eCatechist

Pray with Me: Seven Simple Ways to Pray with Your Children by Grace Mazza Urbanski

Grace Mazza Urbanski gives parents practical advice on how to help children find opportunities to pray throughout the day. Using warmth, humor, and passion, Urbanski draws on personal experience to show how families are brought closer together through deeper contact with God. Many ideas can be used by catechists in the faith formation programs and then shared with parents.

1) Praying Spontaneously

2) Praying from Memory

3) Praying with Scripture

4) Praying with Song

5) Praying with Silence

6) Praying with Reflection

7) Praying with the Apostleship of Prayer

1594715742

Amazon

Ave Maria Press

View Praying with Grace videos on YouTube

 

The Dailiness of the Christian Faith by Tish Harrison Warren

The kind of spiritual life and disciplines needed to sustain the Christian life are quiet, repetitive and ordinary.

I often want to skip the boring daily stuff to get to the thrill of an edgy faith.

But it is in the dailiness of the Christian faith - the making the bed, the doing the dishes, the praying for our enemies, the reading the Bible, the quiet, the small - that God's transformation takes root and grows.

p. 35 Liturgy of the Ordinary

Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life

Jesus in Our Homes by Patrice Spirou

 

Today the Church is placing an unprecedented amount of emphasis on the need to evangelize families. The Holy Father knows the important role that catechists play in ministering to families. One of the first things Pope Francis did as a new pontiff was to meet with catechists from around the world and explain that to be a good catechist “one cannot be afraid of going beyond one’s comfort zone.”   At this moment in our history, we as catechists are being called to a change in our focus from catechizing the child to evangelizing the family. For many these changes may require giving up what has become comfortable for us.

Families at the Center of Faith Formation. LifelongFaith Associates

In this new book, Families at the Center of Faith Formation, John Roberto outlines eight strategies for developing faith formation that brings to life the Families-at-the-Center Approach.

1. Discovering God in everyday life
2. Forming faith at home through the life cycle
3. Forming faith through milestones
4. Celebrating seasonal events through the year
5. Encounter God in the Bible through the year
6. Connecting families intergenerationally
7. Developing a strong family life
8. Empowering parents and grandparents

As catechetical leaders begin planning for 2017 - 2018, now is a great time to gather together members of the parish staff, faith formation committee, and catechists to explore ways the parish can place "Families at the Center of Faith Formation."

Families at the Center of Faith Formation

LifelongFaith Associates

The Sacrament of Back to School by Lisa Brown

“In that moment, so pregnant with hope, pride, excitement, joy, nervousness, and expectation, we find our everyday sacrament.”

Read

From Building Faith at the Virginia Theological Seminary

It Is the Child Who Leads Us To the Gospel

“It is the child who leads us to the gospel,” writes Eberhard Arnold. In children’s generosity and helpfulness, in their natural happiness, and even in their naughtiness, we can experience a freedom to be ourselves. And children often possess an unshakable faith. Jesus is quite forthright about the role children play in his kingdom: “Unless you become like a child, you cannot enter the kingdom” (Matt. 18:3). We too easily forget this, or worse, resist it. The disciples got upset that so many children were being brought to Jesus. If we’re honest, we too, under the guise of serving Christ’s cause, often make ourselves too busy to pay attention to children.

Continue

10 Ways I Practice Faith While Parenting Teenagers by Miriam McKenney

“When Jamie gets to that age, you’re going to help me, right?”

“How can I get my kids to turn out like yours?”

“Why aren’t you writing all of this down?”

As a mom of three spectacular daughters, I get asked these questions on a regular basis, as if I’ve come up with some magic formula for parenting teenagers. All of my parenting comes with a lot of love, respect, and heavy doses of honesty. And, God.

So, to begin to write it down, I asked my girls what they thought held our family together. Here’s what we came up with:

 

Source: Grow Christians

Home Practices from Building Faith

Home Practices from Building Faith

Intentional Disciples

I would say that an intentional disciple is a person — child, teen, young adult, adult, or oldster — who has heard the call of the Gospel, is seeking to make a real difference in the world, and therefore lives a particular way. What does that way look like? Well, down through the ages persons, families, and entire Christian communities have done the same or similar things that show they are truly growing in faith.

Continue

From Vibrant Faith by Leif Kehrwald

Ministering to Families in the Spirit of the Synod: What’s Next? by Julie Hanlon Rubio - October 21, 2015

 

Julie Hanlon Rubio

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

1:15 to 3:00

Catholic Information Center, Grand Rapids, MI

Live Video Streamed through www.catholicinformationcenter.org.

To Register: Call 616.459.7267

 

On October 8, 2013, Pope Francis announced that in October 2014 there would be an Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on topics related to the family and evangelization. Subsequent communications made clear that the Extraordinary General Assembly would be followed by an Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in October 2015.

The III Extraordinary General Assembly, which was held October 5-19, 2014, addressed the them, "The pastoral challenges of the family in the context of evangelization."

The XIV Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops will be held October 4-25, 2015. This Synod will mark the 50th anniversary of the Synod of Bishops.

The theme of The XIV Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops is "The vocation and mission of the family in the Church and in the contemporary world.” It will continue the work of the III Extraordinary General

For more information on the 2014-2015 Synods of Bishops on the Family, visit the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Dr. Rubio will address the theme of “Ministry to Families in Light of the Synod: What's Next?" She will reflect on the vision and message of Pope Francis’s ministry to and with families and highlight the themes, discussions and forthcoming recommendations from the October 4 – 25 Synod on the Family. She will address areas of forthcoming change and highlight new directions for ministry.

Her presentation is offered for all pastors, pastoral leaders, catechetical leaders, Catholic school principals and parish volunteers.  A special invitation is extended to all staff and volunteers in Catholic organizations, institutions and ministries.

Dr. Rubio’s research brings together Catholic social teaching and Christian theology on marriage and family.  She is the author of Family Ethics: Practices for Christians (Georgetown University Press, 2010). Currently, she is at work on a new book tentatively titled, Both Personal and Political: Catholic Reflections on American Social Problems. Most of her writing comes out of a commitment to bridge the traditional gap between personal morality and social justice. She is professor of Christian ethics at St. Louis University and the director the M.A. program in theology.

 

Spiritual Practices for the Christian Family

Julie Hanlon Rubio

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

7:00 to 8:30

Catholic Information Center, Grand Rapids, MI

Video Streamed through www.catholicinformationcenter.org.

To Register: Call 616.459..7267

 

Using ideas from Familiaris Corsortio Rubio will highlight five spiritual tasks of families as they acknowledge the challenges of over-scheduled and stressed life. She will help them come to recognize family as a school of virtue while acknowledging and accepting the imperfection of everyday life. At the close of the session, participants will select one family spiritual practice as they renew their commitment as disciples.

The Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio (On the Christian Family in the Modern World) by Pope John Paul II. 1981 is available at the Vatican website.

Julie Hanlon Rubio’s teaching, writing and research in theology and family ethics is grounded in real-life experience of trying to make the works of mercy and justice as central to her family as homework and sports. Rubio wears many hats: wife, mother, professor, theologian, and author. She is professor of Christian ethics at St. Louis University and the director the M.A. program in theology.

U. S. Catholic Interview

Spiritual Practices for the Christian Family by Julie Hanlon Rubio - October 20, 2015

Julie Hanlon Rubio

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

7:00 to 8:30

Catholic Information Center, Grand Rapids, MI

Video Streamed through www.catholicinformationcenter.org.

To Register: Call 616.459..7267

 

Using ideas from Familiaris Corsortio Rubio will highlight five spiritual tasks of families as they acknowledge the challenges of over-scheduled and stressed life. She will help them come to recognize family as a school of virtue while acknowledging and accepting the imperfection of everyday life. At the close of the session, participants will select one family spiritual practice as they renew their commitment as disciples.

The Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio (On the Christian Family in the Modern World) by Pope John Paul II. 1981 is available at the Vatican website.

Julie Hanlon Rubio’s teaching, writing and research in theology and family ethics is grounded in real-life experience of trying to make the works of mercy and justice as central to her family as homework and sports. Rubio wears many hats: wife, mother, professor, theologian, and author. She is professor of Christian ethics at St. Louis University and the director the M.A. program in theology.

U. S. Catholic Interview

Beatiudes on Film... for children! from Thinking Faith

In a new series, we will be exploring the Beatitudes through the medium of children’s films. We’ve chosen eight films – from classics to recent award-winners – through which school-age children can gain a better understanding of each of the eight blessings imparted by Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel. Thinking Faith

Thinking Faith is the online journal of the Jesuits in Britain. Explore our website to find articles and reviews which will help you think about your faith and think, through your faith, about the world.

A Father's Faith by Tom McGrath

Wisdom borrowed from St. Joseph

 

St. Joseph seems to have been a man of few words but plenty of action. The brief stories that mention him in the Gospels leave us with a vivid impression of a strong, supportive man who revealed his feelings and beliefs more in what he did than what he said. Over the years, I have come to appreciate this humble carpenter who always seems to stand a short distance from center stage. As a foster father he fostered many great traits in his son, Jesus. Through my prayer and reflection I have witnessed four wisdom principles in St. Joseph, the patron saint of fathers, workers and of the universal church.

Source: America

Continue Reading

Six Things To Do When School Is Out

Lisa Dewey Wells, author of the Wonder of Children blog, offers six things that the traditional classroom teacher might consider for summer renewal. Excellent adivce for all catechists.

Six things to do when school is out.

World Meeting of Families: September 22 - 27, 2015

8th World Meeting of Families

Theme: Love is Our Mission: The Family Fully Alive

World of the Family Meetings were instituted by St. John Paul II and have taken place every three years, starting with the first one in Rome in 1994.

 

World Meeting of Families

Preparatory Catechesis

Spirituality Center

 

CNN News

 

At Home With Our Faith: Lenten Resources

Click Here

 

What is Love and Logic® for Parents?

"I don't understand it. The techniques my parents used so effectively just don't seem to work with kids today." Does this statement sound familiar to you? A lot of parents today are wondering what to do with their kids and are frustrated because the old techniques just don't seem to get the job done.

Parents want to enjoy their kids, have fun with them, and enjoy a less stressful family life. But even if their kids are trouble-free right now, they fear what the coming teenage years will bring.

At no time in history have parents been more unsure of their parental role. Even the best are not all that sure about whether they are using the best techniques. They say that their kids don't appear to be much like the ones they knew in years past.

A lot of conflicting philosophies have been presented over the last 30 years. Many of these sound good, but don't seem to do the job of helping children become respectful, responsible, and a joy to be around.

Many ideas, offered with the best of intentions, center around making sure that kids are comfortable and feeling good about themselves in order to have a good self- concept. However, we have discovered that self-confidence is achieved through struggle and achievement, not through someone telling you that you are number one. Self-confidence is not developed when kids are robbed of the opportunity to discover that they can indeed solve their own problems with caring adult guidance.

There is, however, an approach to raising kids that provides loving support from parents while at the same time expecting kids to be respectful and responsible.

This program is known as Parenting with Love and Logic, a philosophy founded by Jim Fay and Foster W. Cline, M.D., and based on the experience of a combined total of over 75 years working with and raising kids.

Read

Remaining Faithful by Msgr. John Zenz

On a regular basis over the past two decades I've had the joy of meeting with a group of men for faith-sharing. Inevitably, one topic is sure to emerge: the faith-life of their adult children and grandchildren. I always try to reassure them that if they themselves remain constant in the practice of their faith, without even needing to "preach" about it, sooner or later their adult children will come back to the practice of the faith. Sometimes it's only after people "leave home" (the Church) that they begin to recognize what they've lost and they return.

For those of us who are the "elders," the challenge is remaining faithful, praying fervently and waiting patiently. The consistency of our witness speaks more than thousands of words and will invite and challenge others to want to know and experience what (or better "who") gives us meaning and hope - Jesus Christ.

Msgr. John Zenz Pastor, Holy Name Parish, Birmingham, MI 

Former Director of Relegious Education for the Archdiocese of Detroit

 

Ernie Harwell and Msgr. John Zenz (The Gospel of Mark)

Msgr. John Zenz  on the Sacraments (USCCB)

 

46% of Children living with two parents of the opposite sex in their first marriage

The new normal for American families. Just 46% of children in the United States live with two parents of the opposite sex who are in their first marriage.

From Quartz of December 26, 2014

www.qv.com

What are the implications for our catechetical and family programing schedules and models?

Come and See by Kristine Rooney

What are the sounds you hear in church?  Of course, there is the presider speaking, the lectors reading and the music.  But what are some of the other sounds?  A toddler wanting his sippy cup?  A purse zipping?  A lady with a cold?  The water from the baptismal font?  These are all sounds that we hear and make in church.  These are the sounds of church, and we need them. 

We need them because it is who we are.  Do you ever feel like you have to bring your best self to Mass?   Or maybe you don’t feel you are at your best, so you don’t even go?  Maybe you have nothing fancy to wear, or you’ve just made too many mistakes that week.  Or maybe you don’t think your children will behave.  Whatever the reason, sometimes we place these high expectations on ourselves of being just right for church.  Or maybe just going to God in prayer. 

But that is not how Jesus feels.  Jesus tells us to simply come.  “Come, and you will see,” (John 1:39).  Wear what you have, bring your mistakes, bring your loud children with sniffles, and come.  We are who we are together!  We stand as a community to profess our faith.  None of us are doing it perfectly.  When we gather together, we become the body of Christ.  Think about that.  Each of us has our own gifts and strengths, and together we form this body of Christ.  We are all needed.  You are needed.

In Mass, we see how we aren’t alone in our struggles.  Have you listened, when you go up for communion, those repeated words?  “Body of Christ…body of Christ…body of Christ.”  That means us too.  We receive Christ, and we become Christ.  That’s pretty powerful.  Eucharist isn’t a lollipop for the good but medicine for the sick.  How reassuring that is!  We can come in our unworthiness, as long as we come.  We grow and are able to respond to God’s love in unfathomable ways when we gather as a people in the light of God. We might be surprised to see how God works in our lives when we come together in community as Christ’s body.  No matter how we come.

When Jesus tells his disciples to come and see, what did they do?  “So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, “  (John 1:39).  They went!  And when they went, they stayed.  There was just something about Jesus that made them want more.  That is what church can do for you.  So don’t worry about being your best.  Listen to those sounds in church and smile.    Just be, and come.  That’s all Jesus wants from us.

Kristine Rooney is Pastoral Associate for Adult Faith Enrichment and Evangelization, St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish, Schenectady, NY