six tools for a more evangelizing catechesis · joe paprocki, d.min., is national consultant for...

Six Tools for a More

Evangelizing Catechesis

Joe Paprocki, DMin

Joe Paprocki, D.Min., is National Consultant for Faith Formation at

Loyola Press, where, in addition to his traveling/speaking

responsibilities, he works on the development team for faith

formation curriculum resources.

Joe has more than 40 years of experience in pastoral ministry

including 10 years as a Catholic school teacher. Joe has presented

keynotes, presentations, and workshops in more than 150 dioceses

in North America and is the author of numerous books, including the

best seller The Catechist’s Toolbox, A Church on the Move, Under

the Influence of Jesus, and 7 Keys to Spiritual Wellness.

Joe has a Master’s Degree in Pastoral Studies from Loyola

University of Chicago/Institute for Pastoral Studies and a Doctor of

Ministry Degree from the University of St. Mary of the Lake in

Mundelein, IL.

Joe and his wife Joanne live in Evergreen Park and have 2 grown

children, 2 grandchildren, and 2 more on the way.

Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis

What are these RE students thinking? “Fill-in” the thought bubbles.


http://tienbui5p42.blogspot.com/2013/05/is-school-just-plain-boring.html

What is the cause of their non-engagement?

Is it the MESSAGE? Is it the MESSENGER? Is it the METHOD?

NO! NO! YES!


Catechists are not teachers

of a subject.

Catechists are facilitators of

an encounter.


• Storytelling

• Sacramentality

• Tradition

• Spirituality and Prayer

• Experiences of Sharing God’s Mercy

• Entering through Their Door


STORYTELLING

If we want to proclaim the

great deeds of the Lord in a

way that touches the hearts of

those we teach, we need to

reclaim the art of storytelling

and invite those we teach to

reflect on the stories of the

Gospel as a way of

encountering Jesus.


We don’t make disciples of Jesus Christ

by engaging others in debate or by

lecturing to them about principles of

dogma or through apologetics, as

important as those tools may be later in

the process of catechesis. Jesus’

preferred method of engaging others

and teaching about the Kingdom was

through storytelling.

STORYTELLING


By telling the stories of the

Bible, we proclaim the

narrative of our salvation: we

are a people who are rescued,

restored, and reassured.

STORYTELLING


By telling the stories of the

saints, we present examples of

real people who sought to

follow Jesus more closely and

succeeded, often in the face

of great challenges.

STORYTELLING


It is not enough to tell

stories from the Bible or the

lives of the saints. We need

to tell stories of how we

have encountered Jesus in

our own lives...whether they

be moments of joy or

struggle.

STORYTELLING


We believe in INVISIBLE realities. How do we make

the invisible, visible? The intangible, tangible?

SACRAMENTALITY


In order for us to encounter

Mystery, we must rely on a

“language of mystery” – a

symbolic language. Catholics are

“masters” of this language since

it is the essence of sacramentality.

We most often use this language

of mystery in our

liturgical/sacramental

celebrations.

Works

of Mercy

Sacred

Space

Music &

Song

Silence

Story-

telling

Movement

& Gesture

Sign &

Symbol

Ritual

A

LANGUAGE

OF

MYSTERY


SACRAMENTALITY

A Language of Mystery

(symbolic action) serves as a

vehicle that is capable of

transporting a human being

from a narrative of defeat,

dysfunction, and despair, to

one of rescue, restoration,

and reassurance.


SACRAMENTALITY

Through the integration

of a language of mystery

in our faith formation

setting, we create

“climate change” – we

create a “climate of

prayer.” (GDC 85)


SACRAMENTALITY

Music

& Song

Silence

Story-

telling

Moveme

nt &

Gesture

Sign &

Symbol

Ritual

A LANGUAGE

OF MYSTERY

Sacred

Space

Works

of

Mercy


SACRAMENTALITY


SACRAMENTALITY

Music

& Song

Silence

Story-

telling

Moveme

nt &

Gesture

Sign &

Symbol

Ritual

A LANGUAGE

OF MYSTERY

Sacred

Space

Works

of

Mercy


SACRAMENTALITY

Music

& Song

Silence

Story-

telling

Movement

& Gesture

Sign &

Symbol

Ritual

A LANGUAGE

OF MYSTERY

Sacred

Space

Works

of

Mercy


SACRAMENTALITY

Music

& Song

Silence

Story-

telling

Moveme

nt &

Gesture

Sign &

Symbol

Ritual

A LANGUAGE

OF MYSTERY

Sacred

Space

Works

of

Mercy


Music

& Song

Silence

Story-

telling

Moveme

nt &

Gesture

Sign &

Symbol

Ritual

A LANGUAGE

OF MYSTERY

Sacred

Space

Works

of

Mercy

SACRAMENTALITY


SACRAMENTALITY

Music

& Song

Silence

Story-

telling

Moveme

nt &

Gesture

Sign &

Symbol

Ritual

A LANGUAGE

OF MYSTERY

Sacred

Space

Works

of

Mercy

We faithfully transmit a

heritage of faith as

though carefully handing

down family heirlooms

from one generation to

another.

TRADITION


Many young people move away

from the Catholic faith because

they have not been taught to

embrace the narrative of salvation

history as their own story, instead

dismissing it as little more than

fables and made-up rules and then

replacing it with the definitiveness

of science.

TRADITION


Our first responsibility in

passing on our Faith

Tradition is to teach the

story of salvation history

and to help young people

understand how to interpret

and pray with Scripture, not

use it as a proof text.

TRADITION


A significant part of the

process of passing on

Scripture Tradition is

helping young people to

interpret the Bible and to

understand the difference

between truth and fact.

TRADITION


The second part of our

responsibility in transmitting

our faith tradition is to

faithfully present the four

pillars of the Catholic Faith:

Creed, Sacraments, Morality,

and Prayer.

THE CREED SACRAMENTS MORAL LIFE PRAYERTRADITION


The bottom line is that,

when you love someone

and/or believe in someone,

you should be able to speak

about them, and to describe

them to others so that others

may come to know this

person as you do.

TRADITION


We should be able to describe:

TRADITION

why we personally like this person;

what this person has said and done;

this person’s vision;

what this person can do for others.


As catechists, it is our

responsibility to assess

the progress our young

disciples are making.

Assessment takes the

shape of informal,

formal, and authentic.

TRADITION


Too many people

grow up with a

notion of God as a

powerful, angry

being to be feared.

SPIRITUALITY & PRAYER


Likewise, too many

people think of God

as distant and that

the responsibility is

on us to get his

attention so that he

will draw near to us.



And yet, our Tradition

teaches us the exact

opposite. God has drawn

near to us through the

Incarnation of his Son,

Jesus Christ.



And Jesus remains near to

us through the Holy Spirit

and the Sacraments of

the Church.



With this in mind,

St. Ignatius of

Loyola taught that

prayer should

resemble “one

friend speaking to

another.”



It is necessary nowadays that the

People of God be educated in

the value of silence.

Rediscovering the centrality of

God’s word in the life of the

Church also means rediscovering

a sense of recollection and inner

repose. (Pope Benedict XVI,

Verbum Domini, 66)



Scripture tells

us that faith

without works

is dead.

EXPERIENCES OF SHARING GOD’S MERCY


Jesus’ Parable of

The Last

Judgment (Mt. 25)

tells us that we

will be judged on

our love for

others.



If we want to truly

touch the hearts and

minds of those we

teach, we need to

engage them in works

of mercy/doing service

for others.



Children learn today in

ways that are vastly

different from the way

children learned just a

few generations ago. Old

rules of engagement

don’t resonate with them.

ENTERING THROUGH THEIR DOOR


Today’s young people are “digital

natives” whose lives have always

been intertwined with technology.

They simply expect learning to

involve technology: they don’t see it

as “technology,” they simply see it

as how people communicate.





Our goal is NOT to replace the

catechist with technology!

Rather, our goal is to equip

catechists with technological

tools to assist them in effectively

engaging those they teach.



We need to equip

catechists with basic

technological skills

to enhance their

faith formation

experiences.

Six Tools for a More

Evangelizing Catechesis

Joe Paprocki, DMin

For more information on products or

resources from Loyola Press, visit

www.loyolapress.com or call 800-621-1008.

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