Initiation into a Sacramental Life
Sometimes it can seem like we are just preparing children for the sacraments of initiation when we should be preparing them for a sacramental life. John Paul II wrote very strongly about this:...
View ArticleThe Joys of Parish Life
OK, so “joys” is ever so slightly tongue-in-cheek… I am swamped in paperwork for the beginning of the year. I cannot WAIT to actually begin teaching. But as with any job, you spend a...
View ArticleTeenagers will be teenagers
Yesterday late afternoon I was on a bus from Chelsea heading back down south over the river. It was the time of day when kids were on their way home from school and I...
View ArticleDiscipline in catechesis
Throughout the year, and depending on the children you catechise, this can very quickly become a talking point. One year, a particularly difficult Confirmation group meant that Tuesday afternoons were...
View ArticleHe who sings prays twice
Up until this year, I never seriously thought about including singing in catechesis. I noticed in some of the resources we use that they recommended hymns or songs for the catechetical session, but I...
View ArticleHow long?
Here I am, still marvelling every day at where I’ve landed, right on the south coast. A lot of adjustment is going on: from the city to the seaside; from a fast-paced lifestyle to...
View Article“Sacramentalisation”
This time of year, filled with First Holy Communions and Confirmations, is full of joy. It is also a time where we risk “sacramentalising” another batch of young people or adults, perhaps without...
View Article‘One Message’ Formation
Tomorrow I am going to a parish to lead a formation session with some Confirmation catechists. I think few of them have been catechists before, and probably even fewer (if any) have any kind...
View Article“Let’s just stop catechising children”
Joanne McPortland over at Patheos has been causing something of a stir… She is proposing that what is wrong with the parish formation set-up is that it has, for too long, been catechising the...
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