way to Brooklyn, NY, for a presentation this evening, however, here’s my latest thinking about teaching the Sacraments of Initiation this Monday and tying it to the Old Testament. I plan to introduce the session by inviting the kids to say the Pledge of Allegiance and to talk about what it means to pledge one’s allegiance to someone or something (loyalty, obedience). I’ll use that as an opportunity to talk about how […]

Sacraments Learning Stations at St. Gabriel’s in Riverdale, the Bronx

Joe Paprocki

As they say, imitation is the highest form of flattery so I am indeed flattered to learn that a parish in the Bronx – St. Gabriel – adapted my Sacraments of Initiation Learning Stations for use with their Family Faith Day, an intergenerational event. I’ll let Marie Gwertzman, the Sacramental Coordinator, fill you in and then you can enjoy the pics she sent along! Hats off to Marie and her DRE Glenn McCarthy! November 14, […]