Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I am wishing you and your family a joyful and blessed Christmas season! Glory to the Newborn King!!
2025 was a beautiful year here at Amazing Catechist as we welcomed new and talented writers onto our columnist team. We also enjoyed having some familiar contributors who have been writing for Amazing Catechist for many years pop back up on the site! It is truly a gift and a blessing to be sharing so many wonderful and inspiring resources with you all. We look forward to continuing to do so in 2026! I pray that we all continue to lovingly and zealously further God’s glorious kingdom!
Here is our January post with Catholic catechist and family resources from our archives. I also have some fun links from around the web for learning about and celebrating the Holy Name of Jesus (the church’s January dedication). Enjoy and God bless!
New Year’s Resolution: How to Increase Our Hospitality for Jesus in Our Hearts and Homes this Year
How about this for a New Year’s Resolution? Dr. Annabelle Moseley shares 5 practical and powerful ways for bringing Jesus into our homes this year. Try implementing one (or all 5!) personally or as a family in the new year.
Three Suggestions for Avoiding Burnout
This post is for all of you religious educators and catechists! After the Christmas festivities wind down, and we are returning to our classrooms, the winter blues can start to settle in as we try inspire and evangelize our students. In this post, Maria Rivera offers 3 helpful ways for avoiding burnout any time of the year!
10 Ways to Share a Breathing, Bleeding, Being Faith
This post by Cay Gibson is filled with TEN fresh and inspiring ways to encourage your students and families to live the faith beyond the religious education. This post is packed with wonderful resources for catechists and families, including a nice overview of the monthly dedications in the Catholic Church. There are also many wonderful ideas for ministries for children to participate in by grade and creative ideas for bringing the saints into your classrooms (spiritually and physically!).
Cardinal Newman’s Ideas on Children’s Religious Formation
Father Juan Velez writes: “Cardinal Newman, declared Blessed in 2010, carried out this work with a sense of measure and patience. He was demanding and strict when necessary but preferred to instruct and persuade youth. He wished them to grow in responsibility and become mature Catholics exercising a Christian influence in society. He teaches us by his example and way of thinking to carry out this important work of Christian formation in a similar way.”
Feast Days in January
9 Patron Saints of Education to Inspire Students and Catechists
I wanted to draw your attention to some special saint feast days coming up in January:
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (January 4)
St. Thomas Aquinas (January 28)
St. Don Bosco (January 31)
What do these 3 saints have in common? They are all patron Saints of Education! You can read more about each of them (as well as other patron saints of education and students) in this post!
The Saints and the Schoolgirl
Here is a lovely post from Alice Gunther about how Saint Thomas Aquinas interceded for her. She also gives a practical list of how we can teach our children that the Saints are our special friends!
St. Valentine’s Day
This Saint Valentine’s Day, Give Your Heart to the Sacred Heart
7 beautiful ways to give your Heart to the Sacred Heart this St. Valentine’s Day! “Whether you have a Saint Valentine’s Day that delights or disappoints, the most important gift of hearts is the one each of us gives to Our Lord. The most strengthening Valentine we can receive is the chance to rest our head upon the Sacred Heart of Our Lord, listening to its beat; as St. John the Beloved did at The Last Supper. After all, St. John the Beloved was the only apostle to withstand witnessing the Way of the Cross. When we draw near to the Heart of Jesus, we are capable of so much more than we could do on our own!”
O Jesus, Meek and Humble of Heart, make our hearts like unto thine.
January is dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus
January is dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus! Here are some resources from around the web to help you teach and celebrate this month’s dedication:
- Information on the Holy Name of Jesus from Catholic Culture
- Here are 8 Ways to Honor the Holy Name of Jesus from Aleteia
- Look to Him and Be Radiant shares this awesome poster with the Holy Names of Jesus and a free coloring page to print!
This article originally appeared on Jan 3, 2025 on www.amazingcatechists.com.
If you make a purchase via a link on this site, we may receive a small commission. There will be no added cost to you. Thank you!
