When I arrived at Church for Religious Education, my CRE asked if I would be willing to merge my class with another because we had a catechist out.  I figured “why not” and agreed to teach both classes.  Historically, having students that normally part of my class has been hit or miss, but I was going to make the best of it nonetheless.  The first question I get is, “Do you give homework” and I start doing a victory dance in my head.  I tell the student to ask my students that question and the standard response of “only if we don’t cooperate” puts them all in the palm of my hand.  The expectation is set and I see things looking up.  I probably shouldn’t be too joyful about using homework as a threat, but it makes things so much easier when we all understand each other.

We start class with a prayer, Come Holy Spirit, which was not only topical, but I’m convinced that prayer was answered last night.  Then my students ask if we can do the Three J’s.  For those that are not familiar with the Three J’s, it’s something that I picked up from In Between Sundays, a podcast that I frequently listen to.  It consists of sharing your Junk, Joy and Jesus Moment for the past week.  I had my students participate and made it optional for my guests.  I think my guest students were more into it then my own students!  It was a huge success last night and ended up being a great ice breaker.

Our formal topics last night were focused around the activities of the Apostles after the Resurrection.  We discussed Jesus’ first appearance in the Upper Room.  We discussed Doubting Thomas.  We discussed Pentecost and the effect the Holy Spirit had on the Apostles.  I spent time focusing on the before and after of the Apostles’ behavior, including the effects of some of the gifts they received on Pentecost.  Additionally, we discussed how we (and they) knew the Holy Spirit had arrived, namely wind and fire.

After spending some time on Pentecost, we moved on to the missionary activities of the early Church leaders.  We reviewed how they traveled and thier ministries in obedience to the command of Jesus to make disciples of all nations.  We also connected this to Pentecost by discussing how those gifts they received from the Holy Spirit helped them be successful.  We spoke about the Conversion of St. Paul, and how appropriate since yesterday was the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul.  We also discussed why we call St. Paul an Apostle even thought he was not a follower of Jesus during his earthly ministry.  To help drive that story home, I finished the segment by showing them an artist’s representation of that conversion moment on the road to Damascus.

We discussed what martyrdom was and why the Church believes that martyrs have a special place in heaven.  We spoke about the martyrdom of St. Peter and why he was crucified upside down.  Once again, I showed them an artist’s representation of his martyrdom to help drive that story home.

I ended the class by handing out the lyrics to “Kyrie” by Mr. Mister and played the song.  After listening to it, we discussed the lyrics and what the artist was trying to say through his song.  The references to the Holy Spirit and being sent on a mission are so strong in that song that I love tying it to this lesson.

I left class last night feeling like I myself was on fire!  Not only that, but my students, and I mean all of my students last night seemed fired up as well.  I can’t beleive how much I was able to cover in one hour; and to be honest, I felt like I actually got through to them as opposed to being rushed and lost.  I’m sure it was with a little help from above.  I truly hope that the Holy Spirit can come and kindle in us the fire of His love every week!!

Until next time, keep sharing the faith!

So what’s been going on you might ask?  Besides all the things at work that would bore you, I’ve been busy working on Religious Education stuff.  My classes have been going well.  In my 6th Grade class, we’ve discussed wisdom, focusing on individuals like King Solomon.  I was able to use one of my favorite Old Testament stories (1 Kings 3:16-28) to show wisdom in action.  It was great to see their reactions as I read parts of the story and stopped for impressions.  We’ve also discussed some of the prophets that foretold of the coming of the Messiah, like Isaiah & Zechariah.  I think the differences of how the Messiah was described were a bit tough for them to grasp.  With those topics, we wrapped up the formal curriculum around the Old Testament.

This week, we moved into the New Testament, exploring parts of the Gospels in a little more detail.  We got to focus on one of my favorite New Testament stories, “The Boy Jesus in the Temple” (Luke 2:41-52).  Oddly enough, the prior week I got asked the question if Jesus knew he was God from the time he was born.  I referred to this passage to help express my opinion.  As we reviewed this story, I chose to focus on Luke 2:51.  We discussed the significance of the fact the Jesus was “obedient” to his parents.  I always find it such a powerful example that Jesus, who is God, was obedient to His human parents.

On top of my 6th Grade lessons, I had the opportunity to present at RCIA this past week.  My topic was “The Sacraments of Healing”.  As much as I felt comfortable with my knowledge around the Sacrament of Reconciliation, I still felt that this needed to be spot on, so I did a lot of work with the Catechism and some other resources to help make sure I got it right.  Additionally, I had never done much work around the Anointing of the Sick, so this gave me an opportunity to increase my own knowledge as well.  I felt very good about my presentation and our catechumen asked some insightful questions which was a signal to me that my presentation was giving him reason to think.

On top of that, I’m also working with my CRE and fellow catechists in developing a plan for our 6th Grade Retreat that will be happening in early February.  My CRE provided me the framework and I helped build out a more detailed discussion plan.  The theme of the retreat will be the Ten Commandments.  Lastly, I’ve been methodically working on my pastor to allow me to create a Facebook page for our parish.  After months of my pastor not having time to focus on it, we met today and he agreed that we needed to do it.  And just like in the business world, the person who has the idea gets the project.  Don’t get me wrong.  I’m very excited about doing this.  It will be a great opportunity to stay connected to parishioners beyond the Sunday Liturgy, but for it to be successful, it needs constant focus.  Please pray for me as I deal with whatever the game of life throws my way.

Until next time, keep sharing the faith.

I actually chuckled.  I forced patience on them because I told them there were five other commandments that we needed to review before we got to that one.  It’s very clear though, what was on their minds and that they already had an idea of what that commandment relates to.  To no surprise, they had questions, lots and lots of questions.

When we finally got to the Sixth Commandment, I explained it’s literal meaning as well as it’s broader meaning, just like I did with each commandment before it.  Then I let the questions begin:

- What does adultery mean?
- You have to be married?  Why?
- How about if it’s with your girlfriend?
- What if you live with your boyfriend?
- What if you love your boyfriend?
- What if it happens the day before you get married?
- Is being a homosexual a sin?
- What if someone has already done stuff?

I have to thank my students from last year for preparing me for this discussion.  Last year, I flew by this topic and avoided answering questions in any detail.  Not this year.  I felt like I missed a teaching opportunity the last time this happened and I did not want a repeat of that this year.  Oddly enough, I did not prepare for the discussion.  In fact, I completely forgot what had happened last year; but when the first question arose, I felt at perfect ease discussing it.

The Holy Spirit must have been guiding me last night because I had a “sex” discussion with these kids without skipping a beat.  I did everything possible to control the giggle-fest that ensued once the discussion began and I was successful in doing so.  Also, while talking about it, I wrote the word “Sex” on the board to dispel any sense of hesitation or shyness on my part.  My inclination was that by have a serious and open discussion about what the Church teaches regarding this topic, I had more of a chance of making an impact.

We focused on things like the importance of sex only happening within a marriage, why it is otherwise considered a mortal sin, what the natural purpose of the act is (i.e. love, commitment and procreation), why being with a boyfriend / girlfriend is not enough, etc.  We even discussed why being a homosexual, or more accurately having those tendencies, is not a sin in and of itself.  I focused on the fact that a person is not a sin, only acts are sins.  I did this to help distinguish between the dignity we all deserve as human beings and the sinfulness of acts that we may commit, irrelevant of any sexual tendencies.

All in all, the discussion went very well.  I made it a point to not let it digress and gave them the opportunity to ask some questions that were clearly on their minds.  My only regret was not having a little more time.  I know I left some questions unanswered and since next week is a unit review, I may leave a little extra time to answer any remaining questions.  I’d rather they ask me and come away with an accurate understanding of what we are called to believe then to have the questions remain without answers or with poor answers from others.  Of course, recognizing the controversial nature of the topic, I gave my CRE a heads up just in case any parents called in about it.  While my comments were perfectly in line with the teachings of the Church, that does not mean that some parent out there may not like what was discussed.

Until next time, keep sharing the faith!

We focused on superheroes last night in class with the 6th graders.  We spoke about their favorite superheroes as well as some of their real-life heroes.  We discussed some of their qualities, like courage and love of their fellow man.  We spoke about the challenges that they each face and how difficult it truly is being a hero.

Then we transitioned to one of the great Old Testament heroes.  To quote the movie, it was “Moses, Moses, Moses.”  We reviewed Moses’ early days and how he came to leave Egypt, but we focused mostly on his calling.  We spoke about what it means to be called.  Each and every one of us is called to impact the world, albeit in different ways; but being called can be a scary thing.  Most times, you are being called to do something that you haven’t done before or that you think you just cannot do.  I know I’d be a bit scared if I saw a burning bush that was telling me to take off my shoes, because last I checked, bushes don’t speak.  We know that’s how Moses must have felt, among feeling other emotions.

What if Moses had said “No thanks, God, I’m not your guy so go with your backup plan”?  News flash – God doesn’t make backup plans.  We each have a purpose for being here, most likely more than one; but we all have a choice to fulfill that purpose or not.  If I had not accepted my call as a Catechist, then maybe some kids would not learn their faith as fully.  Sure there are other Catechists, but there is only one Catechist that does things “exactly” the way I do it (we are all unique, after all) and maybe my style impacts some students in a special way; or maybe this ministry is preparing me to help someone in the future who is struggling with their faith that would not otherwise be helped, or maybe I help set an example that will touch someone’s heart.  None of us truly know what our purpose is, but saying no to our calling will definitely have an impact that none of us will ever truly understand, sort of in the same way that saying yes will have an impact.  If Moses had said no, then who knows what might have happened to the Israelites.

Luckily, Moses said yes.  Afraid and unsure, but trusting in God, he went back to Egypt to demand that the Hebrews be freed per the command of God.  We discussed how God supported Moses’ words and reviewed the first 9 plagues.  Then we discussed the biggie – The Angel of Death, and why Passover and the Passover Seder have been and continue to be so important for the Jewish faith.

That was the perfect segue over to the Eucharist.  We all know the Last Supper occurred at the Passover Seder that year.  Just as the Jews celebrate and remember through a meal the saving power of God by His freeing them from Egypt, we too remember the saving power of God through Jesus through a meal.  Of course, there are differences between the two celebrations as well, but it was interesting to see some of the links.

So, whether it’s one of the Super Friends, Mighty Mouse, Moses, Jesus, or even your grandmother; heroes love, sacrifice, trust in good, help others and show people the way.

Next time, the class will discuss the rest of the Exodus and the Ten Commandments.  Until then, keep sharing the faith.

We basically spent the first half hour doing an Examination of Conscience, me trying to ease some students’ fears at the realization of what was going to be happening and then going upstairs to the Church for the actual sacrament.  When we returned to the classroom, somehow it all fell apart.

We were supposed to review the story of Abraham, Issac, Jacob and Joseph.  To tie it into what we already learned, I reminded them of the story of Adam & Eve, Cain & Abel and the story of Noah and the Great Flood. That’s as far as we got.  The questions started like if this was the first time they had ever heard this story (we only covered it two weeks ago) and it digressed from there.  Questions like:

Why was it Adam & Eve’s fault?  The snake made them do it.
What does God look like?
Does God have hands?
God killed everyone on earth?
Why did he pick Noah?
God killed?  That’s mean! Didn’t he commit a sin?
What if there were other good people on earth?  How could God kill them all?
What if God does it again?
What if he doesn’t keep his promise?
What if …
What if …
What if …

I’m always torn with how far to let questions go.  I see myself heading into the spiral, but the questions show some amount of interest and curiosity on the students’ parts that I don’t want to discourage.  The problem with allowing it to continue is that I can’t cover the material I’m supposed to cover.  In tonight’s case, I was able to cover none of the material I needed to.  Additionally, 90% of tonight’s questions came from the same student and were becoming slightly argumentative.  I couldn’t really tell if they were sincere questions or an attempt to take control of the direction of the class.  In any case, I probably allowed this to go on too long before the light bulb in my head went off … “These are all good questions.  Why don’t you stay after class and we can discuss it further?”

The student of course could not stay tonight, so I immediately offered staying after next week’s class as an alternative.  But by that time, the damage was done.  There was 5 minutes left to class and I needed to close up the impromptu Q&A discussion with some very specific points to ensure that everyone left the class with an accurate understanding.

By the time I left class, I was completely exhausted, totally frustrated and had nothing accomplished from my lesson plan to show for it.  Did I do the right thing by allowing the questions to continue?  Should I have covered the material and just left Q&A for after class time for those that wanted the information?  I’m sure I would have gotten no takers and would have lost an opportunity there.  All I know is that next week I now have two weeks of material to cover in a one hour time span.  I also have an new appreciation for what school teachers face on field trip days.

What do you other catechists do in situations like the one I encountered tonight?  When do you cut off the Q&A and focus on your lessons and when do you let your lessons slip to help satisfy your students’ thirst for understanding?  I’d love your thoughts since I suspect this will happen again.  In the meantime, I need a stiff drink to recuperate.  Time for some hot chocolate!!

Thanks and until next time, keep sharing the faith.

Now one might ask why I would not be looking forward to such a call.  For me, it was intimidation.  Similar to my initial discernment for becoming a catechist, I didn’t think I was qualified to teach adults.  It’s one thing to teach 6th graders.  I can anticipate most questions and respond to most of what they throw my way.  Adults?  Not so much.

My primary concern was that adults can obviously pose more difficult questions and I feared getting into a debate over theology.  While I’m comfortable in my faith, I’m not the best debater; so I wasn’t sure I was the best one for the job. As I digested the information on the answering machine, it reminded me of another blogger who experienced the opposite type of request.  Christian from Smaller Manhattans was an RCIA catechist who was asked to teach a 6th grade class.  I remember him saying that he wasn’t all that excited at the prospect of switching groups, but he quickly began to love teaching the 6th grade.  While I was adding RCIA versus switching, I started to wonder if my experience would be similar to Christian’s.

It’s funny how the Holy Spirit works.  I got a message on a Monday and was supposed to meet with the director after Mass on the coming Sunday.  I couldn’t stop thinking about it all week long.  With prayer, intimidation became curiosity and curiosity turned into excitement, all before even having met with the director.  It didn’t take long for him to convince me to come to the next session to observe.

Two days later, I was sitting around a table with 3 other catechists and one catechumen.  Everyone was very welcoming and I felt quite comfortable for a fly on the wall.  I was there to observe as one catechist presented on the faith topic of that particular session and the other catechists offered additional insights.  All I can say is that for an observer, I couldn’t keep my mouth shut!!  I participated like I was a veteran of the group even though I had not prepared to do so.  If felt natural and it felt right.  The team is a great team with everyone bringing a slightly different perspective on how to “live” the faith.  The dialogue was insightful and I learned quite a bit myself.

So guess what.  I’m a RCIA catechist as well now.  I find myself looking forward to the next session with excitement and eagerness.  That’s a good sign, right?  I’m thankful for the wisdom of both my pastor and my CRE, because if they hadn’t initiated this, I don’t think it would have ever happened.

Until next time, keep sharing the faith!

Our keynote speaker for the English program was Joe Paprocki from Loyola Press.  My loyal readers will recognize him from my frequent referrals to his blog, Catechist’s Journey; but besides being an insightful blogger on catechesis, he is also an author as well as an 8th grade catechist.  His address, “Catechesis That Enters Through ‘Their Door’ but Leaves Through ‘Your Door’” was all about connecting with your students’ lives with practical tips for overcoming the generational gap that can exist between catechist and student.  I think his insights were spot on since I experience what he pointed out each week with my 6th graders.

Aside from Joe’s address, there were a number of workshop options available throughout the rest of the day.  I attended a morning session called TIPS which shared creative ways to make that class more interactive and more organized to help foster a higher level of learning while keeping the students active and engaged through the class session and throughout the year.  For the afternoon session, I chose to attend a presentation by our diocesan Office for the New Evangelization of Youth and Young Adults.  This session was a perfect compliment to Joe’s comments because it explored the mindset of today’s youth when it comes to God.  It focused on reading the signals that the youth are sending us and offered some practical approached to strenghting our own signals back to them regarding the Good News.

In reflection, I’m glad that I atteneded this year’s congress.  Not only did I learn a lot from those presenting at the event, but I benefited greatly from the interaction with and participation of the attendees, many of which are more experienced that me in catechesis.  As an added benefit, I got to meet some really great people there and was inspired by the focus and support that the Archdiocese of Boston places on this ministry.

Until next time, keep sharing the faith!

In looking over his list of over 100 speakers, I came upon Matthew Pinto. Much of Matt’s work focuses around Catholic youth, young adults and family life. As a Catechist, that resonated loudly with me because I constantly see the influence that family has, both positive and negative, on the faith development of today’s youth and young adults.

As part of his ministry, Matt has spoken on a number of television and radio shows, including Life on the Rock, Mother Angelica Live!, and Living His Life Abundantly, both explaining and defending our faith.  He has also participated in a number of seminars across the country covering a wide variety of topics that are important to having a fruitful Catholic life and he continues to speak on many important Catholic issues.

Prior to starting his ministry of evangelization and apologetics, Matt ran a successful advertising business. After heeding God’s call, Matt sold his business and began his work with youth and young adults through the Diocese of San Diego.  Over the years Matt has authored or co-authored a number of works, including “Did Adam and Eve Have Belly Buttons? and 199 Other Questions from Catholic Teenagers”, “Did Jesus Have a Last Name? and 199 Other Questions from Catholic Teenagers” and “Friendly Defenders Catholic Flash Cards”.

In addition to his writing, Matt is also a co-founder of CatholicExchange.com and in 1996 he teamed up with Patrick Madrid to co-found Envoy Magazine, which Matt was also formerly the president of.  Currently, he is the president as well as founder of Ascension Press and lives with his wife and five children in Pennsylvania.

I’ve been fortunate to have had this opportunity to profile Matt.  Learning about all of his work and accomplishments has been inspirational.  He has strengthened my own belief of just how important it is for us to continue to guide our youth to a fruitful life with and in Christ.

Until next time, keep sharing the faith!!

As you may know, 6th grade Catechesis focuses on the Bible, mostly the Old Testament with ties to the New Testament to show how the old foretells and connects to the new. The first week’s lesson is about what the Bible is. The first reaction of my students, of course, is that it is a book. I like to point out that is is not a book, but a library of books and I explain why that is the case. I also like to ask how many students know if they have a Bible at home and where it is. I’m generally disappointed by the result of the informal poll. This year, two kids knew they had one but didn’t know where and one knew where his Children’s Bible was. To be honest, that was better then last year so I can take comfort that we are trending up.

We also review what the purpose of the Bible is as well as the different types of writing that can be found within the books of the Bible. I’m still amazed at how many different writing styles are utilized, but my students aren’t as excited about that as I am. Maybe it’s because it’s the first class and they are being cautious? Anyway, before class ended, I handed out a letter for my students to take home to their parents, the parent interview I spoke about last week and a small prayer sheet with some basic prayers they would need to learn if they didn’t know them already. Lastly, I showed the class one of my favorite videos about the Bible. It was a fun way to show the different things we would learn this year.

For week two, we started class reviewing the results of their interview. A couple of them forgot to bring it and one I think forgot to do it, but since I wasn’t collecting them, that was disappointing but incidental. We started with discussing if anything surprised them about their parents’ responses. Since shyness fell upon the class, I started going around and asking for responses to the specific questions. Most responses were straight forward, but I think it was a valuable exercise in getting the child and the parent talking about some faith topics. I think I will tweak how I do this next year, but the concept is a keeper and may even send another interview home later in the year … maybe around Lent?

This week’s topic was the Creation Stories. This is a good way to start because it is something that most of them are already familiar with. We discuss what happens in each story, how the stories differ, what the stories tell us about God and what our roles are as human beings in relation to the rest of creation. I love how this concept of stewardship ties into the one of the Church’s social teachings. Even at 6th grade, these teachings are relevant.

During class, we got into an off topic discussion on Heaven, Hell and Purgatory. I don’t remember how we got there, but there were a lot of questions around this topic, and I mean a lot:  ”Who goes to heaven?” “What is Purgatory?” “Once you go to Hell, can you ever get out?” “How long do you have to spend in Purgatory?” “Do animals go to Heaven?” “What do you mean squirrels don’t go to Heaven?” “If I die with my dog, my dog doesn’t go to Heaven?” I’m expecting some hate mail from the animal responses, but we’ll see how it goes. That being said, it was a lively discussion and it gave me a sign. There is interest on their part and there are questions that they are looking to have answered. That means that there is hope in enhancing their faith forward this year if I go about it the right way.

Before class ended, I handed out rosary beads to all of my students in honor of October being the month of the Rosary and a small pamphlet on how to pray the Rosary. I’m hoping this may spark a devotion or two at home. I found out as I was leaving class, that a few of my students asked our Pastor to bless their new Rosary so I have hope that there is interest and that the seeds that I plant may bear fruit after all.

Until next time, keep sharing the faith.

The meeting lasted about 30 minutes, which gave us 30 minutes to meet with our students in the classrooms.  I went through some of my class rules — standard stuff like raising your hand and waiting to be called on, only one person speaks at a time and the importance of both respect & confidentiality in class.  I stress those last two because I want people to be able to open up in class without concern that they will get ridiculed or that it will get all over town.

I asked the two questions I always like to ask when first meeting my students:

1. “Who’s here because they want to be?”
2. “Who’s here because their parents made them come?”

As you can imagine, the majority were not there because they were excited about religion at 6:30 on a Monday night; and since most were there because of their parents, I’ve decided to try something new this year.  First, I’m sending a letter home with the students at the end of our first full class this coming Monday.  Among other things, the letter will stress the partnership that is essential between me and their parents for this education to be successful for their children.  One hour a week is not enough.  Faith has to be lived and the parents are an integral part of that education.  Understanding that different parents are at different points in their own faith journey, small steps seem to be in order.  Below is an except of my letter in the hopes that conversation can begin at home if it isn’t happening already.

“To be successful in this, I need your partnership and support.  In the spirit of the Parable of the Sower, I trust that the Holy Spirit will make your child’s heart fertile soil and I will help plant the seeds, but I need each of you to water and nurture those seeds so that they bear fruit.  To that extent, I encourage you to ask your child what they learned in class each week and to discuss it with them, even if just for a few minutes.  This will help reinforce that the formation of their faith is important to you too.”

Additionally, I will be asking my students to briefly interview a parent before the next class so that they can better understand why the faith is important to their parents and why their parents feel it is important to teach them about it.  The interview is not profound, but is intended to spark some conversation.  The 5 questions my students will ask their parents are:

1. Why do you think it’s important to send me to religious education?
2. What do you think is the most important thing I can learn through religious education?
3. When you were learning about our faith, what was your favorite topic to learn about?
4. What is your favorite prayer? Why?
5. Who is your favorite Saint? Why?

We will discuss the responses briefly in class and I will ask if anything surprised them when interviewing their parents.  Let’s hope this goes well and I will update all of you in a couple of week when it’s complete.

I wanted to express my thanks to all of you for sticking with me through a slow summer.  I’m hoping to get back to my weekly posts now that classes are back in session.

Until next time, God bless and keep sharing the faith.