This is my inaugural post! I’m not tech savvy so it’s taken a while to get this blog set up. However, I think I finally have enough of it up to start posting.
I’m starting this blog because I have a lot of thoughts about catechesis, evangelization, Church ministry and all things Catholic. That is the plain and simple truth. In fact, I have so many thoughts that I can’t find enough people to listen. I read recently that when you talk so much about something that your friends tell you to shut up…you should start a blog. So here I am! When I was at Franciscan University studying theology, there were plenty of people to talk to and listen, but now…not so much. I’m hoping to connect with new friends, and perhaps some old, to talk about how to bring people into the awesome and exhilarating fullness of Catholic Truth.
I have an M.A. in Theology with a Specialization in Catechetics from Franciscan University of Steubenville, and I work as the Director of Religious Education at Exaltation of the Holy Cross Church in Champaign, IL (yesterday was our feast day!). That might sound fancy to some, and it gets my foot in the door at a lot of places, but it’s really just a way for me to do what I love most, tell people about Catholic theology and open them up to the amazing truth of the Catholic Faith.
The subtitle of this blog is “Bringing People into Union and Intimacy with Christ. This comes from paragraph 5 in On Catechesis in Our Time, the foundational text for modern catechetics written by Pope John Paul II in 1979. In it he says, “The definitive aim of catechesis is to put people not only in touch but in communion, in intimacy, with Jesus Christ: only He can lead us to the love of the Father in the Spirit and make us share in the life of the Holy Trinity.” This, I feel, is the heart of our mission as catechetical leaders. This is the overarching vision for catechetical ministry.
In this blog, I want to write about evangelization, catechetics and figuring out what works to bring people into union and intimacy with Jesus Christ in and through the Catholic Church. I’m also interested in how to improve catechetical leadership in the Church. I would also like to strike up conversations to explore how the principles of great leaders can be “baptized” in a sense to enhance the spiritual leadership and functioning of Catholic parishes in accomplishing their missions. I hope you’ll join me.
