http://www.catechistsjourney.org Joe Paprocki Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:02:10 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Lots of stories in the sports pages today about Brett Favre getting the "itch" to return to football after announcing originally that he planned to retire. Around this time of the summer, I get the "itch" for the religious education year to begin! Being off (from teaching) for May and June ... http://www.catechistsjourney.org/2008/07/03/the-itch-to-return/ It's vacation time for me, my friends! Time to allow the brain to lie fallow. That means no posting for a couple of weeks. I'll post again right after the Fourth of July weekend (July 7 to be exact). I hope you enjoy the start of summer and I'll see ... http://www.catechistsjourney.org/2008/06/17/time-to-let-the-brain-lie-fallow/ I was struck by a line in yesterday's Gospel that I think speaks to catechists: "Then he summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority to expel unclean spirits..." (Mt 10:1) Two things in particular strike me. One is the notion of authority. Catechists need to know that they have been given ... http://www.catechistsjourney.org/2008/06/16/catechists-have-authority-to-expel-unclean-spirits/ Here's a link to a nice effort by some folks to recruit catechists for their parish: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90OcnKfpURk   http://www.catechistsjourney.org/2008/06/13/become-a-catechist/ We are approaching the start of the Year of Saint Paul that was proclaimed by Pope Benedict XVI. The special year begins on June 29, the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles, marking the 2000th anniversary of the birth of Paul. Here are a couple of resources you'll want ... http://www.catechistsjourney.org/2008/06/12/year-of-saint-paul/ The I.T. folks have finished updating software that I use for this blog meaning that the short "under construction" period is over. So, I'll be back to posting. In the meantime, here's a cool pic of my grandmother from her First Holy Communion in 1902!!! I just received this pic from ... http://www.catechistsjourney.org/2008/06/11/im-back-2/ My site may be under construction for a day or two so hang in there and I'll be back soon! http://www.catechistsjourney.org/2008/06/09/under-construction/ I spent a good chunk of Saturday with about 30 catechists at St. Paul the Apostle parish in Gurnee, IL, not far from the Wisconsin border. The catechists were from 3 or 4 parishes within the area and they were there for a catechist certification module on the theological foundations ... http://www.catechistsjourney.org/2008/06/09/greetings-tofrom-gurnee-il/ I'm hearing that some parishes are experimenting with a catechetical model that employs a summer intensive religious education program for K-8 (usually 3 weeks) while throughout the year, offering periodic intergenerational events and a weekly children's liturgy of the Word. Sounds to me like an interesting alternative. This is not to ... http://www.catechistsjourney.org/2008/06/06/summer-intensive-re/ Here is more of my dialogue with an Anglican minister from Rwanda who has been sent to the United States to do missionary work and to form catechists: Joe, I feel similarly blessed by this contact. The reason why the Rwandan curriculum wouldn’t work in scope (it would to some extent in sequence) ... http://www.catechistsjourney.org/2008/06/04/catechists-in-rwanda-part-ii/