Father’s Day Recipe: Bacon Avocado Penne
With Father’s Day right around the corner I thought I’d take a break from my blogging seclusion to share this awesome pasta dish I cooked up last week. I’m not a big fan of tomato sauces, so I’m always looking for alternative ways to spice up my pasta and this simple, hearty, manly main course will be sure to please the dad in your life! Ingredients ½ pound penne pasta, cooked ½ pound bacon, cooked and cut into 1/2 inch bites 2 tbls reserved bacon grease ½ onion, sliced 2 cloves of garlic, minced 1 avocado, pitted, peeled, and cubed 2 tbls parsley flakes salt...
Read MoreThe Call to Be Catechists and Evangelizers (Guest post by Jared Dees)
If I had to pick one word to describe Jared Dees it would be indefatigable. Besides working for Ave Maria Press, writing for multiple blogs, completing a master’s degree this past year, traveling to various conferences around the country, and taking care of his growing domestic church, he’s also written a new book called 31 Days to Becoming a Better Religious Educator. The profusion of his writing is matched only by its quality and I’m happy to host his guest post today. One of my favorite things about Jonathan’s blog is his discussions about the relationship with...
Read MoreA Month of Catechetical Stars!
As some of you may know from following me on Twitter, my wife and I recently welcomed our sixth child into the world. As a result I’m taking some time off from blogging as we get acclimated to this new reality. But fear not! In an effort to raise the usual standards on this site I’ve lined up a series of guest posts from some of my catechetical friends. Starting today and over the next few weeks you’ll be hearing from: John Rinaldo on Three Reasons Your Teens Are Not Engaged in Your Faith Formation Program Jared Dees on the Call to Be Catechists and Evangelizers William...
Read MoreEmbrace New Methods: The Intersection of New Media and Catechesis
This month I have a featured article in Catechetical Leader based on my TED-style keynote from the 2012 NCCL conference in San Diego. In honor of the 2013 conference currently underway I’m pleased to reprinted the article here. A wise Dominican sister I studied with in graduate school once described theologians as the “scouts” of the Church: part of their task is to run ahead, discover what is over the hills in the distance, and report back so that the Church can be prepared for what lies before us. With that in mind I write as a “techno-theologian[1]”: someone who has...
Read MoreRethinking “Religious Education”
Words are important, and the words we use to name things should signify something about the object being named. With that in mind I’ve grown restive about the terms we use to describe our catechetical ministries, especially those aimed at children and youth. It’s no secret that the titles used for parish formational programs are many and varied; in my diocese we tend to use PSR, which is commonly understood to stand for “Parish School of Religion,” although I’ve heard other variations as well. Other places use “religious education” and I still see...
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