Archive for April, 2007
As I mentioned a few posts ago, I have a new book being published by Loyola Press titled The Catechist’s Toolbox: How to Thrive As a Religious Education Teacher. Here is the table of contents so that you can see what I personally feel belongs in each catechist’s toolbox:
-
Shop-talk: The Language Of Catechesis
-
Blueprints – Planning and Preparation
-
Socket and Wrench Set - Finding Activities That Fit
-
Color Charts - Selecting Learning Activities
-
Different Types of Wood – Adapting to Learning Styles, Special Needs, and Diversity
-
Drop Cloths - Preparing for Things That Can Go Wrong
-
Applying Primer – Preparing the Learning Environment
-
Spotlights - Shifting the Focus onto Learners
-
Extension Cords - Plugging into the Power of Prayer
-
Sandpaper - Smoothing Out Discipline Problems
-
Furniture Polish - Polishing Your Technique
-
Instruction Manuals - Using Textbooks And Catechist Manuals
-
Samples and Illustrations – Looking to the Bible for Vision
-
Power Tools - Using Technology
-
Scrapers - Using Questions To Get Beneath The Surface
-
Tape Measures – Assessing Progress
-
Apprenticeship - Teaching And Learning By Doing
The book will actually be available in a few weeks but I’m told that orders can be placed through customer service at Loyola Press ($9.95 ea. or $5 ea. for orders of 10 or more) - 800-621-1008.
More to come in the days and weeks ahead!
Today is Good Shepherd Sunday. The image of the Good Shepherd is often depicted in stained-glass windows and on holy cards, showing Jesus in spotless white robes holding a lamb. Nice image but not at all realistic. Shepherds are the equivalent of cowboys in the Old West. They are rough and gritty, working under often difficult conditions to tend to cattle. I offer this image, not to dismiss the Good Shepherd image, but to re-visit it. We too often sentimentalize images of Jesus. To think of Jesus as the Good Cowboy is to return to an image that is not removed from reality.
Cowboys risk great danger to tend to their cattle. In the Old West, they would fight off bandits, engaging in gunfire and risking death. Jesus engaged the forces of evil to protect us. He “took a bullet” meant for us. Imagine how we would feel about someone who jumped in front of a bullet meant for us. We would be eternally grateful. In the same way, we are eternally grateful for Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who laid down his life to protect us.
Shepherds most often cared for their sheep (their cattle), not to lead them to slaughter to make food, but to provide wool. Because of this, they genuinely cared for their sheep, protected them, spent a lifetime with them. In turn, the sheep came to know the sound of the shepherd’s voice. We call Jesus Good because we know that his care for us is genuine.
To think of Jesus as the Good Cowboy is to avoid sterilizing or romanticizing a concept (the Good Shepherd) that is intended to have some connection to our daily lives. Jesus is with us when life is most gritty, fighting off that which endangers us (with his rod) and yanking us back into the fold (with his staff). All because he genuinely cares for us and knows that we have great value.
In recent years, many catechists are finding themselves involved in teaching over the summer in “Vacation Bible School,” once a phenomenon found fairly exclusively in Protestant circles. Several Catholic versions of VBS exist and other creative DREs have found ways to adapt Protestant VBS to Catholic settings.
I’ve not been involved in VBS although I think its a great idea. The parish where I serve as a catechist has run a very successful VBS for a couple of years…maybe this year I’ll have a chance to sneak a peek although they usually take place when I’m at work.
If you have any experience with VBS in a Catholic setting, I’d love to hear from you.
It’s great to be back home in Chicago but I did have a wonderful time at the NCCL (National Conference of Catechetical Leaders) Conference in Columbus. It is always so renewing and energizing to network with fellow catechetical ministers. I highly encourage all of my fellow catechists to find out about diocesan and regional workshops and seminars that bring together catechists for formation and training. You have so much to share with your colleagues and can be so enriched by them as well! There is such energy when catechists and catechetical ministers get together…clearly a sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit!
I’m so excited to have a new book being published exclusively for catechists!!! It’s called THE CATECHIST’S TOOLBOX: HOW TO THRIVE AS A RELIGIOUS EDUCATION TEACHER (Loyola Press).
The book provides skills, tips, and advice that catechists can use right now to become a more effective catechist.
The book will actually be available in June but I know that Loyola Press has order forms available at the NCCL Conference in Columbus, Ohio (April 22-26) for folks who are attending that conference.
What’s really cool about it is that Loyola Press has priced the book so that it can be purchased in bulk for parishes with lots of catechists. The price tag for one copy is $9.95 but for orders of 10 or more, it can be purchased for only $5 each!!!
In the days and weeks ahead, I’ll start to offer some samples and peeks from various chapters here on my blog.
If you’re not going to be at the NCCL (National Conference for Catechetical Leadership) conference but would like to talk to someone about placing an order for the book, contact Loyola Press at 800-621-1008.
Right now, however, I’m off to Columbus for the NCCL conference and a chance to visit my sister and her family! I won’t be posting for a few days but I’ll have lots to talk about when I get back on April 26.
A lot of attention is often given to peoples’ last words. In the Christian tradition, we focus on the 7 last words of Christ. During this Easter season, I think it is crucial that we pay attention to the Risen Christ’s “first” words - following the Resurrection.
“PEACE BE WITH YOU.”
These words are so important for us to hear, especially in the wake of the Virginia Tech massacre. What this world needs is peace and reconciliation - healing. Our Easter joy is not just some sort of glib shouting of Alleluias. it is a deep-seated joy that cannot be taken away by anything - even death. It is a joy that recognizes pain and sorrow but believes in healing and hopes in reconciliation. The Risen Christ’s first words brought reconciliation to the brokenness of the apostles’ lives.
This Easter joy gives us the spiritual strength which, as the Holy Father said recently, “triumphs over violence by the power of forgiveness, hope, and reconciling love.”
During this Easter season, we catechists can concentrate on equipping those we teach with the weapons of forgiveness, hope, and reconciling love so that they may grow in the spiritual strength that triumphs over all forms of violence.
Peace be with you and to all those you teach.
We all struggle to deal with tragic and terrible events such as the shooting spree at Virginia Tech on April 16. It is especially important to be aware of how children may be affected by such violent realities. As catechists, we can provide comfort, reassurance and stability.
The shooting at Virginia Tech will be the “Columbine” for the children we are teaching. Witnessing television reports about such violent events can result in fear and confusion. The sudden and unexpected nature of a tragedy such as this can cause high anxiety and even panic. The truth is, children are most fearful when they do not understand what is happening around them. Feelings of confusion, fear, and anxiety should be considered normal.
Helping those we teach to deal with their reactions to this tragedy can be challenging for us as catechists since we may not have had enough time to deal with our own feeling and reaction. Here are some strategies for giving children the support they need in the wake of this violent tragedy.
- Encourage younger children to seek physical comfort from their parents and relatives. Hugs and hand-holding from parents can provide children with the comfort and security that they need.
- Provide reassuring and appropriate smiles without being glib.
- Reassure your children that you are there to take care of them and that they are safe in your company.
- Express your own feelings of confusion, sadness, and fear but do so in a way that shows you are relying on prayer and faith to cope during moments that you don’t understand.
- Provide structure for your students. Children find security in consistency, especially when faced with such an unpredictable disaster. Reliance and traditional prayers and forms of prayer such as the Rosary can provide great comfort for children.
- Emphasize familiar routines and ritual.
- Play some soothing music as they work and speak in a slow, calm, quiet voice.
- Invite (but do not pressure) children to talk about the disaster. This gives them a sense of control and can help them to sort out their feelings.
- Provide a little more time than usual for children to relax and do some activity that is therapeutic such as coloring or playing with modeling clay. Older children can be engaged in physical activities (a game) that provide some emotional release.
- Children feel powerless in the wake of an unpredictable and violent tragedy such as the Virginia Tech shootings. Be sure to talk about and model peaceful resolutions to conflict as a way of giving children a sense of control in difficult situations.
- Some children react to such tragedies by behaving aggressively. Emphasize the need to find and use alternatives to violence as a way to solve conflicts.
- Keep your perspective and avoid expressing anger and vindictive emotions about the perpetrator of this violence. Help the children to avoid making inappropriate assumptions about the perpetrator by using labels based on ethnicity, religious background, etc.
- Children may show signs of stress following a tragedy such as this. Keep an eye open for changes in behavior. Very young children may resort to thumbsucking, clinging, and isolation from other children. Older children may show signs of irritability, aggression, lack of focus, and other changes in behavior. All of this is natural as they process their anxiety and fear so show patience with them.
- Pray together for the victims, their families, for those who were injured, for the college community, and for all those who were involved in responding to the crisis.
Inspired by and Adapted from “When Disaster Strikes: Helping Young Children Cope” by Jane M. Farish –an NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children) brochure.
What strategies and advice do you have to offer to help catechists talk to children about this tragedy? (it will be most helpful if you can cite sources from professional agencies such as I did above).
We’ve all heard the phrase, “Seeing is believing.” This is pretty much what the apostle Thomas was saying in response to the other apostles who had encountered the Risen Lord. Thomas wanted and needed something tangible to put his faith in.
In many ways, Thomas is symbolic of the age we live in. More and more, people are putting their faith and trust into that which is material and tangible. Pope Benedict XVI addresses this in his new book Jesus of Nazareth in which he criticizes the present age for excluding God and clinging to realities that are visible and tangible. His warning is that this self-centered quest for material well-being will lead to self-desctruction, making us deaf and blind to the real call and presence of God through Jesus.
Jesus told Thomas that it is blessed to believe without seeing. In essence, Jesus taught a new way to see - faith. He reversed the “Seeing is believing” approach to “Believing is seeing.”
As catechists, we are called to invite those we teach into a new way of seeing - faith. We strive to invite our learners to see beyond that which is material and tangible and to believe in a God who is the Creator of all that “is seen and unseen.”
At the same time, we are not left without tangibles. Jesus himself is the tangible presence of the intangible God. In the Eucharist, we have the tangible real presence of Jesus. In the sacraments, we have tangible realities that point to the intangible presence of God. Our quest is to help those we teach to recognize that fulfillment is found, not in material possessions, but in relationship with God who is love.
Love is an intangible reality that is manifested in many ways…most perfectly in the selfless love of Jesus.
What harvest am I speaking of? The harvest of new Catholics, that is!
In the period following the Easter Vigil, many RCIA leaders introduce their new Catholics to various parish ministries, including catechesis. I know of many catechists who began participating in this ministry shortly after going through RCIA.
Some of you veteran catechists may be invited to speak to the RCIA group about your vocation as a catechist. Some of you new Catholics may be considering a vocation as a catechist. Every year, the Holy Spirit provides a rich harvest of gifts!
We welcome these new gifts into the catechetical ministry and stand ready to assist and support in whatever way we veteran catechists can.
In recent comments, Pope Benedict XVI urged all Catholics to accept the call to search for Christ and witness and spread the good news of his Resurrection to the world with zeal.
This sounds like a job for catechists!
Of course all Catholics are called to do this, but as catechists, we are at the forefront of this effort. The Pope explained that, “we are called to be witnesses to the death and resurrection of Christ. We cannot keep the great news to ourselves, we must spread it to the entire world.”
I think that is why we are catechists in the first place…we can’t keep it to ourselves!
The Pope stressed that the mission of the disciples then and now “is to bear witness to the death and Resurrection of their master and of their new life.”
May God give us the grace to do this!
