“Today’s pupils are accustomed to…”
In my basement where my computer is set up home office, I have a shelf filled with a number of older catechetical texts. Some of these were given to me by friends and family; some were rescued from the dustbin at work. All were published before the Second Vatican Council, and despite their age, there is still wisdom to be found in them. A few weeks ago I was flipping through the Confraternity Teacher’s Guide: A Textbook for the Training of Teachers in CCD Schools of Religion (written by the Very Rev. Joseph B. Collins, SS, in 1960) and came across this quote in a section on...
Read MoreCatechesis and the RCIA: The Catechumenate
This is the fourth post in a series on the theological connections between the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults and catechesis in the Catholic Church. Previous posts gave an overview of the series, explored the characteristics of the RCIA, and addressed the precatechumenate. Theological Underpinnings The second period of the RCIA is the catechumenate. This is the period most familiar to the average Catholic, due to the dismissal of catechumens that occurs after the Liturgy of the Word during Mass. Like the precatechumenate, there is no definite time frame for this period. While...
Read MoreMaking Room for Introverts in Catechesis
Susan Cain’s Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking (which I reviewed on Monday) got me thinking about how we accommodate introverts in our catechetical programs. Many school activities and pedagogical methods, such as group work or presentations, are designed for extroverts. This is also true for many catechetical and faith formation programs. (Think of the typical small faith community or Bible study, which expects conversation, interaction, and the sharing of one’s personal faith.) With so many youth religious education programs working off a...
Read MoreCatechesis and the RCIA: The Precatechumenate
This is the third in a series of posts on the RCIA’s implications for catechesis in our schools and parishes. The first two posts were an overview of this series and a brief look at the characteristics of the RCIA. Theological Underpinnings According to the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, during the Period of Evangelization and Precatechumenate “faithfully and constantly the living God is proclaimed and Jesus Christ whom he has sent for the salvation of all.” (n. 36) The goal of this period is to bring about “the first stirrings of repentance, a start to the...
Read MoreGuest Post: Catechist Formation: We Owe it To Them!
Joe Paprocki is the catechist’s best friend. In addition to serving as a National Consultant for Faith Formation at Loyola Press and authoring some great books, including The Catechist’s Toolbox and Practice Makes Catholic, the “grand poobah” of catechetical blogging is celebrating five years at the keyboard this month. It’s a pleasure to be part of the celebration by hosting this guest post! 5 years may not seem like a long time, but in blog years, I guess that’s ancient! Back in 2006, when I was asked to begin a blog (to accompany the release of my book...
Read MoreCatechesis and the RCIA: Characteristics
Theological Underpinnings The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) is the “source of inspiration for all catechesis.” (National Directory for Catechesis no. 35D) If we take this statement seriously, then a solid understanding of the RCIA should be part of every catechetical leader’s toolbox. So just what are some of the salient characteristics of the RCIA? From the very beginning of the RCIA text the Church affirms that the RCIA is “a gradual process that takes place within the community of the faithful” and that is “suited to the spiritual...
Read MoreCatechesis and the RCIA: Introduction
The General Directory for Catechesis (and the National Directory for Catechesis echoing it) states that “Given that the missio ad gentes is the paradigm of all the Church’s missionary activity, the baptismal catechumenate, which is joined to it, is the model of its catechizing activity.” (90) For those of us in the catechetical ministry there is real value in having a working knowledge of the RCIA. Two years ago I was blessed to participate in a Beginnings Plus workshop put on by the North American Forum on the Catechumenate, which challenged my preconceptions about...
Read MoreCatholic or Private?
A few weeks ago, during a curriculum standards meeting, one of our principals related the following incident: A prospective parent called the school to get information about enrolling their child. During the course of the conversation the woman said that she wanted “a good private education” for her child. The secretary (God bless her!) replied that they have “a very good Catholic school.” Undeterred, the mother reiterated again: “Well, I just want a good private education for my child.” Somewhere along the way people have got the idea that Catholic...
Read MoreDo Prayer Variants Keep Parents from Catechizing?
Earlier this month we had our first diocesan board of education meeting of the year. In the course of the meeting we split into groups to discuss various issues affecting catechesis and education in our diocese; I sat with the Catholic Identity group. A good portion of our conversation centered on parents and helping them claim their role as the primary catechists of their children — which led, naturally, to the question of why parents aren’t comfortable catechizing their children. A Catholic school teacher in our group offered an explanation that I had not considered before:...
Read MoreRoman Missal Workshops: Unexpected Success?
Our diocese had our fourth day of regional workshops on the Roman Missal, third edition yesterday. We offer an afternoon and an evening session, each 3-hours long, covering some basics of good liturgy, the reasons for and some examples of the changes we’ll see on the Firth Sunday of Advent, and a packet of resources for implementing the changes. Our last two workshop are next Tuesday, and after they’re done I really want to sit and analyze what we did right with this workshop. The afternoon session is for Catholic school teachers — usually a very tough audience. But so far,...
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