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.
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
What is the cause of their non-engagement?
Is it the MESSAGE? Is it the MESSENGER? Is it the METHOD?
NO! NO! YES!
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
Catechists are not teachers
of a subject.
Catechists are facilitators of
an encounter.
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
• Storytelling
• Sacramentality
• Tradition
• Spirituality and Prayer
• Experiences of Sharing God’s Mercy
• Entering through Their Door
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
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.
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
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
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
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
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
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
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
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
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
We believe in INVISIBLE realities. How do we make
the invisible, visible? The intangible, tangible?
SACRAMENTALITY
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
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
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
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.
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
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)
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
SACRAMENTALITY
Music
& Song
Silence
Story-
telling
Moveme
nt &
Gesture
Sign &
Symbol
Ritual
A LANGUAGE
OF MYSTERY
Sacred
Space
Works
of
Mercy
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
SACRAMENTALITY
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
SACRAMENTALITY
Music
& Song
Silence
Story-
telling
Moveme
nt &
Gesture
Sign &
Symbol
Ritual
A LANGUAGE
OF MYSTERY
Sacred
Space
Works
of
Mercy
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
SACRAMENTALITY
Music
& Song
Silence
Story-
telling
Moveme
nt &
Gesture
Sign &
Symbol
Ritual
A LANGUAGE
OF MYSTERY
Sacred
Space
Works
of
Mercy
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
SACRAMENTALITY
Music
& Song
Silence
Story-
telling
Moveme
nt &
Gesture
Sign &
Symbol
Ritual
A LANGUAGE
OF MYSTERY
Sacred
Space
Works
of
Mercy
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
SACRAMENTALITY
Music
& Song
Silence
Story-
telling
Movement
& Gesture
Sign &
Symbol
Ritual
A LANGUAGE
OF MYSTERY
Sacred
Space
Works
of
Mercy
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
SACRAMENTALITY
Music
& Song
Silence
Story-
telling
Moveme
nt &
Gesture
Sign &
Symbol
Ritual
A LANGUAGE
OF MYSTERY
Sacred
Space
Works
of
Mercy
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
Music
& Song
Silence
Story-
telling
Moveme
nt &
Gesture
Sign &
Symbol
Ritual
A LANGUAGE
OF MYSTERY
Sacred
Space
Works
of
Mercy
SACRAMENTALITY
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
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
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
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
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
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
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
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
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
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
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
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
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
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.
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
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
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
Too many people
grow up with a
notion of God as a
powerful, angry
being to be feared.
SPIRITUALITY & PRAYER
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
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.
SPIRITUALITY & PRAYER
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
And yet, our Tradition
teaches us the exact
opposite. God has drawn
near to us through the
Incarnation of his Son,
Jesus Christ.
SPIRITUALITY & PRAYER
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
And Jesus remains near to
us through the Holy Spirit
and the Sacraments of
the Church.
SPIRITUALITY & PRAYER
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
With this in mind,
St. Ignatius of
Loyola taught that
prayer should
resemble “one
friend speaking to
another.”
SPIRITUALITY & PRAYER
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
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)
SPIRITUALITY & PRAYER
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
Scripture tells
us that faith
without works
is dead.
EXPERIENCES OF SHARING GOD’S MERCY
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
Jesus’ Parable of
The Last
Judgment (Mt. 25)
tells us that we
will be judged on
our love for
others.
EXPERIENCES OF SHARING GOD’S MERCY
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
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.
EXPERIENCES OF SHARING GOD’S MERCY
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
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
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
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.
ENTERING THROUGH THEIR DOOR
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
ENTERING THROUGH THEIR DOOR
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.
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
ENTERING THROUGH THEIR DOOR
We need to equip
catechists with basic
technological skills
to enhance their
faith formation
experiences.
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
ENTERING THROUGH THEIR DOOR
We need to equip
catechists with basic
technological skills
to enhance their
faith formation
experiences.
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
ENTERING THROUGH THEIR DOOR
We need to equip
catechists with basic
technological skills
to enhance their
faith formation
experiences.
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
ENTERING THROUGH THEIR DOOR
We need to equip
catechists with basic
technological skills
to enhance their
faith formation
experiences.
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
ENTERING THROUGH THEIR DOOR
We need to equip
catechists with basic
technological skills
to enhance their
faith formation
experiences.
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
ENTERING THROUGH THEIR DOOR
We need to equip
catechists with basic
technological skills
to enhance their
faith formation
experiences.
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
Six Tools for a More Evangelizing Catechesis
Six Tools for a More
Evangelizing Catechesis
Joe Paprocki, DMin
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