I really enjoy teaching my students about the sacraments. After all, the Holy Spirit spreads the grace of Jesus Christ through the sacraments. How could I not enjoy teaching them? In fact, I like to teach my kids that they don’t “do” the sacraments, they celebrate them! This can be a challenge when teaching the Sacraments of Healing. How can I teach my third graders to approach Reconciliation and the Anointing of the Sick with […]
My lesson for this evening picks up where we left off last week as we learned about God’s presence in Solomon’s Temple, in the Eucharist, and in ourselves. Tonight, we focus on how we recognize God’s presence in the Sacraments, respect God’s presence in others (this is part of our safe environment program) and reveal God’s presence to others through works of mercy. Session 21: The 3 R’s Big Idea: We are called to Recognize, […]
Recently, we began a series here on my blog about the six tasks of catechesis, focusing on the notion that God is calling each of us to fulfill a role that he has planned for us. Just as actors rely on certain strategies to immerse themselves in character, we too rely on certain strategies to “immerse” ourselves in the role that God is calling us to fill: the “best version of ourselves” (to borrow a phrase from […]
We’ve had a good conversation here about sacramental readiness over the last few days thanks to a plea for help from “Monica.” Thank you to all who have so generously shared their wisdom. Our discussion got me thinking about the notion of readiness and the fact that all of our catechesis takes its cue from the process of Initiation which is an apprenticeship into a way of life. Assessment of knowledge of the faith is […]
Here is an opportunity to help one of our colleagues (we’ll call her Monica) who is faced with a situation of determining sacramental readiness. Please offer your advice by leaving a reply below. Hi Joe — One of our RCIC students, 13 year old, missed lots of classes, has not done any home make up work (his Mom says they have been too busy with ‘work’); and the boy is rather glum, sullen, disinterested. Polite […]
Tonight is the last session that I will be teaching for my 6th graders this year (next week is our closing Mass). I’ll reflect soon on what this experience has been like for me (in brief, it’s been wonderful!) but for now I’d just like to offer a glimpse of what I’ll be doing tonight. Preliminaries (15 mins) Gather, attendance, misc. – young people write prayer intentions Opening prayer ritual/procession Engage (10 mins) I plan […]
WEEK TWO: Sacraments (Celebrating the Christian Mystery) DAY 2: Learning the Language Spoken in the Kingdom of God (Mystery and Sacramentality) Recently, I did some research into my ancestry, uncovering stories of forefathers and foremothers who came to the shores of the United States from Poland in the late 19th century. In particular, I was impressed with the story of my great, great grandmother (on my mother’s side), Julia, who, as it turns out, spoke 7 languages […]
In this segment of Catechists in Action, 3rd grade catechist Steve Lascola tells the children the story of Zaccaheus as part of their preparation for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Watch for the following as Steve: asks for extra special attention reads the story slowly, pausing to comment as he goes along explains why Zacchaeus was not liked by others invites the children to think about a time when they had a fight with a friend […]
Welcome to another edition of Catechists in Action where we have an opportunity to watch real-life catechists teaching their weekly religious education sessions. Today, we meet Steve Lascola, a 3rd grade catechist at Most Holy Redeemer parish in Evergreen Park, IL. Steve’s “day job” is coaching so we have another opportunity to see how a guy with a coaching mentality translates that into catechetical ministry. It is especially unique to see a guy like Steve […]
In this segment of Catechists in Action, we once again join 2nd grade catechist Katie Elwood as she prepares her children for their First Holy Communion. Watch as Katie… talks about the Sacrament of Baptism asks the children to name how many sacraments there are asks the children to name the 7 sacraments invites her aide to give a clue about Matrimony saying, “what happens when you’re older….your mom and dad did what?” Incredibly, a […]
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