Resources Featured
on the Catholic Faith Education Blog
On October 31, I became grand-papa for the third time. Meet my new grand-daughter, Katherine (click on the photo on the right to enlarge it). I wanted to share with you my joy at this addition to our family and to request your prayers (and those of your students) so that God will shower blessings on her and her parents!
§Preparing for Advent: A Webinar - Joe Paprocki, National Consultant for Faith Formation for Loyola Press and veteran catechist, invites catechists, religion teachers, and RCIA leaders to join him in this Webinar that explores how to create engaging advent-themed faith-formation activities drawn from the Sunday Scripture Readings of Cycle C (the Gospel of Luke). Read More...
§Teaching About Jesus Using “New Media” — Catechist's Journey - Read More...
§ Israel: an Archaeological Journey is a 71 page document published by the Biblical Archaeological Society of Jerusalem. This resource is available for download in PDF format on the Web site Biblioblog. Read More...
§International Catholic University: Self-Study Courses - graduate level instruction in theology and philosophy, with lecture programs that can function as part of a master's degree program or can be used by students who wish to learn more about the Catholic tradition on their own. Read More...
§Homilies and Exegesis for Sunday Readings - The Atheneum of Ohio Web site provides us with homilies and brief exegesis for the Sunday readings. Read More...
§Explore Church History - hundreds of pages of information about church history and links to many other sources. Read More...
§Catholic Bibles Online - Looking for the text of Catholic Bibles Online? As far as I am aware of, there are 4 English Catholic translations of the Bible available online. Read More...
§ Two resources that help prepare lectors to read the Sunday readings. Read More...
§Catechesis of the Popes - "This site is dedicated to looking at the Wednesday General Audiences of the Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI. " Read More...
§Confirmation: Rite for Life - This video is from Oblate Media and Communication and is an 8 minutes segment of a two segment video lasting approximately 26 minutes. Read More...
§ "Theology on Tap is a program of the Office of Young Adult Ministry that reaches out to young adults who want to explore the role of faith in their daily lives. Read More...
§Divorce, Remarriage, and Annulment: Church Teachings - The Web site of the Archdiocese of Baltimore offers, on its Metropolitan Tribunal page, a selection of documents on the teachings of the Catholic Church as pertains to divorce, remarriage and annulment. Read More...
§ Learn more about Saints of the Bible - Bible Saint Trivia Who Said That? Illuminated Bible Saints. Read More...
§Awakening to the mystery that is here - a new audio visual meditation DVD produced by Sr. Monica Butler (Sisters of Mercy) along with Val Goldsack. Read More...
Technology
and Religious Education
§Ten Top Tips for Teaching with New Media - "we’ve put together this brand-new resource for you containing ten of the best tips and resources on how to bring new media into the classroom.
Background articles and commentaries, homilies, children's stories, art, clipart, videos and other resources on the Mass readings for upcoming Sundays:
"The life of the body is the soul; the life of the soul is God." - St Anthony of Padua
Consider God's generosity towards you rather than your own unworthiness in His sight, and live in His strength, rather than in the thoughts of your own weakness. -- St. Vincent de Paul
Scripture
Postersand Cards
Download and print these posters. Click on the images to see a large version.
And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight. --Philippians 1.9
And he has made the world firm,
not to be moved. Your throne stands firm from of old; from everlasting you are, O LORD. -- Psalm 93.1-2
"Here comes another Advent and we aren’t up to it. The thought of digging through boxes in the basement, finding the Advent wreath, mustering the energy to shop for gifts may leave us drained. We were numb and cozy in our safe routines; how will we ever find the time or the resources to do more?"
"Early in life, we become aware that humanity is wounded. We learn this from Scripture, observation and experiences of our own weakened wills and darkened minds. How are we as Christians to look upon mental illness and those who suffer from it?"
"Six weeks after my only child died unexpectedly, the victim of teenage suicide, I sent an e-mail to a friend: “I’m eating chocolate for Lent. That’s a first for me. But I decided that I’m suffering enough and don’t need to add anything or give anything up. I think my son’s unlived life is enough for now.”"
"When I sit in jail thinking of war and peace and the problem of human freedom," Dorothy Day once wrote, "of jails, drug addiction, prostitution and the apathy of great masses of people who believe that nothing can be done--when I thought of these things I was all the more confirmed in my faith in the little way of St. Thérèse. We do the things that come to hand, we pray our prayers and beg also for an increase of faith--and God will do the rest."
"There is no more concise job definition of the catechist than this ‘job description’ given to us by the Blessed Mother, the first catechist. That job has as its all—to teach, to nurture and to evangelize – the deep relationship between Jesus, the Bridegroom and His Bride, the Church."
"The occasion of hearing Christ’s voice is an action of grace that is deeply personal, yet never private, since the Spirit works likewise in and through the entire community of faith, mediating the Paschal mystery throughout the whole life of the Church. Yet experience has taught us that a fundamentalist tendency may creep in that attempts to privatize this meaning to the exclusion of other authentic voices emanating from the Church."
"One of the most difficult things about being a Director of Religious Education is how to handle cases that involve divorced and remarried people who want to become Catholic."
Articles in the October/November 2009 edition of the CATECHIST Magazine - Online edition:
"Directors of Religious Education rely on volunteers. The task of transmitting faith from one generation to the next depends on many voices and helping hands."
"This Advent Season, as you help your students prepare their hearts to celebrate the Nativity of the Lord, also lead them toward a deeper appreciation for gift-giving."
"Perhaps it's my enthusiastic interest in buying, cooking, and eating food that causes me to love an Advent symbol not seen often enough on Jesse trees. I delight in the symbol of manna."
- "we’ve put together this brand-new resource for you containing ten of the best tips and resources on how to bring new media into the classroom.
