This workshop examines the place of the sacraments within God’s magnificent plan of love. More than simply Catholic rituals, the sacraments are God’s chosen channels of supernatural life, His plan for doing even more than saving us: “‘For this is why the Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man: so that man, by entering into communion with the Word and thus receiving divine sonship, might become a son of God.’  ‘For the Son of God became man so that we might become God’” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, CCC, 460).  This workshop will explore this extraordinary truth, and the provision of God to grace His adopted sons and daughters for a life far beyond their own natural capacity.  This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by William H. Sadlier, Inc.

He is the Alpha and the Omega.  He is in all, before all, through all.  The primary and essential object of catechesis is, to use an expression dear to St. Paul, “the mystery of Christ.” (CT 5)  Therefore everyone who teaches the Catholic faith must be immersed in this mystery.  Using Scripture and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, as well as recent ecclesial documents, this workshop will present the key doctrines that must be taught concerning Jesus Christ.  By examining Jesus’ actions in Scripture, His relationships, and His ways of teaching, we will help catechists unlock the mysteries of Christ, His Incarnation, Redemption, and Second Coming.  This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by William H. Sadlier, Inc.

When speaking to the crowds at World Youth Day in 2000, St. John Paul II said, “It is Jesus in fact that you seek when you dream of happiness . . . It is Jesus who stirs in you the desire to do something great with your lives . . .” (Vigil of Prayer for the 15th World Youth Day, August 19, 2000). It is Jesus Who calls us to do something great with our lives by calling us to be His disciples. He invites us to follow Him, even though being a disciple can be challenging at times, and He provides the grace that we need in order to persevere and remain faithful. It is when we know Him as He truly is that we can become His disciples, invite others to discipleship, and live the unsurpassable joy of the Christian life. This workshop seeks to help us come to know the Person of Jesus as our one essential need, and thus, it will benefit everyone, no matter where we are at on our faith journey.  This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by William H. Sadlier, Inc.

“Through the liturgy Christ, our redeemer and high priest, continues the work of our redemption in, with, and through his Church” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, CCC, 1069). Through the liturgy, the grace that flows from Jesus’ saving work is made available to us so that we may grow in intimacy and communion with the Blessed Trinity — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In the sacred liturgy, we are reminded of all God’s blessings: from creation, to the cross, to our re-creation in sacramental grace. God initiates, we respond, and we will continue responding until Jesus comes again. This workshop offers us an opportunity to learn how the liturgy is an encounter with the Holy Trinity and the primary means for us to live in right relationship with our Lord. This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by William H. Sadlier, Inc.

In the Directory for Catechesis we read that: “The sacraments, celebrated in the liturgy, are a special means that fully communicate him who is proclaimed by the Church” (81). In this workshop, we will explore the principle of sacramentality, which holds that the concrete realities we experience with our senses, like the beautiful things we experience in creation, speak to us about God. God uses the concrete things of our daily lives, the physical beauty of the world, and the things we encounter with our senses, to manifest Himself to us, reveal His love to us, and draw us closer to Himself. This workshop, in particular, will examine the elements we sense in the sacramental rites and how those elements speak to us about God. This workshop is geared in a special way toward catechists of children, whether they are parents, parish catechists, or Catholic school teachers, but the material presented will help formators of all kinds lead those they catechize into a deeper relationship with Christ through the principle of sacramentality.  This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by William H. Sadlier, Inc.

Jesus instituted the sacraments during His earthly ministry, and He entrusted them to the Church, so that the Church could continue His work of salvation and redemption. Regarding the sacraments, the Church teaches us that, “The purpose of the sacraments is to sanctify men, to build up the body of Christ, and, finally, to give worship to God; because they are signs they also instruct. They not only presuppose faith, but by words and objects they also nourish, strengthen, and express it . . .” (Second Vatican Council's Constitution “On the Sacred Liturgy,” Sacrosanctum concilium, SC, 59). Through the sacraments, God pours His divine life into our souls, transforms us to be more like Him, and strengthens us in faith, hope, and charity, so that we can be united with Him and remain faithful to the work entrusted to us. In this workshop, we’ll learn more about the sacraments, deepen in our appreciation for the sacraments, and be better prepared to participate in the sacramental life of the Church. This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by William H. Sadlier, Inc.

The holy Eucharist is the greatest of all gifts, because here Jesus offers His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity to us. Through the Eucharist, we are able to receive the living God and be transformed by His divine life dwelling within us. Mother Church teaches us that “The Eucharist is therefore ‘the source and summit of the Christian life’” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1324, quoting the Second Vatican Council’s Dogmatic Constitution “On the Church,” Lumen gentium 11). Our lives flow from the Eucharist and lead back to the Eucharist, so that we may be filled with God’s life, sent into the world to proclaim the Good News, and be strengthened and refreshed. This workshop will help you, whether you are a priest, parent, parish catechetical leader, catechist, teacher, youth minister, and so on, to better understand the Eucharist and its unique importance in your life.  This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by William H. Sadlier, Inc.

In the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) we read, “The Eucharist is ‘the source and summit of the Christian life.’ . . . In brief, the Eucharist is the sum and summary of our faith: ‘Our way of thinking is attuned to the Eucharist, and the Eucharist in turn confirms our way of thinking’” (1324, 1327). By growing in intimacy with our Eucharistic Lord Jesus and seeking to center our lives around this supreme gift, we learn how to live as grace-filled Christians. In this workshop, we will explore what it means to be a disciple of our Eucharistic Lord and learn how to do so in a way that “breathes with both lungs” — that is, through the traditions of both the Christian East and Christian West (see St. John Paul II's Encyclical Letter, "On Commitment to Ecumenism," Ut unum sint 54). This workshop is, thus, for all of us, whether we are parents, priests, religious, lay catechists, schoolteachers, and so on.  This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by William H. Sadlier, Inc.

This workshop will explore the necessary connection of catechesis to the sacramental and liturgical life of the Church in our work as catechists.  The liturgy comes from the “living memory” of the Church, that is, the Holy Spirit (Catechism of the Catholic Church, CCC, 1099).  Through the Holy Spirit working in the liturgy, the truths of the faith are passed on like a special family memory, from generation to generation, down to the present day.  Each time we participate in the liturgy, we receive the treasure of the Deposit of Faith.  But the liturgy is more than a family heirloom – it is reality. It is the place in which “Christ Jesus works in fullness for the transformation of human beings” (Catechesi Tradendae, CT, 23).  As catechists, we have a call: the privilege of ensuring that those we catechize understand and grow in appreciation for this encounter with God.  We bring others into God’s saving work in the liturgy so they too can be transformed by the One Who loves us fully.  We teach about the liturgy to pass on the magnificent inheritance of faith to the next generation, echoing the action of catechists from the centuries before us.  This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by William H. Sadlier, Inc.

This workshop outlines the Church’s purpose and understanding of sacred liturgy in light of God’s wonderful plan of salvation. It helps youth ministers develop a Catholic identity with their teens through the Sacraments of the Eucharist and Reconciliation, offering pragmatic and well-tested ways to help teens participate in the liturgy, as well as strategies to help teens see the Eucharist as the ‘source and summit’ of their lives.  This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by William H. Sadlier, Inc.

“Mother Church earnestly desires that all the faithful should be led to that fully conscious, and active participation in liturgical celebrations which is demanded by the very nature of the liturgy” (Second Vatican Council’s Constitution On the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum concilium, SC, 14). Mother Church desires that all of us — children included — fully and actively participate in the Eucharistic liturgy, the Holy Mass, so that we may experience the beauty and profundity that is present in every moment of the Mass and the joy of allowing Jesus to help us become the persons He has created us to be through its celebration. Every gesture and word of the Mass has significance, and children — when taught the concrete meaning of each element —can joyfully and excitedly engage with the Mass and encounter the Person of Jesus. This workshop offers a method to introduce the liturgy to children, in order for them to enter into the liturgical rites and to pray the Mass to the best of their abilities.  This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by William H. Sadlier, Inc.

Called to Him.  Kept in Him.  Made new in Him.  God’s generosity and His fatherly love for His young daughters and sons are strikingly evident in the gift of these two sacraments to those newly arrived at the age of reason.  This workshop unfolds the Church’s guidance for parents and parishes in preparing souls for Confession and Communion.  By considering the role of both the home and the parochial settings, a balanced and effective formation can be achieved.  This pragmatic workshop also addresses common struggles and cultural issues that Catholic communities face in developing responsible and robust approaches to helping young souls be open to grace.  This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by William H. Sadlier, Inc.

En este taller exploraremos los elementos esenciales sobre la misión más importante: la evangelización. La misión de evangelizar es la vocación propia de la Iglesia. Como miembros de la Iglesia cada uno de nosotros estamos llamados a participar en esa misión. “La Buena Nueva del Reino que llega y que ya ha comenzado, es para todos los hombres de todos los tiempos. Aquellos que ya la han recibido y que están reunidos en la comunidad de salvación, pueden y deben comunicarla y difundirla” (San Pablo VI, Exhortación apostólica, La Evangelización en el Mundo Contemporáneo, Evangelii Nuntiandi (EN) 13).  La misión de evangelizar es un llamado personal a participar en la edificación del Reino de Dios y a dar testimonio de la persona de Jesucristo en nuestras comunidades y en el mundo. Este taller es una oportunidad para que los líderes de ministerios parroquiales, feligreses o catequistas puedan tener la inspiración y un camino claro para evangelizar y ser testigos en todas partes y en todo momento. 

La creación de este taller fue posible gracias a una generosa subvención de Our Sunday Visitor.

Este taller explicará el contenido del kerigma y la Buena Nueva, y en él, exploraremos diferentes formas de compartir las palabras y los hechos de Jesucristo con los demás. Seas padre o madre de familia, catequista o simplemente una persona interesada en aprender más, este taller te ayudará a aprender más acerca de lo que la Iglesia enseña. En esta jornada de fe en la que nos embarcaremos, podrás profundizar tu fe y tu vida de oración de tal forma que, al terminar, habrás podido entender la importancia de llevar la Buena Nueva a tu hogar, a tu escuela o a tu trabajo.  

La creación de este taller fue posible gracias a una generosa subvención de Our Sunday Visitor.

En el Catecismo de la Iglesia Católica leemos: “La Eucaristía es ‘fuente y culmen de toda la vida cristiana’. . . En resumen, la Eucaristía es el compendio y la suma de nuestra fe: ‘Nuestra manera de pensar armoniza con la Eucaristía, y a su vez la Eucaristía confirma nuestra manera de pensar’" (1324, 1327). Al crecer en intimidad con nuestro Señor Jesús presente en la Eucaristía y al buscar centrar nuestras vidas en torno a este don supremo, aprendemos a vivir como cristianos llenos de gracia. En este taller, explicaremos lo que significa ser un discípulo de Nuestro Señor presente en la Eucaristía y aprenderemos cómo hacerlo de una manera que “respire con ambos pulmones”, es decir, a través de las tradiciones tanto de la Iglesia católica oriental como de la Iglesia católica occidental. Este taller es para todos, ya sea que seamos padres de familia, sacerdotes, religiosos, catequistas laicos, maestros de escuela, etc. 

La creación de este taller fue posible gracias a una generosa subvención de William H. Sadlier, Inc.

¿Para qué existen los sacramentales y las devociones populares?  Las variadas formas de la piedad ayudan a que “nuestras almas se conviertan y dirijan a Dios” y se hagan “cada vez más aptas para contemplar los misterios de la naturaleza divina y humana de Jesucristo” (Mediator Dei (MD) 219).  No toman el lugar de la liturgia, pero más bien nos “disponen a participar con mayor fruto en las funciones públicas” (MD 219).  Tal vez eres un catequista o un padre de familia que quiere entender el uso apropiado de los sacramentales y la devoción popular, tal vez quieras poder contestar a las personas que preguntan el “por qué” la Iglesia tiene estas prácticas.  Cualquiera que sea tu motivo, ¡eres bienvenido a este taller!  

La creación de este taller fue posible gracias a una generosa subvención de Our Sunday Visitor.

Jesús instituyó los sacramentos durante Su ministerio terrenal, y los confió a la Iglesia para que pudiera continuar Su obra de salvación y redención. En cuanto a los sacramentos, la Iglesia nos enseña que, “Los sacramentos están ordenados a la santificación de los hombres, a la edificación del Cuerpo de Cristo y, en definitiva, a dar culto a Dios; pero, en cuanto signos, también tienen un fin pedagógico. No sólo suponen la fe, sino que, a la vez, la alimentan, la robustecen y la expresan . . .” (Constitución Dogmática sobre la Sagrada Liturgia, Sacrosanctum concilium, SC, 59). A través de los sacramentos, Dios derrama Su vida divina en nuestras almas, nos transforma para ser más como Él y nos fortalece en la fe, la esperanza y la caridad, para que podamos estar unidos a Él y permanecer fieles a la obra que se nos ha encomendado. En este taller, aprenderemos más sobre los sacramentos, profundizaremos en nuestro aprecio por los sacramentos y estaremos mejor preparados para participar en la vida sacramental de la Iglesia.

La creación de este taller fue posible gracias a una generosa subvención de William H. Sadlier, Inc.

Para transmitir las verdades de la fe, el catequista debe estar firmemente cimentado en Cristo. Este taller considerará la riqueza de la vida espiritual católica en lo que se refiere específicamente a la vida del catequista. La oración no es un “último esfuerzo desesperado” de defensa para nosotros como catequistas, sino nuestra primera línea de defensa: las alas en las que debe volar todo esfuerzo. A menudo, nuestra sociedad tiene problemas para reconocer que las realidades espirituales invisibles son de hecho “más reales” y ciertamente más duraderas que las realidades físicas que tocamos, vemos, oímos y experimentamos a diario. Por lo tanto, una revisión de las herramientas espirituales del oficio es apropiada para ayudarnos como catequistas a incorporar con alegría la oración al principio, mitad y final de nuestro día y de la sesión de enseñanza, creando un ambiente permeado por un clima de oración para la catequesis.

La creación de este taller fue posible gracias a una generosa subvención de Our Sunday Visitor.

“La santa madre Iglesia desea ardientemente que se lleve a todos los fieles a aquella participación plena, consciente y activa en las celebraciones litúrgicas que exige la naturaleza de la Liturgia” (Constitución sobre la Santa Liturgia del Concilio Vaticano II,  Sacrosanctum concilium 14). La Iglesia desea que todos nosotros — incluyendo los niños — participemos de manera plena y activa en la liturgia eucarística, la santa Misa, para que experimentemos la belleza que está presente en cada Misa y la alegría de permitir que Jesús nos ayude a convertirnos en las personas que él nos ha creado a ser por medio de esta celebración. Cada gesto y cada palabra de la Misa tiene un significado, y los niños — cuando se les enseña el significado concreto de cada elemento—pueden de manera alegre y entusiasta participar en la Misa y encontrarse con la persona de Jesús. Éste taller ofrece un método para introducir a los niños a la liturgia, para que ellos puedan participar en los ritos litúrgicos y vivir la Misa con todo su ser.  

La creación de este taller fue posible gracias a una generosa subvención de Our Sunday Visitor.

En comunidades multiculturales, es muy valioso el encontrar maneras de ayudar a los fieles a participar plenamente en las Misas significativas, como las principales fiestas, la recepción de sacramentos y otros eventos importantes. Tales liturgias pueden brindar la oportunidad de emplear la rica diversidad de expresiones culturales y lingüísticas en un acto común de adoración. Este taller no solo ofrece maneras prácticas de implementar elementos bilingües (o multilingües) en la liturgia, sino examina el valor de la Misa, y el por qué nos debemos esforzar para incluir el idioma y la cultura de los presentes, lo cual es nada menos que darles la oportunidad de experimentar el gran Amor de Dios, y permitirles participar más plenamente en Su gran obra de redención. 

La creación de este taller fue posible gracias a una generosa subvención de Our Sunday Visitor.

This workshop explores the most critical element in the graced work of passing on the faith — you. Because the content of the faith is a Person — the Person of Christ — the person of the catechist is pivotal for success. The vocation of the catechist is to be a witness of Christ’s goodness, of His zeal, of His ways, of Him — to be like the Master. “Whatever be the level of his responsibility in the Church, every catechist must constantly endeavor to transmit by his teaching and behavior the teaching and life of Jesus” (St. John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation "On Catechesis in Our Time," Catechesi tradendae (CT) 6). This calling is both joyfully thrilling, and jarringly daunting. It is a supernatural work, beyond our natural capacities. “Catechesis . . . is consequently a work of the Holy Spirit, a work that He alone can initiate and sustain in the Church” (CT 72). And sustain in you. This foundational workshop offers inspiration, insight, and guidance to encourage catechists as they strive to live out their privileged vocation.

Mother Church insists that catechesis that truly evangelizes hearts, and that meets souls in the place of greatest need, must be unshakably centered upon Him who is our beginning and our end —Jesus Christ. We teach Jesus, and everything we teach, we teach in reference to Him, thus teaching Christo-centrically. Come explore how to unfold the life-giving truths of our faith with Jesus placed clearly at the center of all things: our teaching content, our teaching methods, and our own personal witness to others whom God has called us to love.

Throughout the generations, the Word of God has been handed on as a precious jewel. The Church has guarded this Deposit of Faith so that the saving message of hope might shine out for all to see. Now it is up to us. It is our turn to hand on this jewel, unscathed. It is up to us to catechize, continuing the unbroken chain of passing on the faith throughout the ages. The term catechesis comes from two Greek words meaning, “to echo down,” reflecting the call to us to “echo down,” to hand on, the whole of the faith in its saving fullness. This Deposit of Faith is summed up for our times in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. We will look at this important teaching tool for catechesis in this workshop, to discover how we, too, can effectively pass on the precious deposit of Christian teaching. And in learning how to do this, we are able to insert our own name into St. Paul’s exhortation, “O catechist, guard what has been entrusted to you.”

This workshop will explore the necessary connection of catechesis to the sacramental and liturgical life of the Church in our work as catechists.  The liturgy comes from the “living memory” of the Church, that is, the Holy Spirit (Catechism of the Catholic Church, CCC, 1099).  Through the Holy Spirit working in the liturgy, the truths of the faith are passed on like a special family memory, from generation to generation, down to the present day.  Each time we participate in the liturgy, we receive the treasure of the Deposit of Faith.  But the liturgy is more than a family heirloom – it is reality. It is the place in which “Christ Jesus works in fullness for the transformation of human beings” (Catechesi Tradendae, CT, 23).  As catechists, we have a call: the privilege of ensuring that those we catechize understand and grow in appreciation for this encounter with God.  We bring others into God’s saving work in the liturgy so they too can be transformed by the One Who loves us fully.  We teach about the liturgy to pass on the magnificent inheritance of faith to the next generation, echoing the action of catechists from the centuries before us.  This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by William H. Sadlier, Inc.

Knowing and understanding Scripture is essential in the life of a catechist. This workshop will explore how God’s Word, transmitted in Sacred Scripture, grounds and deepens our relationship with Jesus Christ and His Church. In Scripture, we see the sweeping Plan of God, the history of salvation unfolded. We hear His stunning and steadfast invitation to communion with Him. Sacred Scripture ought to permeate all forms of catechesis, as well as our personal lives as catechists. Through creating lesson plans saturated with the Scriptures, we foster a profound encounter with the Divine – love and challenge, wisdom and hope, forgiveness and mercy, and the means to know God and to know ourselves. By breaking open the Scriptures in each catechetical session, we unlock the mystery of Christ, revealing to those we teach the One they desire to know, fostering life-changing intimacy with God.

This workshop will introduce participants to biblical catechesis through an ancient catechetical technique: the use of the Story of the Bible. The most important historical events of the Bible can be briefly described in one Story, connected by one common theme: union with God. The Story of the Bible portrays the drama of God’s love for every soul and the whole human race: how God created us to be united with Him in a relationship of love; how we lost union with God through the original sin; how Jesus re-united us with God in a relationship of love through His passion, death and Resurrection; and how the Holy Spirit fosters a continuing unfolding of those saving events in the life of Church, as the Lord’s Bride. Often in a catechetical setting we fall into the habit of teaching individual topics without reference to the greater context of salvation history. In order to draw others into the life of God and the Church we have to help them make this Story of the Bible their own. Everything that the Church teaches, her doctrines, disciplines, worship, and morality makes sense when delivered within the context of the Story of the Bible. The Story of the Bible tells us of our spiritual roots, our dignity, our destiny, and daily vocation to follow Jesus Christ, providing peace and authentic hope to those we seek to teach and evangelize.

“The content of catechesis cannot be indifferently subjected to any method” (General Directory for Catechesis 149). Every good catechist seeks in some organized fashion to give growth to the seed of faith, to nourish hope, and to develop a deeper desire to love God and neighbor. In this workshop, we will explore a method that is highly suited to the goals of catechesis, and flows from a study of how the Church’s many catechetical saints sought to pass on the beauty, truth, and goodness of Christ’s saving revelation.

The goal of catechesis is participation in God’s life. It is critical that catechists learn how to effectively engage the young mind and heart of each child, encourage each child to respect and love the things of the faith, and help each child discover the wonderful love of a gentle Father. This very basic workshop focuses on the most fundamental catechetical methodologies that will enable the catechist of children to facilitate intimacy with God and fidelity to the Church. Methods and techniques will be demonstrated that encourage children to grow in wonder and awe, as they deepen their love for God and His truths. This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by the Our Sunday Visitor Institute.

The General Directory of Catechesis says that, “Catechesis for adults, since it deals with persons who are capable of an adherence that is fully responsible, must be considered the chief form of catechesis” (GDC 59).  Is this what most adult Catholics understand?  Do most parishes orient sufficient resources to this endeavor?  Do the methods employed in parishes reflect the best possible principles for adult learning, which differ from methodology employed for children and adolescents?  This workshop will explore techniques to evangelize, catechize, and form faith in adults most effectively, given that the principle places of adult formation are in the family and in the parish.

This workshop sharpens a few of your philosophical tools for teaching the faith. Philosophy, far from putting our lessons out of reach of our audience, actually appeals to the reason of those we teach; it helps us explain doctrine so that it “makes sense,” rather than just falling back on, “because I said so.” This workshop will provide examples of philosophically approaching the faith by exploring both a Catholic and a secular worldview, as well as what these two approaches mean for the human person, ultimately helping us prepare our learners to answer Jesus’ crucial question to His apostles and to each one of us, “Who do you say that I am?”           

In order to pass on the truths of Faith in season and out, the catechist must be securely grounded in Christ. This workshop will consider the richness of the Catholic spiritual life as it pertains specifically to the life of the catechist. Prayer is not the “last ditch effort” of defense for us as catechists, but our first line of defense - the wings on which every effort should soar. Our society often has trouble recognizing that the invisible spiritual realities are in fact “more real,” and certainly more lasting, than the physical realities we touch, see, hear, and experience daily. A review of the spiritual tools of the trade is thus appropriate to help us as catechists joyfully incorporate prayer as our first, middle, and last act of the day, and of the teaching session, creating an environment for catechesis that is permeated by prayer.

The Blessed Trinity is the greatest of all mysteries: the One and Only God is a unity of Three Persons. The Trinity is also our final home, the goal of our life. This mystery, revealed in Jesus, sheds light on all other Christian mysteries. And it is the revelation that sheds light on all other Christian mysteries. Knowing that God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, is a unity of loving Persons, changes our understanding of everything. Many religions believe in gods, some believe in one God, but nothing compares to the Christian belief in one God as a communion of Persons, named for us by Jesus as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Many curriculums include the Trinity as only one doctrine among many. This workshop will help to show how to teach the centrality of the Trinity effectively, as the goal and fulfillment of the life of each Christian.

He is the Alpha and the Omega.  He is in all, before all, through all.  The primary and essential object of catechesis is, to use an expression dear to St. Paul, “the mystery of Christ.” (CT 5)  Therefore everyone who teaches the Catholic faith must be immersed in this mystery.  Using Scripture and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, as well as recent ecclesial documents, this workshop will present the key doctrines that must be taught concerning Jesus Christ.  By examining Jesus’ actions in Scripture, His relationships, and His ways of teaching, we will help catechists unlock the mysteries of Christ, His Incarnation, Redemption, and Second Coming.  This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by William H. Sadlier, Inc.

We are greatly blessed by the leadership God gives us through the teaching office of the Church, the Magisterium.  Significant documents have been written, which provide much needed inspiration and guidance for catechists.  In this workshop, we will consider the mind and heart of the Church through her key documents that govern the catechetical endeavor.  We will consider the underlying themes and their application in parish and school settings, as well as their meaning for the training, growth, and development of catechists.

“In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son” (Hebrews 1:1–2). Revelation means to pull back the veil. It is God’s method of manifesting a bit of Himself, allowing us time to absorb it and respond, before He shows a bit more; and the process repeats. Because the work of catechesis is oriented towards conversion, the catechist needs to understand clearly how a person gets faith and grows in faith. This workshop delves in the sacred pattern of God’s methodology — how He reaches out to us, and how He calls us and enables us to freely respond.

Scripture converts.  It is an effective gift to God’s adoptive family, graced and imbued with His own life.  The place of the sacred page in our catechetical work is matchless, irreplaceably vital.  It is is at the heart of all that the Church “believes, teaches, and proclaims to be revealed by God” (RCIA 491).  This workshop will explore Sacred Scripture as a fundamental agent of conversion in the catechetical process, and will provide practical means to make Scripture much more than just “proof” texts for your teaching.  Learn how to identify the Scriptures that drive the Church’s doctrines and how to incorporate them into your catechesis as the preeminent unfolding of the Father’s love for His children.

How do I know what to teach?  How do I know what is essential?  What can I not leave to chance that my students will get on their own?  Many catechists are never helped and trained to go beyond pre-written outlines.  They never discover how to take a piece of God’s revelation, a doctrine, and break it down in a way that answers these critical questions.  This workshop explores how to identify the premise, essentials, common misunderstandings, related doctrines, and foundational Scriptures for the truths all catechists are called to pass on, so that each catechist can develop teachings that flow from his or her own deep grasp of the saving truths.

Who am I? What is my nature? What has God created me for? Who has God created me for? The answers to these questions affect not only how I think about myself, but also how I think about those whom I catechize and how I encourage each of those whom I have the privilege of teaching to think about themselves. In this workshop we contemplate the unique answers that the Christian faith gives to these questions, answers that highlight the incredible dignity of every person. This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by the Our Sunday Visitor Institute.

Pope Benedict XVI stated that, “the ancient tradition of Lectio Divina… will bring to the Church a new spiritual springtime.”  Come and experience the prayerful pondering of sacred Scripture in the timeless Lectio Divina in which the Holy Spirit makes a connection between the passage and one’s own life.  This way of praying with the Word of God incorporates the natural development of relationship, which derives from the way God has touched and drawn human hearts down through the ages.  During this workshop, you will learn the four stages of Lectio Divina, which will help prepare you to share in this rich treasure of prayer.

This workshop examines the place of the sacraments within God’s magnificent plan of love. More than simply Catholic rituals, the sacraments are God’s chosen channels of supernatural life, His plan for doing even more than saving us: “‘For this is why the Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man: so that man, by entering into communion with the Word and thus receiving divine sonship, might become a son of God.’  ‘For the Son of God became man so that we might become God’” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, CCC, 460).  This workshop will explore this extraordinary truth, and the provision of God to grace His adopted sons and daughters for a life far beyond their own natural capacity.  This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by William H. Sadlier, Inc.

How do we keep our focus on serving the Holy Spirit’s plan and empowerment, and not our own ways and human strength?  Pope Paul VI wrote, “techniques of evangelization are good, but even the most advanced ones could not replace the gentle action of the Spirit” (Evangelii Nuntandi 75).  No one responds to the Gospel without first being drawn by the Holy Spirit and no one can live the high calling of the Christian life without being empowered by the Holy Spirit. When we forget that outreach is a work of God, we burn out. This workshop explores Who the Holy Spirit is, His work in personal conversion, and our accepting with joy the gift of the fullness of the Catholic Church.

The Church father St. Jerome said that, “To others grace was given in measure, but into Mary was poured the whole fullness.”  Daughter of the Father, Mother of the Son, Spouse of the Spirit, the Blessed Virgin has a profoundly unique place in the Mystical Body.  She is the first and pre-eminent member of the Church, the model par excellence of faith, hope, and love for all Christians.  She is the mirror-image of the Church’s unfailing holiness as virgin-spouse of the Word.  This workshop looks at what God revealed to the Church about our Lady, and how those truths form us under her Motherhood as faithful disciples.

The Church is the Body of Christ on Earth. The Church Christ founded is His continued history on Earth. The graces entrusted to her make possible an explosion of sanctity in the human family. The revelation of truth entrusted to her makes possible our secure return to the Father’s arms. The mission entrusted to her engages all human endeavors, and transcends all human failings, so that God’s Spirit can go forth to fulfill Christ’s promise to “make all things new” (Revelation 21:5). This workshop will explore God’s magnificent convocation of souls that we call the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.

St. John Paul II tells us that, “Family catechesis . . . precedes, accompanies and enriches all other forms of catechesis” (Apostolic Exhortation “On Catechesis in Our Time,” Catechesi tradendae, CT, 68). These words challenge us to examine our thinking about how to pass on the Catholic faith within the parish or school we serve, and specifically to look at how to encourage the formation of the entire family.  In the Catechism of the Catholic Church we read, “The family is the community in which, from childhood, one can learn moral values, begin to honor God, and make good use of freedom” (2207). This workshop examines the primacy of the family in religious education and the importance of assisting families in their formation, so that together the parish or school community and families can work to bring about the well-formed and beautiful soul of each member. This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by the Our Sunday Visitor Institute.

“The eternal Father, in accordance with the utterly gratuitous and mysterious design of his wisdom and goodness, created the whole universe and chose to raise up men to share in his own divine life” (CCC 759).  A plan born in the Father’s heart: from the genesis of life itself, to the last prophet of the Jewish people, the grand sweep of salvation history is unfolded in the 46 books of the Old Testament.  The Covenants, the Commandments, and the promise of a Chosen One form the subject of this workshop, to give catechists a sense of the provident hand of God over our past, our present, and our eternal destiny.

“That which was from the beginning...that which we have seen and heard we proclaim to you...” (1 John 1:1, 4).  The New Testament is the completion of the story of how the Father prepared the world for His Son, and the beginning of the story of the Church, His Body, His Kingdom, His Bride, His Ark to save a People He calls His own.  This sweeping drama of truth, centered upon He is who is Truth, forms the message of the good news that catechists are privileged to offer to each generation of souls.

Hidden within plain sight in every liturgy is the heart of catechesis – the mystery of Christ’s earthly vocation to return us to the Father’s loving embrace. A deeply Catholic catechesis seeks to uncover the profound meaning of the words, signs, and movements of worship to enlighten and enliven every truth we teach. Understanding the relationship between liturgy and catechesis is vital to forming souls – and to helping those we teach discover the peace and joy of their salvation.

Epistemology is the investigation of what we can know, and how we can know reality. It is the discovery of reality. This workshop applies epistemology to our Catholic faith, exploring the ways by which we use our ordinary human processes of knowing, as well as the supernatural gift of faith, to grow in knowledge and explore the beautiful mysteries of our faith, the central mystery being the Blessed Trinity — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Here you will discover ways of becoming more confident teachers of the faith, handing on to the students in your care the confidence that they can know and teach the faith with certainty.

The ministry of catechesis and the ministry of spiritual formation are ordinarily somewhat separate in people’s understanding. Yet in the Church’s mind, they relate naturally and necessarily. In the General Directory for Catechesis we read, “Truly, to help a person to encounter God, which is the task of the catechist, means to emphasize above all the relationship that the person has with God so that he can make it his own and allow himself to be guided by God. . . . The catechist is essentially a mediator. He facilitates communication between the people and the mystery of God, between subjects amongst themselves, as well as with the community” (139, 156). This workshop explores what it means to be guided — an intentional docility and trust in the Church's ability to lead us to spiritual growth, to peace with God, to sanctity. Building upon this, we then examine the fundamentals of what it means for you to guide another soul in a catechetical context, so that you can more intentionally seek to be all that the catechetical vocation is graced to become. This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by the Our Sunday Visitor Institute.

The Christian moral life finds its foundation in the Ten Commandments.  Yet, they are often explained only as proscriptions or laws that have to be kept.  This workshop will present the Ten Commandments as prescriptions that profoundly inform and foster our living life in its fullness.  Building on the foundation of the Commandments, Jesus gave us the model of how to live the reality of Heaven here on Earth through the Beatitudes: a great challenge, but a reality each one of us is called to in God’s grace.  This workshop will discuss the blessed radicality of a life lived under the Commandments and the Beatitudes.

The Big Questions: Why am I here? What is my purpose? Where am I going? Unless one is sleepwalking through life, these are burningly urgent and profoundly relevant questions. How our loving God comes to us at our last breath can unfold so much about those critical questions. We’ll correct common myths about the “Four Last Things,” provide suggestions for teaching these amazing truths, and speak into the powerful curiosity we all have about crossing that final threshold.

“Mortal sin is a radical possibility of human freedom, as is love itself” (CCC 1861).  Failure or fidelity; rejection or restoration.  Each soul lives in a battle.  And each soul is yearned for by a Father that loves beyond all telling.  This workshop explores the destructive reality of our freedom, and the sublime possibilities of a human striving under grace.

Pope Francis teaches us that, “Faith does not draw us away from the world or prove irrelevant to the concrete concerns of the men and women of our time. . . . Faith makes us appreciate the architecture of human relationships because it grasps their ultimate foundation and definitive destiny in God, in his love, and thus sheds light on the art of building; as such it becomes a service to the common good” (Encyclical Letter “On the Light of Faith,” Lumen fidei 51). In this workshop, we will be exploring how God wishes to form each and every one of us into the person He created us to be, through helping us love others and live for others, just as Christ Himself lived for us and loved us “to the end” (see John 13:1). Often misunderstood, the Church’s social teaching is not a partisan platform, an economic policy, or a political position, but rather is an integral part of proclaiming and living the Good News of Jesus Christ in community. We will present the social doctrines in this context and demonstrate how this aspect of Church teaching can help evangelize, console, and lovingly challenge us, as well as those we seek to teach.