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<\/a><\/figure>\nby Jennifer Fitz, Our Sunday Visitor, 2020<\/p>\n
I spent several years soaking up everything I could (and throwing in my own many cents worth of opinions on various topics) at Sherry Weddell\u2019s\u00a0Forming Intentional Disciples<\/em>\u00a0discussion forum. A frequent question would come from gung-ho Catholics, always someone who loves the Catholic faith, loves people, and is raring to go: \u201cI\u2019m ready to evangelize! But, um, how exactly do we do that??\u201d<\/p>\n This book is the answer to that question. It\u2019s written for the average Catholic (clergy, staff, or parishioner) in an average parish, dealing with all the typical challenges of contemporary parish life. It\u2019s a pretty big book because we cover a ton of material, but it\u2019s very readable, heavy on the common sense.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re new to evangelization and looking for a good comprehensive overview of\u00a0how<\/em>\u00a0to evangelize, this is that book. If you already know what you\u2019re doing, but are struggling with how to explain the concepts of evangelization and discipleship to others in your parish, this book will help you find the words for the concepts that you\u2019re trying to teach.<\/p>\n There are discussion questions at the end of each chapter, so if you are looking for a truly life-changing book for your next parish group study, it\u2019s ready to go.<\/p>\n by Jennifer Fitz,\u00a0Liguori Publications, 2013<\/p>\n I wrote this book because when I started teaching religious ed, it was a disaster. \u00a0I knew the faith and I had experience teaching, but I was totally blown away by the power of a room full of tired, jaded, teacher-wise ten-year-olds. \u00a0\u00a0Classroom Management for Catechists<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>is a summary of all the things I learned in the process of turning that first fateful class into something amazingly good.<\/p>\n The book\u00a0provides detailed, step-by-step methods for catechists on how to manage classroom behavior with love and grace. These are\u00a0the time-tested methods for classroom discipline used by professional educators, but applied specifically to the particular challenges of the parish religious education setting. \u00a0Because quality teaching is one of the cornerstones of a good classroom experience (trust me: children will not behave if you are boring them to death), the book covers the basics of class planning, including chapters addressing each of the big pitfalls waiting for catechists \u2014 stuff you don\u2019t necessarily face in any other environment.<\/p>\n I\u2019m honored to see (writing in May 2021) that\u00a0the Archdiocese of Indianapolis recommends\u00a0Classroom Management for Catechists<\/em>\u00a0as the go-to resource for catechists for this topic<\/a>. Check out their page for other great catechetical resources to consider.<\/p>\n If my spiritual life were evaluated on an elementary school report card, I\u2019d get an N for \u201cNeeds Improvement.\u201d \u00a0I originally wrote the\u00a0Lord You Know I Love You<\/em>\u00a0retreat for use by a local chapter of the Catholic Council of Women in February, 2013. \u00a0It is now available on Kindle, and a paperback edition is\u00a0 \u00a0in the works.\u00a0 The retreat walks you through the Great Commandment using the four ways of loving God \u2014 heart, soul, mind, and strength \u2014 as the basis for self-examination.<\/p>\n If you wish to discern on behalf of a ministry or apostolate, or evaluate your work as a catechist or faith-formation leader, there are sections in each chapter tailored to those contexts.<\/p>\n This book makes a great Lenten retreat, and is geared towards ordinary Catholics across the spectrum.\u00a0 You can work through it as a group or on your own, whatever you like.<\/p>\n Edited by Sarah Reinhard and Lisa Hendey, Ave Maria Press, 2016<\/p>\n This is a collection of daily devotionals in the classic style of\u00a0CatholicMom.com<\/a>. \u00a0It\u2019s for use year after year, as the reflections are tied to the season or the feast day, rather than a particular calendar year. \u00a0I\u2019ve got some pretty cool ones in there. \u00a0You can read about\u00a0what I learned from being part of this project here<\/a>.<\/p>\n By Sarah Reinhard and Contributors, Ave Maria Press, 2015<\/p>\n My friend Sarah Reinhard undertook a massive collaborative blogging project, and it turned into this book. \u00a0Me and a bazillion authors you already know or really should know each wrote a reflection on a word of the Hail Mary.<\/p>\n My word is \u201cwomen,\u201d and I was nervous when the book arrived that I would have written something I regretted, but nope, I did great.<\/p>\n It\u2019s no surprise that some of the writers who accepted the call when all they had was enthusiasm and a heart for Jesus have since gone on to big things. \u00a0Sarah has an eye for picking talent.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Welcome! If you\u2019ve enjoyed reading my work online, my books offer the best of what I care about most, edited into sanity by some of the most talented editors in Catholic publishing today. If you like what you read, please leave a review at your favorite bookseller\u2019s website. Thanks! The How-to Book of Evangelization: Everything […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1209,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-10","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nClassroom Management for Catechists<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/h3>\n
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<\/a><\/h2>\nLord You Know I Love You:\u00a0A Discernment Retreat Using the Great Commandment<\/em><\/a><\/h3>\n
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<\/h3>\nThe Catholic Mom\u2019s Prayer Companion<\/a><\/em><\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\nWord by Word: Slowing Down with the Hail Mary<\/em><\/a><\/h3>\n
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