Catechist Formation

Jesus’ words to Peter and the disciples set the tone for leadership BY SARA BLAUVELT Years ago I began a Lenten tradition of sending a short...

Courage International is a Catholic pastoral ministry that assists people with same-sex attraction. This video is suitable for parish leaders and interested adults. Note...

Recent media coverage about the Catholic Church does not inspire confidence.

Vacation Bible School has become a fruitful blessing to the Catholic Church in recent years. Once seen as a Protestant tradition, numerous Catholic publishers now provide informative and exciting thematic materials that celebrate great stories of the Bible and tenets of our Catholic faith. Today, most diocesan offices make recommendations for resources, and parishes can find online catalogs from their favorite publishers.

Teaching Catholics to pray should be a snap because we use so many prayer postures week after week. We genuflect, cross ourselves, kneel, bow, and strike our breasts. But somehow the phrase "teaching prayer" makes us feel uptight, and we think "memorization." The "enthusiasm and joy" that the Pope asks of us during this Year of Faith disappears. "Faith grows when it is lived as an experience of love received and when it is communicated as an experience of grace and joy," he says (Porta Fidei, n. 7).

In recent weeks, you and the team have been preparing for the learning year ahead by reviewing texts and working on lesson plans. In this prayer, you will bless one another in a special way and profess your beliefs in the creed.

Often we might hear our youngsters say, "We don't go to Mass on Sunday." This challenges us to a precarious balance: to not respond...

It's not unusual for us catechists to get tunnel vision—to become so caught up in successfully teaching each individual chapter in our texts that students are not able to see the forest for the trees. In other words, we are not always as effective as we could be in helping kids see the big picture—God's plan for all people—and the relationship between each lesson and God's plan.

Question: I need some tips for when it is time to hold a group discussion. Can you offer some ideas for alternatives to Q...

A professor at Loyola Institute of Ministry offers advice BETH DONZE It’s a refrain heard repeatedly in Catholic Church parishes across the country: “We would like...