Guided by the Directory for Catechesis

2025 Award Finalist

The Association of Catholic Publishers (ACP) announced the finalists for the 2025 Excellence in Publishing Awards, a recognition of the best in Catholic publishing in the past year. NCCL's Guided by the Directory for Catechesis was one of the books selected in the Resources for Ministry category.

About the Book

The new (2020) Directory for Catechesis, a timely gift to the universal church, offers us a vision to renew and revitalize catechesis in our (arch)dioceses and parishes in this unique moment in which we live. At times we might ask what this vision practically and realistically means in our individual everyday catechetical situations. We believe with the Directory as our guide we can develop holistic, effective, innovative, and lifelong catechesis for all ages that speaks to the new context in which we live.

Guided by the Directory for Catechesis: Transforming the Vision and Practice of Parish Catechesis –provides a guide, serves as a mentor, and offers suggestions to help us apply the Directory to our particular circumstances. The flow of this guidebook leads us from vision to practices to application to design. As the Directory comes alive in our communities this guidebook encourages, challenges, and assists us to develop holistic, effective, innovative, and lifelong catechesis for all ages that empowers us to live discipleship in our everyday lives as well as responding to the needs of today’s world. As you create lifelong catechesis in your parish community, return often to the ideas contained in this book to assist you.

Chapter One: Fashioning a Catechetical Vision for the Parish

Chapter Two: Shaping the Catechetical Practices of the Parish

Chapter Three: Designing Catechesis for Families

Chapter Four: Designing Catechesis for Children

Chapter Five: Designing Catechesis for Adolescents

Chapter Six: Designing Catechesis for Adults

Chapter Seven: Designing Catechesis for the Whole Community Together

Chapter Eight: Designing New Catechetical Initiatives in the Parish

We believe that catechesis can form, renew, and revitalize the faith life of the whole parish community. It can contribute toward building a thriving parish community that becomes a learning community that lives its mission in the world. When a parish embraces lifelong formation in faith as essential to its mission and makes a commitment to create and sustain catechesis with families and all ages, the culture of the parish is strengthened and the faith of individuals flourishes.

Practice Resources

We have produced Practice Resources to assist you in applying the insights and practices outlined in the Guided by the Directory for Catechesis book (Twenty-Third Publications), written by members of NCCL's own leadership team. All of the Practice Resources are reproducible for use within your parish or ministry setting.

We have collected the 19 Practice Resources into one document, available in Word and PDF formats. Download your preferred file below and use in conjunction with the book.

FILE INCLUDES:

Practice Resource #1. A Guide to Creating the Purpose and Goals for Catechesis

Practice Resource #2. Applying the Directory for Catechesis to Parish Life

Practice Resource #3. A Guide for Applying the Eight Practices from the Directory for Catechesis to Parish Catechesis

Practice Resource #4. Programming Approaches for Catechesis

Practice Resource #5. Using Contemporary Methods in Catechesis 

Practice Resource #6. Using Digital Methods in Catechesis

Practice Resource #7. Forming Faith with Families

Practice Resource #8. Parish Family Faith Formation Assessment

Practice Resource #9. What’s Your Parish’s Approach to Families?

Practice Resource #10. Models of Family Catechesis

Practice Resource #11. Children’s Catechesis & the Alpha Generation

Practice Resource #12. Adolescent Catechesis & Generation Z

Practice Resource #13. Characteristics of the Seasons of Adulthood

Practice Resource #14. Learning Strategies for the Generations of Adulthood

Practice Resource #15. Designing Adult Catechesis using the Catechumenal Model and Process

Practice Resource #16. Practices for Forming Faith Intergenerationally

Practice Resource #17. Intergenerational Learning Design Worksheet

Practice Resource #18. Guide for Designing New Catechetical Initiatives

Practice Resource #19. Tools for Understanding Your Audience