This is a paid advertisement in the October-December 2021 issue. Advertisements should not be viewed as endorsements from the publisher. To contact Sophia Institute click here. Or call 1-800-888-9344. Let them know you saw the ad here.Read more
Categories
- Adult Faith Formation
- Articles from Bishops
- Catechesis and Culture
- Catechizing Children
- Catechizing with Art
- Catholic Schools
- Evangelization
- Leadership & Catechist Formation
- Liturgical Catechesis
- Marriage and Family
- Pedagogy & Methodology
- Personal Witness Stories
- RCIA
- Sacramental Preparation
- Saints and Holy Men & Women
- Scriptural Catechesis
- Spiritual Formation and Prayer
- Youth Ministry
Articles Under: Catholic Schools
“T here seemed to be a fire burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones . The effort to restrain it wearied me, I could not bear it .” Jeremiah 20:9 An Unexpected Call In September, 2018, I received a bemusing phone call from Anthony Gordon, the director of Catholic schools in a rural Australian Diocese. He asked me whether I would consider applying for the position of Diocesan Director of Religious Education and Mission. At the time, I was working in my “dream job” as a professor of religious education at the University of Notre Dame in Sydney, Australia... Read more
The following is a true conversation that took place in my classroom with a group of seventh graders. I was pregnant with my daughter, Annie, at the time: Student: Mrs. Deighan, when Annie is in middle school, are you going to let her have a Tik Tok? Me: Absolutely not. Besides, fourteen years from now, Tik Tok probably won’t be popular anymore. Student: But it’s Tik Tok! Me: Let me ask you something: have you ever heard of Myspace ? Another student: What’s that? Me: My point exactly. This conversation was certainly not a stand-alone one. There have been many... Read more
On March 9, 2015, protests erupted among students of the University of Cape Town, South Africa under the slogan #RhodesMustFall. They demanded that the statue of British colonial-era politician and diamond magnate Cecil Rhodes be removed from a prominent place on their campus. The protest was given further impetus internationally by movements such as Black Lives Matter as well as reactions to widespread accusations of institutional racism. In addition to inspiring demands for other statues to be torn down or relocated—from Edward Colson in Bristol, England, to Hannah Duston in New Hampshire—the broader demands of the protest gave birth to... Read more
Stay connected to your parish or school. Download myParishApp here for free. This is a paid advertisement in the July-September 2021 issue. Advertisements should not be viewed as endorsements from the publisher.Read more
To learn more about Echoing the Mystery or to order click here . This is a paid advertisement in the July-September 2021 issue. Advertisements should not be viewed as endorsements from the publisher.Read more
On my fiftieth birthday, I received as a gift a detailed map of the world. The map holds pins of places traveled on behalf of Franciscan University of Steubenville and the names of cohort members in the Master of Catholic Leadership graduate program, of which I am the director. Each name on the map is significant as is the story of how they have come to their leadership role. In March of 2021, I had the privilege of adding my own pin to this map. Along with Fr. David Pivonka, TOR, and Dr. Daniel Kempton, Vice President for Academic Affairs,... Read more
In the 1997 General Directory for Catechesis , “Missionary Initiation” is listed as a sixth and unique task of catechesis. The 2020 Directory for Catechesis folds this task into the fifth task of catechesis, “Introduction to Community Life,” with the logic that an integral part of being formed in Christian community is learning to contribute to the growth of the community through our baptismal vocation as missionary disciples. [1] The Catechism of the Catholic Church calls mission work “a requirement of the Church’s catholicity,” meaning that because the Church is for all humanity, we must be a welcoming people, taking... Read more
It’s no secret that over the past year the use of media has become a near necessity, causing its importance in our youth programs to skyrocket. The conversation about what it looks like to effectively use media within the realm of youth ministry is more paramount today than it has ever been in the Church’s history. There is certainly no lack of differing perspectives when it comes to the best media practices, and there’s not necessarily “one right way” to engage with the youth culture through media. But there are most definitely some dangers in regard to the use of... Read more
I’ve had the pleasure of being a certified teacher for twenty years now. I started my teaching career in a public school, and have spent the last five years teaching middle school students at a Catholic school outside of Phoenix, Arizona. Most teachers will agree that the greatest reward of teaching comes from watching students grow academically and socially. In a Catholic school we have an added bonus and responsibility, which is to help guide students as they form their spiritual life. Our youth face the difficult task of navigating a social and public landscape that is often in opposition... Read more