What do you teach after Confirmation is over (post-Confirmation sessions)? I recently shared a Confirmation lesson plan that focused on the deductive method of catechesis. The other approach to teaching ritual is the inductive method. This method begins with the ritual and and applies the actions to beliefs. In the case of Confirmation, this means…
mystagogy
Using Inductive Teaching Strategies to Get Students’ Attention
Getting students’ attention and keeping it can be a real challenge for any teacher or catechist. Children are easily distracted and have a hard time sitting in desks and remaining focused. Throughout the school day, most teachers use the same teaching strategies (mostly lecture) again and again. Catechists are faced with the challenge of trying…
Symbol or Sign? A Mystogogical Pedagogy of the Sacraments
Teaching about the sacraments What is a sacrament? The definition drawn from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which most children are asked to memorize, is “an efficacious sign of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which we receive the life of God through the work of the Holy Spirit.” In…
