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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

“Jesus thirsts; his asking arises from the depths of God’s desire for us” (CCC 2560). Jesus not only desires to have a relationship with youth, but with youth ministers as well.  In fact, God cares more about doing ministry to people than he cares about people doing ministry for others. This workshop focuses on God’s intense love for us, and places that personal relationship as the center for all our ministry.

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.

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.

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.

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.

St. John Bosco once said, probably on one of his hard days while shepherding his sea of teenage boys, that, “sometimes children just need to be loud!” But how do you balance necessary discipline and the need for a loving Christian tone? Joy and just punishment. Gentleness and good focus? This workshop addresses the challenge experienced by the teacher of the faith: ensuring that a loving Christian environment exists as a good witness to younger disciples without compromising effective and efficient means of discipline. This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by the Our Sunday Visitor Institute.

As teachers — whether in a school, a parish setting, or in the home — it is our deep desire that those we teach truly learn and desire to keep learning. Mother Church “exhorts the faithful to assist to their utmost in finding suitable methods of education and programs of study and in forming teachers who can give youth a true education” (Second Vatican Council’s “Declaration on Christian Education,” Gravissimum educationis 6). With so many different teaching styles and educational philosophies being practiced, and our own experiences of having been taught in different contexts, it can be difficult to sort through what bears the most fruit in the lives of those we serve and what might be hindering their ability to learn and love learning. In this workshop, we will explore a number of teaching principles that are research-based, tried and true, from the work of Dr. Maria Montessori and that of Dr. John Hattie. As our presenter will say, the principles in this workshop are the best of contemporary teaching strategies, meaning these strategies have been shown to be highly effective — and therefore are of great interest to all of us teachers! This workshop is, in a special way, geared toward those who teach children. However, the principles discussed can be adapted and applied to anyone, and thus this workshop will benefit teachers in all situations.

“And they were bringing children to him, that he might touch them . . . and [Jesus] said to them, ‘Let the children come to me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God. . . .’ And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands upon them” (Mark 10:13–14, 16). Jesus desires that the little children come to Him. As parents, priests, catechists, and teachers, we can bring the children entrusted to our care to the Lord, so that He may bless them and fill them with His love. The goal of catechesis is participation in God’s life. It is critical that we 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 workshop will reflect on key aspects of a child’s psyche from ages
3–6, and how we can build upon what is naturally occurring within children, in order to allow Jesus to draw them into the heart of the Father.

“And they were bringing children to him, that he might touch them . . . and [Jesus] said to them, ‘Let the children come to me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God. . . .’ And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands upon them” (Mark 10:13–14, 16). Jesus desires for children to come to Him. As parents, priests, catechists, and teachers, we can bring the children entrusted to our care to the Lord, so that He may bless them and fill them with His love. The goal of catechesis is participation in God’s life. It is critical that we 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 workshop will reflect on key aspects of a child’s psyche from ages 6–12, and how we can build upon what is naturally occurring within children, in order to allow Jesus to draw them into the Heart of the Father.

In the Directory for Catechesis we read, “Catechesis draws its message from the Word of God, which is its main source. Therefore, ‘it is essential that the revealed word radically enrich our catechesis and all our efforts to pass on the faith’” (91). Children, even those as young as three years old, have a profound capacity for understanding Scripture and also for developing a deep love for it. Children encounter Jesus through hearing, reading, and praying with Scripture. Mother Church’s call for us to draw our catechesis from Sacred Scripture applies to all of us catechizing children, whether as parish catechists, Catholic school teachers, parents, and so on. The methods by which we introduce the Scriptures to children, and the particular passages we invite them to explore, depend largely on the developmental stage of the children. Thus, in this workshop we will explore when and how to introduce specific passages from the Scriptures to children, particularly children of ages 3–12, in such a way as to help them grow in their relationship with God and truly love encountering Him in His Word.

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.

“Man cannot live without love. He remains a being that is incomprehensible for himself, his life is senseless, if love is not revealed to him, if he does not encounter love, if he does not experience it and make it his own, if he does not participate intimately in it,” (St. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter The Redeemer of Man, Redemptor hominis 10). The love that we are meant to "participate intimately in" is the love of God. God first loves us, and this love enables us to love God above all things and to love our neighbor as ourselves. St. John Paul II offers a reflection and teaching on human love in the Divine plan through his work called the Theology of the Body. This workshop explores that work, and offers insights on our vocation to perfect love and its relationship to the vocation of marriage and family life. This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by the Our Sunday Visitor Institute.

“Jesus thirsts; his asking arises from the depths of God’s desire for us” (CCC 2560). Jesus not only desires to have a relationship with youth, but with youth ministers as well.  In fact, God cares more about doing ministry to people than he cares about people doing ministry for others. This workshop focuses on God’s intense love for us, and places that personal relationship as the center for all our ministry.

What is good youth ministry in today’s Church? Every ministry to young people needs to have a clear mission and purpose, rooted in the larger mission of the Church, and needs to be able to identify clear values in the way that ministry is carried out. In this workshop, we look specifically at the essential components to a vibrant, effective approach to parish ministry for young people.

“The most effective catechetical programs for adolescents are integrated into a comprehensive program of pastoral ministry for youth…” (National Directory for Catechesis, NDC, p. 201).  The craft of passing on the faith is never a generic work. It is specifically attuned to those being drawn towards the Lord’s goodness. This workshop looks at the distinct features of adolescent catechesis as discussed by the National Directory for Catechesis, with practical examples of how to utilize them in a youth ministry setting.

“At many moments in the past and by many means, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets; but in our time, the final days, he has spoken to us in the person of his Son…” (Hebrews 1:1-2). When the Second Person of the Trinity became flesh and dwelt among us, everything changed. He used to speak through others, now He comes to us personally. This model of “incarnational ministry” should be at the foundation of our efforts to reach teens. For ministry to be effective, it has to be intentionally and consistently relational. As St. John Bosco once wrote that it was important “not only that the (youth) be loved, but that they know they are loved.” We explore how to do that safely and effectively in the current culture.

Understanding universal catechetical principles, such as the primacy of relational ministry, are important for every type of formation and outreach. Yet, these principles come to life in the context of each ministry’s unique demands. Though many elements of methodology are discussed in our other workshops, this workshop provides answers for specific questions concerning youth ministry, such as the Ecclesial Method applied to adolescents, retreat and semester planning, and effective ways to speak to groups of teens.

Faith seeks understanding. Yet, understanding the social teachings of the Catholic Church is not enough. Teens need to be drawn into the apostolic life and mission of the Church, and be given tangible opportunities to experience that life at work. This workshop addresses the critical nature of outreach and service, and offers excellent resources for mobilizing teens for service and leadership. It also addresses the apostolic nature of the Church, and the great gift of priestly and religious vocations, helping youth ministers to understand how to draw young people into a greater awareness of that gift.

The responsibility of passing on the faith to a young person begins first and foremost with his or her family, particularly the parents. St. John Paul II wrote that catechesis within the family has “a special character, which is in a sense irreplaceable” (Catechesi tradendae, CT, 68). Though the teenage years are often characterized as a time of rebellion from the family, the ‘National Study of Youth and Religion’ found that a young person is more likely than not to reflect the religiosity of his or her parents. Parents are the hinge-point of successfully and consistently reaching most teens. It is therefore essential that those in youth ministry understand that their role is to provide support for families, empower them, and partner with them.

Flowing from the workshop called, “The Human Person,” this workshop addresses three of the major components of the human person and their relevance to the unfolding of God’s plan of loving kindness: 1) our creation in the image of God and His call to transformation by grace into His likeness; 2) our creation as male and female; and 3) the unity of body and soul in the human person. As we learn from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “Being in the image of God the human individual possesses the dignity of a person, who is not just something, but someone. He is capable of self-knowledge, of self-possession and of freely giving himself and entering into communion with other persons. And he is called by grace to a covenant with his Creator, to offer him a response of faith and love that no other creature can give in his stead.” (CCC 357)  This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by the Our Sunday Visitor Institute.

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.

This workshop offers a summary outline of the basic principles of Catholic morality and how our moral life is rooted, not merely in a code of ethics or a set of rules, but profoundly in the Person of Jesus. It discusses some of the major moral issues we face in our society today, and equips all who teach the faith — whether youth ministers, catechists, Catholic school teachers, and so on — with the tools to establish a sure foundation for right moral thinking, both in themselves and in those to whom they minister.

“Jesus thirsts; his asking arises from the depths of God’s desire for us” (CCC 2560). Jesus not only desires to have a relationship with youth, but with youth ministers as well.  In fact, God cares more about doing ministry to people than he cares about people doing ministry for others. This workshop focuses on God’s intense love for us, and places that personal relationship as the center for all our ministry.

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.

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.

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.

“We are frequently tempted to think that holiness is only for those who can withdraw from ordinary affairs to spend much time in prayer. That is not the case. We are called to be holy by living our lives with love and by bearing witness in everything we do, wherever we find ourselves” (Pope Francis, Apostolic Exhortation On the Call to Holiness in Today’s World, Gaudete et exsultate 14). The Second Vatican Council reminds us that there is a universal call to holiness (see the Dogmatic Constitution "On the Church," Lumen gentium 39-44), which means that God calls every person to be in relationship with Him, and He calls each of us to be holy as He is holy (see Leviticus 11:45, 1 Peter 1:15–16). Holiness is to be lived out in one’s particular state in life, and thus for parents, it is to be attained in both their spousal and parental vocations, through the help of God’s grace. This workshop offers reflections on the lives of a few parent saints, whose witness and way of life inspire us to be holy parents, as we seek to do God’s will in the particular circumstances of our own family life. This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by the Our Sunday Visitor Institute.

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.

St. Francis de Sales once said, “Do not look forward to what may happen tomorrow; the same everlasting Father Who cares for you today will take care of you tomorrow and every day.” Who is God the Father? What does God the Father have to do with my life? How do I come to know the Father? God the Father is the First Person of the Trinity: the Alpha and the Omega. The Catechism of the Catholic Church begins and ends with the Father. The Son became Man in order to show us the Father and lead us into relationship with Him. This workshop teaches us about Who the Father is, and how we relate to Him as His children. 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.

“Man cannot live without love. He remains a being that is incomprehensible for himself, his life is senseless, if love is not revealed to him, if he does not encounter love, if he does not experience it and make it his own, if he does not participate intimately in it,” (St. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter The Redeemer of Man, Redemptor hominis 10). The love that we are meant to "participate intimately in" is the love of God. God first loves us, and this love enables us to love God above all things and to love our neighbor as ourselves. St. John Paul II offers a reflection and teaching on human love in the Divine plan through his work called the Theology of the Body. This workshop explores that work, and offers insights on our vocation to perfect love and its relationship to the vocation of marriage and family life. 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.

“Christ chose to be born and grow up in the bosom of the holy family of Joseph and Mary. . . . In our own time, in a world often alien and even hostile to faith, believing families are of primary importance as centers of living, radiant faith” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1655, 1656). Jesus’ entrance into a family places a particular emphasis on family life. Parents are the primary educators of their children, and Christian families are primary centers of "radiant faith." The Christian family is the domestic church, because it is in the family that parents and children pray, sacrifice, worship, live charity, and offer the witness of holy lives. This workshop teaches what the domestic church is and how God saves us in and through the family and the community that God has given to us.  This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by the Our Sunday Visitor Institute.

“Jesus thirsts; his asking arises from the depths of God’s desire for us” (CCC 2560). Jesus not only desires to have a relationship with youth, but with youth ministers as well.  In fact, God cares more about doing ministry to people than he cares about people doing ministry for others. This workshop focuses on God’s intense love for us, and places that personal relationship as the center for all our ministry.

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.

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.

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 offers a summary outline of the basic principles of Catholic morality and how our moral life is rooted, not merely in a code of ethics or a set of rules, but profoundly in the Person of Jesus. It discusses some of the major moral issues we face in our society today, and equips all who teach the faith — whether youth ministers, catechists, Catholic school teachers, and so on — with the tools to establish a sure foundation for right moral thinking, both in themselves and in those to whom they minister.

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.

St. Francis de Sales once said, “Do not look forward to what may happen tomorrow; the same everlasting Father Who cares for you today will take care of you tomorrow and every day.” Who is God the Father? What does God the Father have to do with my life? How do I come to know the Father? God the Father is the First Person of the Trinity: the Alpha and the Omega. The Catechism of the Catholic Church begins and ends with the Father. The Son became Man in order to show us the Father and lead us into relationship with Him. This workshop teaches us about Who the Father is, and how we relate to Him as His children. 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.

“Man cannot live without love. He remains a being that is incomprehensible for himself, his life is senseless, if love is not revealed to him, if he does not encounter love, if he does not experience it and make it his own, if he does not participate intimately in it,” (St. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter The Redeemer of Man, Redemptor hominis 10). The love that we are meant to "participate intimately in" is the love of God. God first loves us, and this love enables us to love God above all things and to love our neighbor as ourselves. St. John Paul II offers a reflection and teaching on human love in the Divine plan through his work called the Theology of the Body. This workshop explores that work, and offers insights on our vocation to perfect love and its relationship to the vocation of marriage and family life. 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.

“Christ chose to be born and grow up in the bosom of the holy family of Joseph and Mary. . . . In our own time, in a world often alien and even hostile to faith, believing families are of primary importance as centers of living, radiant faith” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1655, 1656). Jesus’ entrance into a family places a particular emphasis on family life. Parents are the primary educators of their children, and Christian families are primary centers of "radiant faith." The Christian family is the domestic church, because it is in the family that parents and children pray, sacrifice, worship, live charity, and offer the witness of holy lives. This workshop teaches what the domestic church is and how God saves us in and through the family and the community that God has given to us.  This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by the Our Sunday Visitor Institute.

The purpose of this workshop is to connect the aspirant and candidate to diaconal history and tradition, thereby introducing and enhancing his Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant. In an address to men ordained to the permanent diaconate, St. John Paul II expressed the call of the deacon beautifully when he said: “This is at the very heart of the diaconate to which you have been called: to be a servant of the mysteries of Christ and, at one and the same time, to be a servant of your brothers and sisters. That these two dimensions are inseparably joined together in one reality shows the important nature of the ministry which is yours by ordination” (“Meeting with the Men Ordained to the Permanent Diaconate” in Detroit, 19 September 1987 1). This workshop dives into the heart of this vocation, the call to service in Christ’s Church. Being the first of two workshops on the theology of the diaconate, this provides a general overview of the diaconate, as it has been revealed in the Scriptures and by the Church Fathers, and traces its decline as a permanent office in the early Church.  

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

The purpose of this workshop is to connect the aspirant and candidate to diaconal history and tradition, thereby introducing and enhancing his Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant. In an address to men ordained to the permanent diaconate In 1987, St. John Paul II expressed the call of the deacon beautifully when he said: “This is at the very heart of the diaconate to which you have been called: to be a servant of the mysteries of Christ and, at one and the same time, to be a servant of your brothers and sisters. That these two dimensions are inseparably joined together in one reality shows the important nature of the ministry which is yours by ordination” (1). This workshop dives into the heart of this vocation, the call to service in Christ’s Church. The second of two workshops on the theology of the diaconate, this continues our exploration of the history of the diaconate with an overview of the restoration of the permanent diaconate in the Latin Church, as well as a look at the deacon's call to model his life and ministry after Christ the Servant.

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

The purpose of this workshop is to help those in diaconal formation to faithfully and fruitfully live out the diaconal spirituality from ordination by considering the primacy of the interior life and recognizing the diaconal spirituality as one which is unique to this particular vocation. In an address to men ordained to the permanent diaconate, St. John Paul II emphasized the importance of intimacy with Christ for his life and diaconal ministry: “Sing to [the Lord] as servants, but also sing as friends of Christ, who has made known to you all that he has heard from the Father. It was not you who chose him, but he who chose you, to go forth and bear fruit — fruit that will last” (Address at a Meeting with Men Ordained to the Permanent Diaconate, 19 September 1987 7; cf.  John 15:16). In this workshop we will explore how the diaconal call to live and serve from intimate communion with Christ the Servant can be accomplished through abandonment to our Lord in each moment, empathy for those he serves in ministry, understanding of his unique place in the mystery of salvation through the Establishment Hypothesis, and, very importantly, through the RIM Dynamic — his Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant. This workshop can be taken as a stand-alone workshop, but it is intended to be taken after you gain a more thorough understanding of the history of the diaconate and the deacon’s call to model His life and ministry after Christ the Servant through the workshops “Theology of the Diaconate I” and “Theology of the Diaconate II.” Because these three workshops are the foundation for all of the diaconal formation workshops, it is recommended to take them before starting this track.

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

“Man cannot live without love. He remains a being that is incomprehensible for himself, his life is senseless, if love is not revealed to him, if he does not encounter love, if he does not experience it and make it his own, if he does not participate intimately in it,” (St. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter “The Redeemer of Man,” Redemptor hominis 10). The love that we are meant to "participate intimately in" is the love of God. God first loves us (cf. 1 John 4:19), and this love enables us to love God above all things and to love our neighbor as ourselves. St. John Paul II offers a reflection and teaching on human love in the divine plan through his work called the Theology of the Body, a series of Wednesday General Audiences from 1979–1985. This workshop explores that work, and offers insights on our vocation to perfect love and its relationship to the vocation of marriage and family life. 

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by the Our Sunday Visitor Institute.

Recognizing that “. . . [t]he future of the world and of the Church passes through the family,” St. John Paul II exhorts the Christian family to “become what you are” in his Apostolic Exhortation, "On the Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World," Familiaris consortio, paragraphs 75, italics our emphasis and 17, respectively. The Christian family is a community that lies at the heart of formation, education, and evangelization. This workshop walks us through the Church’s pastoral document from the saint, who is often called the “Pope of the family,” systematically examining the tasks facing the Christian family in both its natural and supernatural roles. 

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by the Our Sunday Visitor Institute.

“‘And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the market place; and to them he said, “You go into the vineyard too . . .” So they went.’” (Matthew 20:3–4) We are invited by Jesus to participate in His work of redemption and sanctification; He calls us to come close to Him and sends us out to labor in His vineyard. As members of the laity, we labor in the vineyard in a unique way by being in the world and not of the world. St. John Paul II deepened the Church’s understanding of the role of the laity in the Church and in the world in his Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation “On the Vocation and the Mission of the Lay Faithful in the Church and in the World,” Christifideles laici. This workshop unpacks the teaching of St. John Paul II in this document and describes the essential role of every lay person and how to apply it to the concrete circumstances of our own lives. 

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by the Our Sunday Visitor Institute.

An important part of being a mentor is getting to really know the person under your care. In this workshop, we explore various kinds of questions related to this work of discovery, and demonstrate which ones best accomplish the objective of authentically revealing that person’s thoughts and needs to productively and wisely build the mentoring relationship. Poor questions result in missed opportunities or weak rapport. Great questions truly serve to open up a soul and build strong mentorship. We especially emphasize the value of open-ended questions oriented toward drawing out a person’s life story.

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by the Our Sunday Visitor Institute.

Empathic listening makes a profound impact on mentoring relationships and in the mentor’s ability to influence effectively someone seeking guidance. When mentors ask good questions, they demonstrate a sincere interest in getting to know those in their care. Such questions orient the relationship toward more authentic sharing, and thereby, allow the Holy Spirit to foster spiritual progress and genuine openness to God’s will. This workshop is intended to complement the workshop “Building the Mentoring Relationship: Asking Good Questions.” Empathic listening is the counterpart skill that enables mentors to truly understand another person intellectually, as well as emotionally. In addition to addressing the meaning of empathy, we discuss how Christ the Servant is the superlative model for this service to souls. This workshop will explore the unexpected place of empathy in catechetics and study the important role of empathy in the diaconal ministry.

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by the Our Sunday Visitor Institute.

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” (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.

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

In all of our interactions with others, especially amidst crises and conflicts, we are called to witness to Christ the Servant through St. John’s words: “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 John 4:11). Facing crises and conflicts is part of our ministry, and by equipping ourselves and those we instruct to approach them from a Christian perspective, we can encounter each person involved as a beloved child of God (see 1 John 3:1). This workshop explores how we and those we serve now and in our future diaconal ministry can approach conflicts and crises in a manner that emulates Christ the Servant’s approach to conflict. Whether the conflict is occurring in a personal relationship, or a professional or ministerial setting, following a Christ-centered approach can help each individual see Christ in each other and can lead them to work toward producing a fruitful and positive outcome for all involved. Looking to Christ’s example as One Who calmly, yet assertively, faced various conflicts and crises in His earthly ministry, we can understand that the first step toward engaging with others in a conflict or crisis situation begins with letting Christ the Servant lead the way.

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

This workshop offers a summary outline of the basic principles of Catholic morality and how our moral life is rooted not merely in a code of ethics or a set of rules, but profoundly in the Person of Jesus. It discusses some of the major moral issues we face in our society today, and equips all who teach the faith — whether youth ministers, catechists, Catholic school teachers, and so on — with the tools to establish a sure foundation for right moral thinking, both in themselves and in those to whom they minister.

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

“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 toward 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.

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

This workshop is about the central importance of personal vocation. In the words of St. John Paul II, the human person, each unique and unrepeatable, is “the primary and fundamental way for the Church” (St. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter. “On the Redeemer of Man,” Redemptor hominis 14). Each is called to a graced path: to eternal divine beatitude, and to live as a person devoted to the good of his or her neighbor. We will discuss the meaning of personal vocation, as it emerged from the Second Vatican Council and was developed in the teaching of St. John Paul II. The unfortunate neglect of personal vocation will also be addressed. We will discuss the pressing need for integrating personal vocation into all Catholic formation. Those who mentor others must situate their mentorship squarely within their own unique callings. In turn, they must help those in their care further clarify and deepen their own personal vocations. As future deacons, we must witness and catechize that personal vocation should not be a peripheral concept for the Catholic but a central and integrating principle of a life lived in and for Christ the Servant.

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

What does it mean to serve in a diverse parish? Cultural diversity has always been at the heart of the Church: “Here there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free man, but Christ is all, and in all” (Colossians 3:11). This workshop explores how to navigate the intercultural reality that many parish programs experience, so that we can effectively bring the love of Christ the Servant to each person and help all within the community feel a part of the Body of Christ. In doing so, fostering a respect for the dignity of each person, honoring the pivotal importance of family culture, and making the effort to grow in intercultural competence become key highlights in any successful ministry approach.

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

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 minister to and how I encourage each of those whom I have the privilege of serving and 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 found in the Trinity — the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by the Our Sunday Visitor Institute.

Flowing from the workshop called, “The Human Person,” this workshop addresses three of the major components of the human person and their relevance to the unfolding of God’s plan of loving kindness: 1) our creation in the image of God and His call to transformation by grace into His likeness; 2) our creation as male and female; and 3) the unity of body and soul in the human person. As we learn from the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), “Being in the image of God the human individual possesses the dignity of a person, who is not just something, but someone. He is capable of self-knowledge, of self-possession and of freely giving himself and entering into communion with other persons. And he is called by grace to a covenant with his Creator, to offer him a response of faith and love that no other creature can give in his stead.” (357)  

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by the Our Sunday Visitor Institute.

“For [the Lord] will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence; he will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.” (Psalm 91:3–6) In our daily lives — in our ministries, our families, our work, and so on — the spiritual battle is playing out, as we find ourselves tempted to distrust our Lord (Catechism of the Catholic Church 397), or to turn from His ways, or to lose hope in His deep and personal love for us. Yet, we do not battle the temptations of the Evil One alone. Jesus has conquered the world, the flesh, and the devil for us, and He invites us to engage in spiritual combat with Him, in order to restore ourselves and all creation to the fullness God intends for us. This workshop will help us understand what spiritual combat is, within the context of Christ’s victory over the devil, and how to engage in it in our daily lives as members of the Body of Christ.

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

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 (GDC) 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” (139) And from the GDC again: “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” (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 light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by the Our Sunday Visitor Institute.

“The Word of God became man, a concrete man, in space and time and rooted in a specific culture . . .” (General Directory for Catechesis 109). Jesus provides for us the example of living in a particular culture and engaging the good things of the culture to aid individuals in the process of conversion, and rejecting those things in a culture which hinder conversion. Each of us finds ourselves living and interacting within a variety of cultures — family culture, workplace culture, modern culture, and so on — each of which possesses certain aids and barriers to our continual turning from sin and turning toward God. This workshop will guide us in thinking about some of the obstacles to conversion present in our current culture, as well as some of the true, good, and beautiful gifts our culture has to offer, which reflect these three attributes of the Trinity — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We will explore Mother Church's vision for engaging the good things our culture has to offer in a way that fosters love for the Good News of the Gospel and aids the process of continual conversion for ourselves and others.

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

From the ancient Nicene Creed we proclaim that “I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages.” The mystery of the Second Person of the Trinity is the God Who comes to us to save, redeem, instruct, give us hope and lead us to our promised glory. He is “. . . the Way, the Truth and the Life . . .” (John 14:6). We do not have a God Who is distant, but a God Who comes to us in the most intimate way. We enter into the mystery of Christ through a living Word, transforming sacramental grace, evangelizing catechesis, and evangelical communities. This workshop will explore how a rich understanding of the means by which people enter into Christ’s life can be fostered in our approaches to our future diaconal ministry of leading the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA, formerly known as the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA)). At the same time, this workshop will strengthen our journey in discerning the diaconal journey by entering into this ministry often given to deacons and it will offer refinement and development of solid catechetical skills, for example in homily preparation. “. . .[T]he Word became flesh and dwelt among us . . .” (John 1:14) to call each individual to God’s loving plan and sure hope in Christ the Servant. This talk describes the means to participate in that life, in order to lead OCIA within a parish in the diaconal ministry.

As we move forward, please note that the videos for this workshop were made before RCIA was updated to OCIA. You may notice that the quotes in the videos are from the previous rite book and differ from the current OCIA text. The tasks for this workshop, however, have been updated with the current OCIA language. Even though the OCIA rite book has been updated, the heart of the OCIA process — conversion — has not changed. This workshop is still applicable and beneficial to you and your OCIA process, so that you can better minister to those entrusted to you. 

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

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 and serve discover the peace and joy of their salvation.

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

“Jesus thirsts; his asking arises from the depths of God’s desire for us” (CCC 2560). Jesus not only desires to have a relationship with youth, but with youth ministers, as well.  In fact, Christ the Servant cares more about doing ministry to people than He cares about people doing ministry for others. “Instead of giving God our very selves in ministry, we give him our work, emptied by the lack of Relationship and Identity. God does not desire our ministry. Rather, He desires us . . .” (Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate, page 122). This workshop focuses on God’s intense love for us, and places that personal Relationship with Christ the Servant as the center for all our ministry. This workshop is designed to form not only you in your future diaconal Mission in youth ministry, but also to enable you to form youth ministers in the field.

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

Pope Benedict XVI stated that, “. . . [T]he ancient tradition of lectio divina . . . will bring to the Church . . . a new spiritual springtime” (Address of His Holiness Benedict XVI to the Participants in the International Congress Organized to Commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the Dogmatic Constitution “On Divine Revelation,” Dei Verbum (DV) 16 September 2005). 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 teach others in this rich treasure of prayer.

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

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.

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

Speaking of catechesis with adults, the Directory for Catechesis tells us: “The commitment to the maturation of baptismal faith is a personal responsibility that the adult above all must perceive as a priority on account of being involved in an ongoing process of the formation of his own personal identity. . . . [E]ven at this stage of life and with characteristic accentuations, accompaniment and growth in faith are necessary so that the adult may mature in that spiritual wisdom which illuminates and brings unity to the manifold experiences of his personal, family and social life” (259). In this workshop, we will explore a particular form of accompaniment by which one person — whether lay, consecrated religious, or ordained — journeys with another through spiritual, intellectual, human, and apostolic formation. Through spiritual accountability, an individual is held accountable to Jesus, to him or herself, and to the person accompanying him or her for the growth occurring in his or her life. Our aim with this form of accompaniment is to make missionary disciples of Jesus Christ — in other words, to accompany people in such a way so that they can, then, go share the Good News of the Gospel with others, and provide for others the spiritual, intellectual, human, and apostolic formation they, themselves, have received. 

Within the diaconal discernment process, spiritual accountability is rooted in brotherly love and is seen as a quality of a deacon: “From the experience of the restored diaconate in the United States, certain behavioral patterns have been discerned among exemplary deacons: . . . collaborative accountability . . .” (The National Directory for the Formation, Ministry, and Life of Permanent Deacons in the United States of America (National Directory), United States Conference of Catholic Bishops 166). This means encouragement from accountability and being involved on this level in each other’s lives is a means for unity within the diaconate. The “collaboration” is no less than seeking to aid the other to eternal life with Christ the Servant. Although you will learn the basics of spiritual accountability to serve you with your cohort relationships, this workshop is tailored to learn how to accompany others through accountability in your future diaconal ministry. “In virtue of the Sacrament of Orders deacons are at the service of their brothers and sisters needing of salvation.” (Directory for the Ministry and Life of Permanent Deacons, Congregation for the Clergy 49)

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by the Our Sunday Visitor Institute.

In his letter to the Romans, St. Paul provides a powerful teaching on hope. He says, “Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God. . . . [H]ope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (5:1–2, 5). Hope is a vital part of the Christian life because it keeps our eyes focused on Jesus, sustains us in times of doubt, keeps us from discouragement, and opens our hearts to eternal happiness. Christian hope is not wishful thinking or mere optimism; it is confidence in God, Who is always faithful. During the course of this workshop, we will learn about Christ the Servant as our hope, the transforming power of hope, and how hope flows from faith into our “. . . diaconate of the liturgy, of the word, and of charity” (see Second Vatican Council Dogmatic Constitution “On the Church,” Lumen gentium 29).

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

God is the Holy One, and He calls His People to Himself to share in His life of everlasting happiness: “Be holy as I am holy” (Leviticus 11:45; also see 1 Peter 1:15–16). The Second Vatican Council renewed the Church’s awareness of this call in its Dogmatic Constitution “On the Church,” Lumen gentium: Chapter Five, which is titled “The Universal Call to Holiness.” In this workshop, we allow Mother Church to teach us about this call, a call impacting each one of us. We explore the challenges involved in making our response to this call, and celebrate the graces that God gives us for our sanctification. 

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by the Our Sunday Visitor Institute.

St. John Paul II reminds us that, “According to Christian faith and the Church's teaching, ‘only the freedom which submits to the Truth leads the human person to his true good. The good of the person is to be in the Truth and to do the Truth’” (St. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter, “The Splendor of Truth,” Veritatis splendor 84). In this workshop, we explore not only what truth is and some of the different forms it takes, but also some of the obstacles we face in coming to know the truth and having confidence in our convictions. Objective truth does exist. We can make statements that describe the world as it really is. We are called to diligently seek out the truth, allowing God to open our minds and hearts, in order to ultimately find the authentic peace and joy that come with discovering the Person of Jesus Christ, Who is Truth Himself (see John 14:6).

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

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 you will be called to pass on in your future diaconal catechetical ministry, so that each catechist can develop teachings that flow from his or her own deep grasp of the saving truths.

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

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.” (Ephesians 3:4; St. John Paul II’s Apostolic Exhortation “On Catechesis in Our Time,” Catechesi tradendae 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.  

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by William H. Sadlier, Inc.

“Christ chose to be born and grow up in the bosom of the holy family of Joseph and Mary. . . . In our own time, in a world often alien and even hostile to faith, believing families are of primary importance as centers of living, radiant faith.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church (Catechism or CCC) 1655, 1656) Jesus’ entrance into a family places a particular emphasis on family life. Parents are the primary educators of their children (see Second Vatican Council Declaration “On Christian Education,” Gravissimum educationis 3), and Christian families are primary centers of "radiant faith." The Christian family is the “domestic church” (Second Vatican Council Dogmatic Constitution “On the Church,” Lumen gentium 11), because it is in the family that parents and children pray, sacrifice, worship, live charity, and offer witness of holy lives. This workshop teaches what the domestic church is and how God saves us in and through the family and the community that God has given to us.  

Service to families is a large part of diaconal ministry. This workshop is designed first for your formation. Whether married or not, this workshop is easily incorporated into your family ministry or in training your team for family ministry. In this diakonia of charity, the transformation of married couples and families through God’s love is by Christ the Servant giving Himself through us.

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by the Our Sunday Visitor Institute.

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, 15th World Youth Day, 19 August 2000). It is Christ the Servant Who calls us to do this “something great” with our lives by deepening His call to us as His disciples through discernment of diaconal vocation. He invites us to follow Him, even though being a disciple and discernment 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 character of diaconal ordination — conforming ourselves to Christ the Servant. “The diaconate is conferred through a special outpouring of the Spirit (ordination), which brings about in the one who receives it a specific conformation to Christ, Lord and servant of all.” (Basic Norms for the Formation of Permanent Deacons (Basic Norms), Congregation for Catholic Education 5)

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

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?  St. Paul VI wrote, “techniques of evangelization are good, but even the most advanced ones could not replace the gentle action of the Spirit” (St. Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation, “Evangelization in the Modern World,” Evangelii nuntiandi 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 throughout our journey of diaconal discernment.

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

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, Christ the Servant 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 sacramental preparation for Holy Orders in the diaconate, you find in this workshop both foundational and formative perspectives for this journey and the means for catechesis on the sacraments within your future diaconal ministry.

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by William H. Sadlier, Inc.

“The diaconate is conferred through a special outpouring of the Spirit (ordination), which brings about in the one who receives it a specific conformation to Christ, Lord and Servant of all.” (Basic Norms for the Formation of Permanent Deacons (Basic Norms) 5) The diaconate is centered on Christ the Servant and expressed in service to liturgy, the Word and charity (see Second Vatican Council Dogmatic Constitution “On the Church,” Lumen gentium 29). Our catechetical mission as deacons, both in preaching and teaching, is unique, because it is not imparting a subject matter, but a Person. “. . . [A]t the heart of catechesis we find, in essence, a Person, the Person of Jesus of Nazareth, ‘the only Son from the Father’ . . .” (St. John Paul II’s Apostolic Exhortation “On Catechesis in Our Time,” Catechesi tradendae (CT) 5, quoting John 1:14) We teach Jesus, and everything we teach, we teach in reference to Him, meaning Christocentrically (see CT 6). This workshop will explore how to unfold the life-giving truths of our faith with Jesus placed clearly at the center of all things: our preaching, our teaching content, our teaching methods, and through diaconal formation our own witness to others, whom God has called us to serve in love.

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

In the Code of Canon Law we read, “Sacramentals are sacred signs by which effects, especially spiritual effects, are signified in some imitation of the sacraments and are obtained through the intercession of the Church” (Canon 1166). Properly speaking, the term sacramentals refers to three of these sacred signs: blessings, consecrations, and exorcisms. In this workshop, we will explore the beauty of sacramentals and their power to dispose us to receive the sacraments and to more fully live as Christ in the particular circumstances of our lives. As we explore numerous examples of sacramentals, we will gain a deeper appreciation for them as a profound gift from holy Mother Church and an aid for participating in the Christian life. We will also discover opportunities to incorporate them into our own lives and future diaconal ministry.

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

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 at the heart of all that the Church “. . . believes, teaches, and proclaims to be revealed by God” (Profession of Faith in the Rite of Reception of Baptized Christians).  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.

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

Knowing and understanding Scripture is essential in the life of a deacon and in his catechetical Mission. 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 forming us into deacon 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 the Servant, revealing to those we teach the One they desire to know, fostering life-changing intimacy with God.

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

St. Jerome, a Doctor of the Church, 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 of Christ and as a model of the Church, and indeed, the diaconate.  She, herself, proclaims her full servanthood to the Trinity in her Fiat and surrender: “ . . . ‘Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word’” (Luke 1:38). The Church in Basic Norms for the Formation of Permanent Deacons describes this integral relationship between Mary and the deacon: “The spirituality of service is a spirituality of the whole Church, insofar as the whole Church, in the same way as Mary, is the ‘handmaid of the Lord’ (Lk 1:38), at the service of the salvation of the world. And so that the whole Church may better live out this spirituality of service, the Lord gives her a living and personal sign of his very being as servant. In a specific way, this is the spirituality of the deacon” (11). This workshop looks at what God revealed to the Church about our Lady, and how those truths form us under her Motherhood as faithful servants of her Son, Christ the Servant and His Church.

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

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.

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

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 in our future diaconal ministry. And in learning how to do this, we are able to insert our own name into St. Paul’s exhortation: O catechist, “. . . [G]uard what has been entrusted to you” (1 Timothy 6:20).

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

St. Francis de Sales once said, “Do not look forward to what may happen tomorrow; the same everlasting Father Who cares for you today will take care of you tomorrow and every day.” Who is God the Father? What does God the Father have to do with my life? How do I come to know the Father? God the Father is the First Person of the Trinity: the Alpha and the Omega. The Catechism of the Catholic Church begins and ends with the Father. The Son became man in order to show us the Father and lead us into Relationship with Him. This workshop teaches us about Who the Father is, and how we relate to Him as His children. 

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by the Our Sunday Visitor Institute.

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.

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

“. . . [T]hus says the Lord . . . ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine’” (Isaiah 43:1). Through the saving Life, death, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus Christ, we have been redeemed and called to know a sense of our belonging to the Blessed Trinity — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This proclamation of the Good News of the Gospel, the kerygma, is the message we are called to share with all those we catechize, and the great story of God’s loving plan for our salvation and what He calls us to be. In order to proclaim the kerygma to any audience in a way that can be heard and inculcated — such that they desire to run to their Savior and return His love — it is important for us to understand the content of the kerygma, its different formulations, and the context in which we will be sharing it. This workshop will explore the essence of the kerygma and ways to effectively share it with the particular audience we have in front of us.

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by the Our Sunday Visitor Institute.

Mother Church teaches us about the great significance of the Sacrament of Baptism by saying, “Through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made sharers in her mission . . .” (Catechism of the Catholic Church (Catechism or CCC) 1213). It is through the gift of Baptism that Christ’s work of salvation is applied personally to each one of us. Through Baptism, we are cleansed from our sins and share in God’s divine life. In this workshop, we will deepen our understanding of and appreciation for the Sacrament of Baptism. We will do this by exploring how Jesus instituted Baptism, reflecting on the effects of the sacrament and the obligations it imparts to us, learning more about the importance of the theological virtues in the Christian life, and pondering how we participate in Christ’s priestly, prophetic, and kingly ministry through Baptism. This workshop is applicable to all of us, because we all have room to grow in our understanding of and appreciation for this ever-important sacrament. 

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

During the Last Supper, Jesus promised that He would send us the Holy Spirit. Jesus, in union with the Father, sent the Holy Spirit, and the power of the Holy Spirit fell upon the Church at Pentecost. Likewise, the Holy Spirit falls upon each of us at Confirmation. Mother Church teaches us that the Sacrament of Confirmation is necessary to complete the grace we have received at Baptism. She also tells us that “[The baptized] are more perfectly bound to the Church by the Sacrament of Confirmation, and the Holy Spirit endows them with special strength so that they are more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith, both by word and by deed, as true witnesses of Christ ” (Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution “On the Church,” Lumen gentium 11). Through the Sacrament of Confirmation, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit to be authentic and faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. We are empowered by the Holy Spirit to spread the faith by our words and deeds. In this workshop, we will learn more about the richness of the Sacrament of Confirmation through reflecting on the Scriptural roots, effects, and outward signs of it. This workshop can be beneficial for all — pastors, parents, parish catechetical leaders, catechists, youth ministers, teachers, and so on — who would like to learn more about the Sacrament of Confirmation. 

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, we hear these beautiful words, “Sacred Scripture begins with the creation of man and woman in the image and likeness of God and concludes with a vision of ‘the wedding-feast of the Lamb.’ (Revelation 19:7, 9; cf. Genesis 1:26-27) . . . The vocation to marriage is written in the very nature of man and woman as they came from the hand of the Creator. . . . Since God created him man and woman, their mutual love becomes an image of the absolute and unfailing love with which God loves man” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1602–1604). This workshop will reflect on the beautiful, wonderful, and powerful gift that the Sacrament of Marriage is and lead us to a deeper understanding of this sacrament.

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

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; see 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 to better understand the Eucharist and its unique importance in your life, as you discern your diaconal vocation.  

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by William H. Sadlier, Inc.

In the Catechism of the Catholic Church we read, “The Christian family is a communion of persons, a sign and image of the communion of the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit. In the procreation and education of children it reflects the Father’s work of creation” (2205). Thus, the family reveals to us something about Who God is and how we are called to live as His beloved sons and daughters. This is the theology of the family, which we will explore in this workshop. Through the human family, we have the beautiful and unique opportunity to bring into the world and raise images of God, for we are all created in our Lord’s image, to be formed into His likeness and destined for eternity with Him in Heaven. The theology of the family does, indeed, present us with a lofty ideal, especially given that every family, due to the effects of the Fall, is wounded and broken by sin in different ways. However, as we’ll see in this workshop, God’s vision of the family is indeed worth discovering and pursuing, and we can seek to live it out even in the smallest of tasks of our daily lives, as well as sharing our beautiful call as families with everyone we encounter. 

Service to families is a large part of diaconal ministry. This workshop is designed first for personal formation. Whether married or not, this workshop is also easily incorporated into your family ministry or in training your team for family ministry. In this diakonia of charity, the transformation of families through God’s love is by Christ the Servant giving Himself through us. “. . . [I]n the Servant Mysteries, the deacon . . . is filled with a love that’s not his own, given a vision that’s not his own, and provided a strength that’s not his own. . . . This approach means not only bringing Christ the Servant to those we meet, but seeing Christ the Servant in those very same people.” (Encountering Christ the Servant, page 98)

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by the Our Sunday Visitor Institute.

This workshop is the first installment of a four-part series on reading the Catechism of the Catholic Church, an amazing gift that the Church has given us.  Within the Catechism, we find the Church’s teachings clearly laid out and supported by Sacred Scripture and Tradition.  This particular workshop walks through and highlights the key points within Part 1: The Profession of Faith, which includes an overview of the Trinity, the Creed, Salvation History, the Four Last Things, and so on. 

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

This workshop is part of a four-part series on reading the Catechism of the Catholic Church, an amazing gift that the Church has given us. Within the Catechism, we find the Church’s teachings clearly laid out and supported by Sacred Scripture and Tradition. This particular workshop walks through and highlights the key points within Part 2: The Celebration of the Christian Mystery, which includes an overview of Christ’s continuing work in the Sacraments, the seven Sacraments of the Church, and other liturgical celebrations.

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

This workshop is part of a four-part series on reading the Catechism of the Catholic Church, an amazing gift that the Church has given us. Within the Catechism, we find the Church’s teachings clearly laid out and supported by Sacred Scripture and Tradition. This particular workshop walks through and highlights the key points within Part 3: Life in Christ, which includes discussion of the dignity of the human person, human community, law and grace, and the Ten Commandments.

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

This workshop is part of a four-part series on reading the Catechism of the Catholic Church, an amazing gift that the Church has given us. Within the Catechism, we find the Church’s teachings clearly laid out and supported by Sacred Scripture and Tradition. This particular workshop walks through and highlights the key points within Part 4: Christian Prayer, which includes an overview of what prayer is, types of prayer, the life of prayer and a detailed look at the Lord's Prayer. 

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

“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 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 for our formation in the future diaconal ministry to “. . . serve in the diaconate of the liturgy . . .” (Second Vatican Council Dogmatic Constitution “On the Church,” Lumen gentium 29).

As we move forward, please note that the videos for this workshop were made before RCIA was updated to OCIA. You may notice that the quotes in the videos are from the previous rite book and differ from the current OCIA text. The tasks for this workshop, however, have been updated with the current OCIA language. Even though the OCIA rite book has been updated, the heart of the OCIA process — conversion — has not changed. This workshop is still applicable and beneficial to you and your OCIA process, so that you can better minister to those entrusted to you. 

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by William H. Sadlier, Inc.

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” (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 principal places of adult formation are in the family and in the parish.

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

“That which was from the beginning . . . that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you . . .” (1 John 1:1, 3). St. John Paul II proclaimed that, “. . . [T]he definitive aim of catechesis is to put people not only in touch but in communion, in intimacy, with Jesus Christ . . .” (Apostolic Exhortation "On Catechesis in Our Time," Catechesi tradendae 5). The work of catechesis is not just “education,” but “intimacy with Jesus Christ.” God wants to make Himself known, to communicate His own divine life to us and make us capable of responding to Him. God gradually “pulls back the veil” (see 2 Corinthians 3:14–16) by words and deeds, but especially in Jesus Christ, the Mediator and fullness of all Revelation. By His Revelation, God has answered all the questions of the human condition. God wants all to be saved, so He arranged that His Revelation remain in its entirety and be transmitted to all generations. This workshop focuses on the apostolic work of passing on the truths of the faith in an organic and systematic way. This is done to make disciples of Christ and to initiate them into the fullness of Christian life through an encounter with the communion of believers and with Christ the Teacher. “‘The whole concern of doctrine and its teaching must be directed to the love that never ends.’” (Roman Catechism, Preface 10; cf. 1 Corinthians 13:8; quoted in Catechism of the Catholic Church 25)

As we move forward, please note that the videos for this workshop were made before RCIA was updated to OCIA. You may notice that the quotes in the videos are from the previous rite book and differ from the current OCIA text. The tasks for this workshop, however, have been updated with the current OCIA language. Even though the OCIA rite book has been updated, the heart of the OCIA process—conversion—has not changed. This workshop is still applicable and beneficial to you and your OCIA process, so that you can better minister to those entrusted to you. 

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

“. . . the parish is the Church placed in the neighborhoods of humanity . . . a ‘place’ in the world for the community of believers to gather together as a ‘sign’ and ‘instrument’ of the vocation of all to communion: in a word, to be a house of welcome to all and a place of service to all . . . the ‘village fountain’ to which all would have recourse in their thirst.” ("On the Vocation and the Mission of the Lay Faithful in the Church and in the World,” Christifideles laici (CL) 27) This workshop speaks about the importance of the parish and introduces fundamental principles to develop a welcoming and evangelizing parish. This workshop can be helpful to all involved in parish life and is especially important for the diaconal life lived in service to the souls of the parish.

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

St. John Paul II stated that adult catechesis is “. . . the principal form of catechesis, because it is addressed to persons who have the greatest responsibilities and the capacity to live the Christian message in its fully developed form” (Apostolic Exhortation “On Catechesis in Our Time,” Catechesi tradendae (CT) 43). During His public ministry, Jesus invited men and women to follow Him and be His disciples. Through adult catechesis, we invite men and women to be Jesus’ disciples, and we accompany them on their journey of faith, so that they may come to believe more firmly, hope more ardently, and love more perfectly. This workshop offers practical insights on how to disciple adults, the need for pastoral accompaniment, and how to identify and sensitively address the needs that exist in every community, all of which are skills to work on for future diaconal ministry.

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

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. 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, 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, the place in which “. . . Christ Jesus works in fullness for the transformation of human beings” (St. John Paul II’s Apostolic Exhortation “On Catechesis in Our Time,” Catechesi tradendae (CT) 23). As catechists, we have a call, the privilege of assuring 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 become transformed by Him, 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.

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

In the early Church, the followers of Christ devoted themselves “to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers” (Acts of the Apostles 2:42). We, too, continue to devote ourselves to these four things. We follow Mother Church’s teaching, gather together for fellowship, partake in the celebration of the Eucharist, and pray. Small groups are a unique avenue for us to learn more about Christ the Servant’s teaching, grow in fellowship with one another, prepare ourselves to participate in the Eucharistic celebration, and pray together. This workshop speaks about the vision and essential elements of small groups, the role of the facilitator in a small group, the goal of the small group, and offers practical advice to help a small group thrive. This workshop will guide you in the many circumstances, because as a future deacon, you will be leading small groups. The role of the deacon is to be “a bridge and not an obstacle for others in their meeting with Jesus Christ the Redeemer of man” (St. John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation “On the Formation of Priests in the Circumstances of the Present Day,” Pastores dabo vobis 43). And so in small groups, he is able to bring the love of Christ the Servant’s Heart more directly to the souls in the group. “. . . [T]he deacon . . . is filled with a love that’s not his own . . . This approach means not only bringing Christ the Servant to those we meet, but seeing Christ the Servant in those very same people.” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 98)

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

“Being in the image of God the human individual possesses the dignity of a person, who is not just something, but someone. He is capable of self-knowledge, of self-possession and of freely giving himself and entering into communion with other persons. And he is called by grace to a covenant with his Creator, to offer him a response of faith and love. . .” (Catechism of the Catholic Church (Catechism or CCC) 357). The dignity of the human person dwells in relationship. It resides first and foremost in our Relationship with Christ the Servant, Who created us in His image and calls us always to Himself, especially through the graces our ordination to be configured to Him. It resides, as well, in our relationships with others, who share in our humanity. Our ministries within the Church includes a call to relationship, and always a call to foster healthy and healing relationships. As we will learn in this workshop, certain communication skills underlie all healthy, healing relationships. Parish ministers are not therapists, but practicing these healthy ways of communicating encourages healthy relationships and can even foster healing amidst those they serve. Let us approach this workshop, then, ever mindful of the precious dignity of those our heavenly Father places in our path, and of the beautiful way in which each person we encounter holds within him or herself the astounding identity of being a child of God.

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

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 and serve discover the peace and joy of their salvation.

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

This workshop sharpens 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 ourselves and those whom we will serve as deacons to answer Jesus’ crucial question to His apostles and to each one of us, “. . . [W]ho do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15).    

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

Mother Church teaches us “. . . it must be emphasized once more that the pastoral intervention of the Church in support of the family is a matter of urgency. Every effort should be made to strengthen and develop pastoral care for the family, which should be treated as a real matter of priority . . .” (St. John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation “On the Role of the Family in the Modern World,” Familiaris consortio 65). She shares Her wisdom, because the family is a reflection of the Trinity and thus, an integral part of society. It is upon the family that society is built and strengthened. It is through the family that “. . . one learns endurance and the joy of work, fraternal love, generous — even repeated — forgiveness, and above all divine worship in prayer and the offering of one’s life” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1657). The husband and wife, united in the Sacrament of Marriage, are the foundation of the family. Through learning the principles of marriage ministry, we can learn how to support a husband and wife in their vocation and how to support families in our future diaconal ministries.

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

“[Jesus] said to him the third time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ . . .” (John 21:17).  Imagine Jesus facing you, and speaking to you these words, with no distractions, no doubts of His reality, identity or knowledge. Imagine facing Him with no loss of memory on your part about your whole past, nothing less than your whole future to offer, no misinterpretation of the profoundness of the question, “Do you love me?” A breathtaking question. Conversion is about finding what you are seeking in the deepest part of yourself, and finding it superabundantly.  The result of true conversion is a rare combination: peace of soul and zeal of heart. This workshop explores how to support this work of the Holy Spirit, so that all catechesis is focused on conversion to Christ and to His Church, and continuing conversion becomes the norm for each Christian life.

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

“No methodology, no matter how well tested, can dispense with the person of the catechist in every phase of the catechetical process. The charism given to him by the Spirit, a solid spirituality and transparent witness of life, constitutes the soul of every method” (General Directory for Catechesis 156). This workshop discusses the surpassing importance of the catechist as a witness and how to wisely and effectively incorporate witnessing into the work of formation. To the degree that this is poorly understood by catechists, their efforts will fall on deaf ears in our secular culture, as St. Paul VI reminds us: “. . . ‘Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses’” (Apostolic Exhortation “On Evangelization in the Modern World,” Evangelii nuntiandi 41, quoting St. Paul VI's Address to the Members of the Concilium de Laicis on October 2, 1974).

As we move forward, please note that the videos for this workshop were made before RCIA was updated to OCIA. You may notice that the quotes in the videos are from the previous rite book and differ from the current OCIA text. The tasks for this workshop, however, have been updated with the current OCIA language. Even though the OCIA rite book has been updated, the heart of the OCIA process — conversion — has not changed. This workshop is still applicable and beneficial to you and your OCIA process, so that you can better minister to those entrusted to you. 

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

What is our purpose and goal as deacons in the Church serving in an Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) process?  To make new Catholics?  To spread the Gospel?  To run a good process?  Our purpose and goal must transcend the “how” of OCIA and begin with the “why.”  The restoration of the catechumenal process is a reflection of the Church’s wisdom in going back to a tried-and-true practice, in order to lovingly bring people into Her fold.  It is a restoration of grace for those who are seeking Christ and His one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.  This workshop inaugurates the necessary vision to develop excellent parish-based OCIA ministry, beginning with a call to trust the wisdom of Holy Mother Church in Her discernment to gift the modern world with a way of Christian initiation unparalleled in its beauty and power.  Only in the light of this trust and deep understanding of the OCIA process, as what the Church intends it to be implemented, does the full purpose and potential of the initiation journey become clear and attainable.

As we move forward, please note that the videos for this workshop were made before RCIA was updated to OCIA. You may notice that the quotes in the videos are from the previous rite book and differ from the current OCIA text. The tasks for this workshop, however, have been updated with the current OCIA language. Even though the OCIA rite book has been updated, the heart of the OCIA process—conversion—has not changed. This workshop is still applicable and beneficial to you and your OCIA process, so that you can better minister to those entrusted to you. 

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

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 to those we serve in schools and parishes through our future diaconal ministry, and specifically to look at how to encourage the formation of the entire family.  In the Catechism of the Catholic Church (Catechism or CCC) 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 parishes and school communities and families can work to bring about the well-formed and beautiful soul of each member. 

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by the Our Sunday Visitor Institute.

This workshop outlines the Church’s purpose and understanding of sacred liturgy in light of God’s wonderful plan of salvation. It is designed for this diaconal formation to train youth ministers in your future Mission to develop a Catholic identity with 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 (see LG 11; Catechism of the Catholic Church 1324).  

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

This workshop's creation was made possible through a generous grant by William H. Sadlier, Inc.

In his Apostolic Exhortation “On the Proclamation of the Gospel in Today’s World,” Evangelii gaudium (EG), Pope Francis reminds us that: “. . . [T]he Gospel tells us constantly to run the risk of a face-to-face encounter with others, with their physical presence which challenges us, with their pain and their pleas, with their joy which infects us in our close and continuous interaction. True faith in the incarnate Son of God is inseparable from self-giving, from membership in the community, from service, from reconciliation with others. The Son of God, by becoming flesh, summoned us to the revolution of tenderness” (88). By virtue of our ordination and diaconal duties, we will have the role of parish catechetical leader both naturally and at times, will have the role formally as a diaconal ministry. We will encounter others — our pastor, fellow staff members, catechists, parishioners, and so on — on a day-to-day basis, whether in person, through email, or over the phone. So much interaction is not without its challenges, and it takes work, as well as great trust in our Christ the Servant, to be responsible on behalf of the pastor to maintain healthy and flourishing relationships in the parish setting. This workshop will explore common challenges to be faced when the mission is formally as a parish catechetical leader, and if not a parish catechetical leader, will give the ways to train and support one. This workshop will help us to grow in virtue in our future diaconal service as servant leaders in configuration with Christ the Servant, and help us grow in our appreciation for those we work with in our ministry.

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates

It is into the great mystery of the Father’s saving love through Christ Jesus that all believers are called.  And it is this great mystery that all the institutions of the Church, each and every one of them, exist to serve. The Order of Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA) has no other purpose than the service of the holy mystery, the saving sacrament, of Christ present and active in His living Body. Within modern liturgical renewal, the process of Christian initiation stands as one of the most important and successful renewals. Since its promulgation in 1972 and its elaboration under the auspices of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops in 1988, the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults has been among the most pastorally effective features of Catholic life in the United States.  And yet, all is not well. The very fact that the challenge is conversion, the conforming of imperfect men and women to Christ, means that the process will never be perfect. Initiation is, after all, the beginning of a process, which has its ending in eternity. However, some problems are more concrete and, for that reason, can more readily be corrected.

In general, three models of OCIA are operative today in most Catholic parishes using the rite. Each of the models conceives of, and practices, Christian initiation differently. This workshop describes these models, discussing their strengths and weaknesses in terms of catechetical, liturgical, and pastoral dimensions.  The result is clarity on how best the OCIA can serve the great work in your future diaconal ministry of immersing participants into Catholicism through a process of learning and interiorizing the Sacred Scriptures, Church doctrines, sacraments, prayers, moral traditions, spiritual readings and the rich communal culture of the Catholic Church, in order to serve the Father’s providential love in calling each soul to the living Body of Christ on Earth.

As we move forward, please note that the videos for this workshop were made before RCIA was updated to OCIA. You may notice that the quotes in the videos are from the previous rite book and differ from the current OCIA text. The tasks for this workshop, however, have been updated with the current OCIA language. Even though the OCIA rite book has been updated, the heart of the OCIA process — conversion — has not changed. This workshop is still applicable and beneficial to you and your OCIA process, so that you can better minister to those entrusted to you. 

In light of your discernment of the diaconate, we are delighted to guide you through a deeper exploration of this sacred calling. Engaging with the framework of Relationship to, Identity in, and Mission with Christ the Servant (RIM) is a meaningful path for spiritual growth and fosters greater integration between the interior life and ministry through aspirancy & candidacy. As articulated by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, RIM provides, “. . . a way of describing diaconal spirituality and, equally importantly, forms the necessary bridge between the deacon’s interior and exterior lives” (Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate (Encountering Christ the Servant), page 113).

Understanding this integration is vital, because being a deacon flows from a profound configuration to and unique communion with Christ the Servant. RIM describes how your Relationship with Christ the Servant shapes your diaconal Identity and how that Identity manifests in your Mission in the Church and in the world.

RIM provides the integrating theme for all our workshops. Consequently, it is important to have read Encountering Christ the Servant and Deacon James Keating, PhD's The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ and take the prerequisite workshops “Theology of the Diaconate, I and II" and "Spirituality of the Diaconate.” If it is not possible to take the workshops, then a basic understanding of RIM can be obtained through reading Encountering Christ the Servant's "Chapter Four: Living the Servant Mysteries," pages 103–123.

Please click here for more information about the CI approach & proposed content for aspirants/candidates