The first sentence of Pope Francis’s letter announcing the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy is, “Jesus Christ is the face of the Father’s mercy” (1). As catechists, this sentence is the key to understanding what the church means by “mercy.” For most people in the world, mercy is an optional act of leniency toward an offender. …
The work we do as initiation ministers is important, but do you ever wonder if you are making a difference? If you stopped showing up, would anyone notice? None of us are doing this ministry for fame or money. We just want to make a difference. Making a difference, however, doesn’t have to mean changing …
When I moved to California over 20 years ago, I left my Midwestern roots, my family and friends, everything I knew. I moved 2,000 miles from home. That is about 500 miles more than the distance between London and Moscow. You have to cross two mountain ranges to get from the Midwestern United States to …
Pope Francis wants to know, does your RCIA team smell like sheep?
Fifty years ago today, the bishops of the world issued this mandate: “The catechumenate for adults…is to be restored” (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, December 4, 1963). Fifty years later, I don’t think we have yet answered this call—not completely. In fact, I think we may be getting off track and “restoring” something that never …
I remember the first time I read a papal letter. I was a junior in college, and I had recently taken a job as a campus minister. The new, young, exciting pope, John Paul II, had just issued his first encyclical. There was no Internet in 1979 (well, there was, but only computer geeks and …
Am I really willing to help others? Just think of that. Think that this sign is Christ’s caress, because Jesus came just for this, to serve us, to help us. —Pope Francis, Holy Thursday Homily On Holy Thursday, Pope Francis showed us how to be master catechists. He knelt before 12 inmates of the Casal …
How Pope Francis knelt in front of 12 teenage prisoners and taught us to be master RCIA catechists
