Presented by Dr. Petroc Willey, Director of the Catechetical Institute. Dec 13, 2022 God’s generosity and His Fatherly love is most fully manifest in His Son’s incarnation in ancient Israel and His continuing presence in the Blessed Sacrament upon every altar. 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 invigorated for a life lived for others. Eucharistic revival flows from three ways of formation: 1) How to see God’s gift of the Eucharist, rooted in knowing Jesus personally and loving the sacred liturgy; 2) How to be formed for a Eucharistic life of intimate devotion and radical trust; 3) How to give the saving truths of the Eucharist to others effectively in the home, the classroom, and in any relationship. ..........Recommended Resources.......... Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, God is Near Us: The Eucharist, the Heart of Life (Ignatius Press, 2003).......... Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, The Spirit of the Liturgy (Ignatius Press, 2nd edition, 2014).......... Romano Guardini, Sacred Signs (Pro Decimo Press, 1956) – meditations on the liturgical gestures, helping us really enter into them.......... George Herbert, The Temple (Canon Press, 2020) (Herbert’s collected poetry, with poems such as the Altar, the Sacrifice, The Windows, the Church-Floore, Love, and so on).

Presented by Chad Judice of the Diocese of Lafayette, LA. The vision of St. John Paul II in inaugurating World Youth Day, developed into a decades-long challenge to the Church to call each generation of youth and young adults to the heights of sainthood. This apostolate to the future is at the heart of renewal. Any effort to evangelize and make disciples of young adults must start with a carefully-formed Catholic worldview and a genuine missionary mindset, with particular attention to sustained long-term growth in the spiritual life, not just short-term gains. This webinar will explore those challenges and how to move forward effectively. Dec 6, 2022

Presented by Marcel LeJeune, Founder, and President of Catholic Missionary Disciples. Nov 8, 2022. The facts are clear – the Catholic Church in many countries is losing too many people. The Church needs to rediscover the model of ministry that Jesus handed on to the Church. This webinar will share a vision and approach for helping leaders to aim for changing the culture of their ministry toward the multiplication of missionary disciples. The reality is that there are no magic bullets or quick fixes. Jesus spent nearly every day of three years training twelve men in what it meant to be Catholic leaders, and they still misunderstood him, sinned, and fell short of his call. We do the same. Still, he left us not only with the content of his teaching, but the very model and mission we are to achieve – the universal call to “make disciples of all nations,” by helping others come into a life-changing encounter with Jesus, accompanying them, forming them, and sending them back into the world that needs Good News. Come explore ways forward to foster that goal.

Presented by Dino Durando and Marc Cardaronella of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. Nov 15, 2022 Parish renewal can be sought in many ways, and within a larger diocesan initiative of this kind, individual parish communities need to find their own ways of moving in that direction effectively. The Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph has discerned a pathway to renewal for its parishes, and is in this work for the long run, not following the illusion of quick solutions. They will discuss how they discerned their approach, the realities they’ve faced, and on what terms good progress becomes possible.

Presented by Mary Mosher, Master Catechist and Catechetical Institute Mentor. Nov 8, 2022 St. John Paul II tells us that, “Family catechesis . . . precedes, accompanies and enriches all other forms of catechesis” (Apostolic Exhortation “On Catechesis in Our Time,” Catechesi tradendae, CT, 68). These words challenge us to examine our thinking about how to pass on the Catholic faith within the parish or school we serve, and specifically to look at how to encourage the formation of the entire family. In the Catechism of the Catholic Church we read, “The family is the community in which, from childhood, one can learn moral values, begin to honor God, and make good use of freedom” (2207). This webinar will examine the primacy of the family in religious formation and the importance of assisting families in their own formation so that together the parish or school community and families can work to bring about the well-formed and beautiful soul of each member.

Presented by Katie Dawson (Diocese of Orange), Sean Martin (Diocese of Gary), and Ann Lankford (Diocese of La Crosse). Oct 18, 2022 A strong diocesan formation effort is not simply one geared to form individuals well in the faith, but one that seeks to foster intimate ties in Christ among the faithful, providing distinctively Catholic and ongoing encounters with Jesus through devotions, Confession, education, and fellowship, so participation in the Mass is experienced as it should be, as the summit of a wider movement towards the Lord.  This webinar will discuss ways to foster, at a diocesan level, creative catechetical formation that encourages this experience of the Lord in local communities of faith.

Presented by Mary Ann Wiesinger-Puig of the Catechetical Institute on Oct 11, 2022. In the Directory for Catechesis we read, “Over the course of the centuries, the Church has never neglected to give priority to the formation of catechists. . . . Formation is an ongoing process that, under the guidance of the Spirit and in the living womb of the Christian community, helps the baptized person to take shape . . .” (130–131). This beautiful document highlights for us the incredible vocation that is catechesis and the importance of the formation of catechists and leaders in diverse communities of faith and cultures. In light of the document’s strong emphasis on kerygmatic catechesis, pastoral accompaniment, and the need to more effectively reach families, this webinar will explore how the Directory for Catechesis specifically points to ways forward in Hispanic ministry.

Presented by Dr. Bill Keimig of the Catechetical Institute on Oct 4, 2022. Bishop Thomas Olmsted noted that, “Franciscan University has been on the vanguard of forming generations of priests, religious and lay faithful in service to the Church and world. It has provided passionate and robust intellectual formation for the People of God for many decades now. Franciscan University has, and continues to be, a gift to the Church. Thus, I wish to affirm my support of the Catechetical Institute and assure those who are interested in taking advantage of this online resource that I fully endorse this catechetical effort.” So what is the Catechetical Institute seeing as its next creative steps to help the Church in the New Evangelization, and to help you succeed in this challenging culture? Come find out!

Presented by Dr. Joseph White, Director of Catechetical Resources at Our Sunday Visitor Publishing on Sept 28, 2022. “. . . thus says the Lord . . . ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine’” (Isaiah 43:1). The 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 webinar will explore the essence of the kerygma and ways to effectively share it in a catechetical setting.

Presented by Charleen Katra, Julia Gilberto, and Esther Garcia of the National Catholic Partnership on Disability and Chad Judice of the Diocese of Lafayette on Sep 20, 2022. In his homily at the Jubilee of the Disabled, St. John Paul II beautifully stated: “How eloquent are your words for us . . . Lord of life and hope! Every human limitation is ransomed and redeemed in you. Thanks to you, disability is not the last word on life. Love is the last word; it is your love that gives meaning to life” (December 3, 2020). We also heard from St. John Paul II that “. . . the Church has always looked on catechesis as a sacred duty and an inalienable right” that needs to be available to all people, and this includes persons with disabilities (Apostolic Exhortation “On Catechesis in Our Time,” Catechesi tradendae 14). This webinar will discuss the Church’s teaching and practical guidance concerning catechesis for persons who have physical or developmental disabilities, and how to serve their families.