Archive for February, 2008
I find Valentine’s Day to be a wonderful opportunity to talk about the Church’s sacramental life. A traditional definition of a sacrament is “an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace.” For the most part, this is a good definition, especially the phrase “outward sign.”
Catholic sacramentality basically expresses our belief that the invisible God can be recognized and encountered through the physical world. That’s why we use water, oil, bread, wine, flame, etc. in our sacramental celebrations. Through these visible and tangible realities, we encounter and recognize the invisible and intangible God.
Catholics do this because it’s the human thing to do. Those things that are most profoundly human - including our sharing in the divine life of the Trinity - cannot be “captured” in words alone. When encountering that which is profound, we move beyond words into the realm of metaphor, signs, and symbols.
Some people dismiss Valentine’s Day as a “Hallmark holiday.” However, it is another opportunity for people in love to express that profound love through signs and symbols. And so today at work, I saw flowers delivered to one of the women in another department. During lunch, I walked over the Ethel’s Chocolate shop to pick up a few gingerbread chocolates for my wife. Later we will go out for dinner, something we rarely do on a Thursday evening. Countless numbers of people will exchange gifts or receive flowers, chocolates, and cards, and enjoy a night out on a work night. And, of course, many couples will share intimate moments with one another, expressing that love physically, beyond words. That which is most profound requires a language beyond words.
In the Sacraments, we encounter the love of the Trinity and enter into an intimate relationship with God. We Catholics know that words alone cannot come close to expressing the profound nature of that encounter. We need signs and symbols.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
In two weeks (we have no class this coming Monday), the 8th graders will be given their Confirmation Test/Assessment. As I’ve been explaining to them, this is not a pass or fail proposition, but rather, an assessment of each student’s grasp of the basic content of the Catholic faith. For those who do not do well on the assessment, my aide and I will design some steps to take to assist them in grasping the concepts. The goal is for every student to be able to love the Lord God with their whole heart, soul, MIND, and strength!
I’m thinking about presenting the assessment within a prayerful context to further remove the idea that this is a “final exam.” I haven’t figured this out yet, but I thought I would begin the session with a further explanation of just what we are doing and then lead them in a brief meditation that sets a prayerful mood and allows them to encounter Jesus for the purpose of talking with him about knowing their faith. I would then, without too much disruption of the prayerful mood, quietly distribute the assessment and have the students work on it while I continue to play some instrumental music very quietly in the background. When they are done, I will encourage them to put their head down and once again spend time with Jesus, talking with him about where they are at in their commitment to follow him.
I need to further develop the idea. If anyone has done something like this before, I’d love to hear about it.
Last night, we took our classes to church for the Lenten Sacrament of Reconciliation. For the most part, they behaved very well and it was a very nice service (it includes individual confessions which means the kids need to behave for a long stretch of time). My aide, Kris, and I were talking afterwards about how funny the kids can be. While some of the behavior can be a bit maddening, most of it makes me laugh on the inside. Here are just a few tidbits from last night.
- Kris and I both received one Valentine’s gift each…a small package of Fannie May chocolate hearts. One young man (he’s a tall 8th grader…about 5′ 10″) came into class before we headed to church and handed Kris her gift which I thought was very sweet. Then he handed me my gift without missing a step as though it was the most natural thing on earth to do for a boy to give his teacher a Valentine gift. I was impressed that there was no razzing from the other students standing around. It was so completely innocent and sincere that I had to chuckle to myself.
- Before heading to Church, one of the girls said, “we just went to confession in Advent.” I explained why Lent was so early this year and that, yes, it seems like we had just gone to confession. She responded, “Yeah, but I haven’t done anything wrong since then!”
- In Church, the DRE used the time while kids were going to confession to sign up some of them for roles at the Confirmation Mass. One of the girls then called me over in a good-natured panic and said, “I just signed up to be a reader at Confirmation! I’m gonna make a fool of myself. I gonna mess up! I’m gonna fall down the stairs! I don’t know what to wear!” The kids around her started to laugh as I tried to calm her down (laughing quietly to myself) and one of the priests actually came over and reminded us to quiet down! I assured her that the DRE was going to work with her and that she would be fine.
- After confessing to the priest, each student was to go to the altar, say their prayer of penance, and then write down on a piece of paper what they would do during Lent as acts of penance. Then, they drop the paper in a bowl in the middle aisle as they return to their seats. One of the boys came back and told Kris, “I think I wrote the wrong thing on the paper. I wrote down my sins! Can I go back and change it?” She assured him that God knew what was in his heart and that no one would dig out his paper to read his list of sins.
- After the prayer service, we distributed a study sheet in preparation for their Confirmation test (assessment) coming up in 2 weeks. Immediately, the big question was, “What if I fail?!!! Will I be held back?!!!” Kris and I calmed their fears and told them that if they don’t do well, we will personally work with them to make sure they know their faith in preparation for celebrating Confirmation. We had to remind them that we were not “weeding them out” but assessing their progress and responding as needed.
- One of the young men (whose behavior has been less then stellar all year) asked me if I had gone up to one of the priests to confess my sins! I told him that I had not on this night but that I went during the Advent service and hope to go again before Lent is over. I got a kick out of being checked up on.
- Apparently, this same boy commented to Kris last week (I was not present last week) about his less-than-favorable R.E. report card saying, “Thanks for getting me in trouble with that report card.” Without missing a beat, Kris said, “You wanna see who was responsible for that?” and took him around the corner of the room where there is a mirror on the wall and had him stand in front of it! She said, “I didn’t write your report card, Mr. Paprocki did, but here’s who’s really responsible.” He apparently reacted fine to that. Way to go, Kris!
Oh, these kids are something else, aren’t they! Gotta love em.
I am proud to announce the availability of my (previously out-of-print) video, Welcome to God’s Library, on DVD!
In the year 2000, I filmed a video titled Welcome to God’s Library which provided a basic introduction to the Bible for Catholics (intermediate/junior high through adult). The video summarizes the thrust of my book God’s Library. Several years ago, this video and the original edition of the book went out of print. Since then, I’ve been receiving inquiries from people interested in buying copies of the video (especially since Loyola Press published a new version of the book, God’s Library: A Catholic Introduction to the World’s Greatest Book in 2005)
So here’s what I did: I worked with my son, Mike, who is a videographer, to update the master copy of the video so that it is up to date (except for the fact that I look 8 years younger than I am now!) and refers to the new edition of the book. We then transferred it to DVD.
I am now making this DVD available for $15, which is HALF of what it cost when it was available on VHS! You can order copies by sending me an e-mail at welcometogodslibrary@comcast.net, providing me with your name, shipping address, and quantity and I’ll get back to you with details.
Here is a description of the DVD (42 minutes):
This video is for those who are interested in deepening their knowledge and familiarity with the Bible.
- DREs may use this video for catechist formation
- individuals can use it in the privacy of their own home for independent study
- parish leaders can use it as a formation experience for parish ministers
- pastoral staffs can use it as an introduction to parish Bible study
- RCIA teams can use it as part of the catechumenate’s introduction to Scripture
- youth ministers can use it to introduce adolescents to the Bible
- catechists can use it to introduce intermediate and junior high students to the Bible
The DVD consists of 3 parts. Part One is an introduction and overview:
- comparison to using a library
- how the Bible is arranged
- How to choose a Bible
- How to use the Table of Contents
- How to use Scripture citation to locate passages
Part Two covers the Old Testament:
- How to use the God’s Library bookmarks to become more familiar with the sections of the Bible
- exploration of the arrangement of the Old Testament
- overview of the highlights found in the 4 sections of the Old Testament: Pentateuch, History, Wisdom, Prophets
Part Three covers the New Testament:
- continuation of how to use the God’s Library bookmarks
- overview of the highlights found in the 4 sections of the New Testament: Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, Letters, Revelation
- the importance of footnotes
- how to pray the Bible
- tips for where to begin reading the Bible
- introduction to the Lectionary
- conclusion
I’m happy to finally make this resource available again to so many of you who asked. Thanks!
Here’s what Pope Benedict XVI recently said about catechists:
VATICAN CITY, FEB. 8, 2008 (Zenit.org).- The secret to being a good catechist is to live what you preach, Benedict XVI told the bishops of Costa Rica.
The Pope said this today upon receiving the prelates in audience, led by the president of the episcopal conference, Bishop José Francisco Ulloa Rojas of Cartago. The bishops are in Rome for their five-yearly visit.
After discussing the possibility of a new evangelization in the country, in the face of a materialistic and secular culture, and the appearance of new religious movements and sects, the Holy Father analyzed the decisive importance of catechists.
“They undoubtedly deserve the gratitude, encouragement, and constant attention of their pastors,” he said, “so they always systematically receive a solid Christian formation, taking into account as well that they are called to carry Christian values into the various areas of society: the world of work, of civil society and of politics.”
Speaking particularly to catechists, the Pontiff reminded them to “unite the transmission of right doctrine with personal testimony, with the firm commitment to live according to the commandments of the Lord and with the lived experience of being faithful and active members of the Church.”
“This example of life,” according to Benedict XVI, “is necessary so that your instruction does not stay in a mere transmission of theoretical knowledge about the mysteries of God, but that it leads to embracing a Christian way of life.”
This was already the case in the early Church, in which at the end of one’s period of Christian initiation, “it was examined if the catechumens ‘have properly lived their catechumenate, if they honored widows, if they visited the sick, if they have done good works,’” the Pope said, citing the “Apostolic Tradition,” one of the oldest ecclesiastical constitutions, written around 215.
Of the more than four million residents of Costa Rice, 76.3% of the population is Catholic. The 13.7% remaining belong to evangelical denominations. Jehovah’s Witnesses account for 1.3% of the population.
I’m excited and proud to tell you about my upcoming book, A Well-Built Faith: A Catholic’s Guide to Knowing and Sharing What We Believe, to be published by Loyola Press (available late this summer).
Here’s how I describe the purpose/goal of the book in the Introduction:
We Catholics seek to be people who have the right tools and a firm foundation to serve God and others. How do we do this? Through faith formation. Catechesis is the process through which we become equipped with the right tools and a firm foundation to live out our baptism. This is a process that is never finished – it is ongoing and lifelong. We all need to start somewhere. That’s where A Well-Built Faith: A Catholic’s Guide to Knowing and Sharing What We Believe comes in. This book is designed to give you a firm foundation to get started in a lifelong process of developing a well-built faith. Whether you are a catechist, a liturgical minister, a parish pastoral council member, a catechumen or candidate in the RCIA, or an everyday Catholic trying to remain faithful to your baptismal call and grow closer to the Lord, A Well-Built Faith is designed for you, “so that the one who belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” (2Timothy 3:17)
A firm foundation provides support for that which is built upon it. In ancient times, pillars provided the support for mammoth structures that would otherwise collapse under the weight of tons of building materials. When it comes to our faith, the Catholic Church has arranged a vast array of doctrines and beliefs into a somewhat mammoth structure we know as The Catechism of the Catholic Church. This structure is supported by four pillars that provide a firm foundation for our faith:
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The Creed
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The Sacraments
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The Moral Life
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A Life of Prayer
This simple organization of over 2000 years of a living Tradition provides us with easy access to our faith. At the same time, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, at over 900 pages long, was not written with the average Catholic as its targeted reader. Rather, it was written as a reference book for bishops and for those who teach the Catholic faith. With that in mind, the bishops of the United States produced a more readable resource, the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults (USCCB, 2006) that follows the organization of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Even so, the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults weighs in at over 600 pages, still a daunting task for many readers. Catholics continue to ask for help in learning about their faith in a way that makes it accessible. With this book, A Well-Built Faith, help has arrived.
Over the next few weeks and months, I will “tease” you with snippets from the 18 chapters and will keep you up to date on when it will be available and how you can acquire copies.
Have a great weekend!
I just received a handout from a friend, titled “40 Days, 40 Possibilities.” It provides some very practical suggestions for practicing the Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Click here to access it. I hope you find it helpful for yourself as well as for those you teach.
I’m glad that we receive ashes only once a year and have the opportunity to receive the Eucharist everyday (and not the other way around!). Both actions express the same message: we are incapable of sustaining ourselves. On Ash Wednesday, we are reminded of what we are when no longer sustained by God…dust. The Eucharist, on the other hand, IS what sustains us…God’s grace - the presence of Jesus within us. The message of Ash Wednesday is not morbid…it is a joyful reminder that, with God’s life within us, we are so much more than dust and ashes!
Alas, we were snowed out in Naperville last evening! However, we are going to work hard to re-schedule so I still hope to meet the army of 300 catechists!
I will miss my upcoming Monday night RE class because of a management seminar I need to attend. I’ve been very careful about keeping Monday nights “sacred” for my commitment as a catechist, but this is one that the company is sending me on. Luckily, my aide, Kris, is a professional school teacher and can stand in for me. This Monday will be their last Confirmation Intensive so I look forward to hearing how it goes.
Since I will be tied up at this seminar Monday and Tuesday, I’ll meet you back here next Wednesday.
