GREAT FAMILY FORMATION SESSIONS

NEW! From Palm Sunday to Pentecost — Let us help you keep the faith alive while the churches are closed, we have partnered with the NFCYM and independent Catholic artists to bring compact faith formation sessions to your living room. Gather your family, play the video, and sing and pray along with us. Videos will be posted as they are available.

REGARDING THIS DANG PANDEMIC

Prayer to Mary During Pandemic — Download or print the Pope's prayer to Our Lady during this pandemic. 

NEW! Using Zoom, Facebook, and Social Media in the New Normal — Tips for social media and online forums during these times.

NEW! Ideas for honoring Mary in the Month of May — From our friends at the Children's Rosary.

NEW! Ideas for honoring Mary in the Month of May (Spanish) — From our friends at the Children's Rosary.

A Coronavirus Prayer — First and foremost, let us continue to pray with and for one another.

NEW! — USCCB Responds to Coronavirus — Prayers, downloadable prayer cards, and other resources from the USCCB.

NEW! — From our friend Pat Millea, Catholic Speaker, a couple video reflections: The Feast of St. Joseph in the time of Coronavirus and Finding Hope in a Quarantine. "In the midst of suffering, fear and anxiety, Jesus offers us something powerful and real: HOPE. This hope is not shallow optimism or a “silver lining”, it’s something much deeper and more beautiful. Embrace that hope in the midst of this Lenten time of quarantine!"

A Comic Exploring The New Coronavirus — This is not really catechetical, but may still serve as a helpful resource for kids regarding what's going on regarding the new virus.

Talking to Kids About the Coronavirus — "Kids worry more when they're kept in the dark." An article and video with tips on how to talk to your kids about this virus.

Coronavirus Response Lesson — From Loyola Press, "This Coronavirus Response Lesson helps educators, catechists, or parents discuss the COVID-19 virus with children and teach them valuable skills... and includes a faith component to remind children of God’s unconditional love for them."

Coronavirus Resources and Information — More resources and information about the coronavirus from the Diocese of Bridgeport.

How to Handwash Catholic Style — Pray and wash graphics from the Diocese of Dallas.

TOP RESOURCES

Faith at Home : FORMED — The Augustine Institute is offering a free 40 day subscription to FORMED during these times where so many are quarantined. You may want to avail yourself and your diocese from FORMED's many resources to reach your people through prayer, movies, meditations, bible studies, while the faithful cannot attend the Church and your clergy may feel useless and frustrated. It is a good way to creatively use excellent resources in your own creative way.

Sophia Institute for Teachers — Sophia Institute has created a set of easy-to-use, downloadable lessons to help parents at home confidently prepare their children to receive the sacraments and live the Faith!

Jesus Walks to Calvary— Contemporary Stations of the Cross with orginal music and meditative reflections by Marlane Tubridy.

Catholic Teacher Resources — A collection of popular resources for K-8 Catholic teachers.

Catholic Family Resources — Articles and activities from Loyola Press for kids and teens.

Resources for Catholic Educators — A wealth of lesson plans, worksheets, activities, and more for a variety of religious lessons.

MORE RESOURCES

NEW! — From Walking with Purpose — Walking with Purpose has created a FREE Bible study for women AND men based on each Sunday's Mass readings which will be offered for as long as Mass is only available online. It's the first time we're offering a Bible study as a FREE download, so it's something that's easy to share.

While many people are talking about how important it is to make a spiritual communion, it's unclear to many of the faithful exactly HOW to do that, or even what it is. This Bible study helps them to make a good spiritual communion by giving them a tool to prepare their hearts beforehand by going deep into each Sunday's readings in advance of watching Mass.

Defining Moments is written in 5 daily reflections. This brief but rich study is divided by: first reading (day 1), Psalm (day 2), second reading (day 3) and the Gospel (days 4 and 5). Lisa appeared on a Facebook video to first introduce the idea for the study and will continue to appear on Facebook LIVE each Saturday at 2pmET, to review the week's reflections before the Sunday Mass.

Alive in Christ — The Curriculum Team from Our Sunday Visitors has made some wonderful resources available: "With the rapidly evolving Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation, we wanted to provide you with a resource document for you and your catechists if your parish chooses to move religious education into the home due to concerns about COVID-19." The resources below are courtesy of Our Sunday Visitor!

• For Alive in Christ resources — "Please note that we have opened up access to the Alive in Christ online resources as well as digital books to anyone that wants access (for six weeks). On the website, click on Parish or School, click on Program Resources and on the left hand side of the page click either For Catechists or For Leaders and then click on Lent or Easter. For Catechists provides age specific plans on Lent and Easter and For Leaders, click on Seasonals/CST and we provide Family+Faith sessions specific to Lent and the Triduum in the various Liturgical Cycles. Temporary passcodes are: Username: salesdemo Password: aiccustomer827 "
• For Early Childhood Lent and Easter resources — Home sessions plans can be found here. "Roughly Unit Five houses Lent and Easter Home Lesson Plans where you can download and share appropriately and as needed."
• Instructions for accessing Alive in Christ digital books and home lesson plans can be downloaded here.
• Teaching Catholic Kids — a free weekly newsletter with more resources and ideas, including the article 25+ ideas for what kids & teens can do for Lent.

The McGrath Institute for Church Life shares these resources:

• Teaching the Saints — "A monthly workbook that highlights the unique ways God calls Catholic youth to use their gifts to serve the Church and world. This workbook series can be used for faith formation and Catholic education with Catholic middle and high school students."
• Liturgy of the Hourse — "A guide to night prayer for Lent."
• Discerning Your Spiritual Gifts — "Encourage middle and high school students to discern their gifts and the ways God calls them to serve the world. This toolkit uses the lives of the saints for a guided reflection and activity."
• McGrath Institute Blog — "Compiling practical resources and words of encouragement."
• The Pillars of the Church — "A free, self-guided online course led by Notre Dame theology faculty that explains the basic doctrines of the Catholic Church as they relate to its four pillars."
• Saturdays with the Saints — free online course: "In this course, Notre Dame theology faculty and McGrath Institute staff deliver dynamic lectures on eight saints chosen for their uncommon virtue and their willingness to let their faith stand in contradiction to the wisdom of the world."

The Quarantined Catholic Hub — Videos and podcasts from Dr. Scott Hahn of the St. Paul Center. "This is an opportunity for great spiritual growth. Take advantage of this time to increase your devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, explore the richness of Sacred Scripture, and deepen your understanding of the faith. On this page, you’ll find all the resources you need to continue growing with the Lord no matter where you are."

The Upper Room — Free resources for distance and quarantined Catholics, including livestreamed Masses, webinars, online rosaries, and more.

The Science of Well-Being — Here is a link to Yale's massively popular 'Happiness' course — it's free! Please share with any one who might need or want the 'boost'.

Sacramental Preparation for Families — A collection of resources from Pflaum "to help you to confidently prepare children for first Sacraments." There are also bonus resources especially for Confirmation preparation.

American Bible Society : Stations of the Cross — "Featuring unique works of art from sculptor Gib Singleton, this video provides an opportunity for viewers to meditate on the Passion of Christ." También disponible en español.

Living Faith Daily Catholic Devotions — "In light of the tremendous disruptions of our daily lives due to the worldwide outbreak of the Coronavirus, we want to help you find comfort, peace and healing in your faith both now and during the challenging days and weeks ahead. To that end, we are making Living Faith Daily Catholic Devotions along with La Fe Viva and Living Faith Kids free to access online through the end of March."

Free Online Resources to use at home — Editors at Baynard Faith Resources "have compiled a list of resources to help parents provide social caring and interaction during periods of school closure."

ODB Short Films — Creating a free account with ODB Films allows you to watch their short films. "This is a great way to stay entertained and do some at-home faith formation while you’re at it—and it’s absolutely free."

Daily Readings — Spend some time in prayer with the daily readings each day.

ProjectYM Live — An online live weekly youth night!

Interactive Holy Week for Children — "These sensory and interactive elements help children to truly view themselves as part of the story and as people of God."

Catholic Resources — Free downloadable resources, prayers, activities, and more.

Illustrated Ministry — Coloring pages, crafts, and more for family faith formation.

Sadlier Religion: Catechetical Resources — "Download seasonal and thematic resources to support professional development and faith formation in class and at home."

The Religious Teacher — The Religious Teacher unlocked the weekly Sunday Gospel member worksheets until Easter (Third Sunday, Fourth Sunday, Fifth Sunday, Palm Sunday), and published an eBook with short Bible stories to read with kids during Lent.

Pflaum Gospel Weeklies — The Pflaum Gospel Weeklies are a liturgically-based catechetical program that helps parents participate in their important role as the first educators of your children.

GENERAL EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES FOR KIDS OR ADULTS

450 Free Online Ivy League Courses — Want to take a free online course while at home? This link will take you to a list of 450 Ivy League courses you can take online for free.

Museum Virtual Tours — How about going on a virtual museum or gallery tour? Travel and Leisure magazine has compiled a list of 12 famous museums and galleries you can visit from your sofa.

Free Art Lessons on YouTube for Kids — The best art channels on YouTube for kids, a great way to spend time creatively while home from school.

100 Activities for School Closures — Numerous activities for kids to do at home to help survive the current school closures.

Adapted Mind Math Worksheets — Hundreds of online math lessons for grades 1 through 8.

14 Science Experiments for Kids — Two weeks worth of science experiments, fun and easy to do at home.

Off to Paris! Visit the Musée d’Orsay Museum Online — Take a virtual tour of the exhibitions and many works of art the Musée d’Orsay.

PUBLISHERS

Our Sunday Visitor — "Systematic and intentional catechetical resources that are based in the reflection and study of Sacred Scripture and Tradition for members of the faith community at every age and stage of development."

CatholicBrain — Our friends at CatholicBrain are offering their resources for free until Divine Mercy Sunday 2020. Sign up for a monthly subscription and then use code divinemercy20 to bring your cost to zero. If you have questions, email Pete Socks for more information. 

Faith and Life — A catechetical series for grades 1-8 with family resources.

Ascension Press — See their YouTube channel for some excellent catechetical resources.

RCL Benziger — This publisher provides "engaging, high quality resources, programs, and services rooted in the rich and diverse tradition of the Catholic faith."

Our Family Faith — Resources for family catechesis.

Ignatius Press — Books, movies, and more for Religious Education.

Loyola Press — Loyola Press offers many books and resources for the formation of all ages.

Twenty-Third Publications — Books and e-resources for spirituality and faith formation.

Liturgical Press — Our friends at LP are making the digital edition of their periodical Give Us this Day (includes daily Mass texts) available at no cost. Select "Digital" in the upper right of the screen.

Catholic Catechism for Adults — This is a great resource for adults who wish to keep up on their own formation.

Be My Disciples — Religious education program for grades 1-8.

Sadlier — Use these instructions to access free resources for religious education programs and for Catholic schools.