sacraments Archives - Catechist's Journey

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 […]

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Faith Refreshed Online Retreat Week 2: Aligning Ourselves with God

Joe Paprocki

Welcome to Week 2 of Faith Refreshed, an online retreat to help us “hit the refresh button” in our spiritual lives so that we might better see things we weren’t previously seeing and return to our lives and ministry with a new outlook. Throughout this retreat, I am drawing from my best-selling book, A Well-Built Faith: A Catholic’s Guide to Knowing and Sharing What We Believe. We revisit the four pillars of our Catholic faith—the […]

Sacraments Are Both Formative and Expressive

Joe Paprocki

Does a young person try out for a sports team because that person thinks he or she can make the team better or because she or he thinks one can become better by joining the team? Both! The experience of joining a team is both formative and expressive. Joining the team forms us into better players, but at the same time, we bring talents to the team that help it to improve. This dynamic can […]

Responding Compassionately to Families Whose Children Are “Out of Sequence” for Receiving the Sacraments

Jayne Ragasa-Mondoy

“Good morning! My son is in the fifth grade and hasn’t received his First Holy Communion yet. How can we get started?” “Hi there! My daughter is a senior in high school and would like to be confirmed before she leaves for college. What does she have to do?” For Roman Catholics, there is a traditional sequence to receiving the Sacraments of Initiation and First Penance and Reconciliation: Baptism in infancy, Reconciliation and Eucharist at […]

Sacraments: Grace for Christian Witness

Jayne Ragasa-Mondoy

Pope Francis has repeatedly urged the faithful not to remain closed-in on ourselves, focused only on the affairs of the Church, but rather to go out and give witness to Christ. This is the missionary spirit in which catechists share the Good News—not only in the classroom, but in our daily interactions with the greater community. This bold commission may seem daunting at times, but we receive grace, “the free and undeserved help . . […]

Every Symbolic Action Tells a Story: Living the Sacraments

Joe Paprocki

Every symbolic action invokes a narrative—it tells a story. When a child falls down and scrapes a knee, he or she goes to Mommy or Daddy and asks her or him to “kiss it and make it better.” Now, we know that this act is symbolic and does not heal damaged cells at the molecular level, but we do it because we know that it does make it better! The symbolic act transports the child from a […]

Living the Sacraments Prayer Cards

Joe Paprocki

Each chapter of my newest book, Living the Sacraments: Finding God at the Intersection of Heaven and Earth, includes a prayer, and I’m happy to share today a set of prayer cards with these prayers for each of the seven sacraments. These colorful cards can be shared with a reading group that’s discussing Living the Sacraments or Vivir los sacramentos, given to parents at a sacramental preparation meeting, or included in a catechist’s folder for […]

Making Our Faith Simple-Yet-Not-Simplistic: The Sacraments

Joe Paprocki

This month I’m revisiting my book, A Well-Built Faith: A Catholic’s Guide to Knowing and Sharing What We Believe, with the notion of keeping our faith simple without dumbing it down or making it simplistic. The truth is, while there have been many great thinkers and intellectuals throughout our Church history, the Church was founded by fishermen and tax collectors and a hodgepodge of men and women disciples who were everyday, common folks with little […]

Sacraments Matching Game

Joe Paprocki

Our celebrations of the sacraments are signs of Christ’s presence in our lives and a means for receiving his grace. Help children identify the Seven Sacraments by playing a fun matching game. This downloadable game can be printed out and played in sacramental preparation sessions or as a review for children of all ages learning more about the sacraments. Even catechists or teachers can enjoy playing after reading my Living the Sacraments: Finding God at […]

Living the Sacraments Prayer Cards

Joe Paprocki

If you’ve been following my “Discovering the Nearness of God” series on the Catholic sacramental vision, you’ll know that my newest book is Living the Sacraments: Finding God at the Intersection of Heaven and Earth. Each chapter includes a prayer, and I’m happy to share today a set of prayer cards with these prayers for each of the Seven Sacraments. These colorful cards can be shared with a reading group that’s discussing Living the Sacraments, […]