8-03 What If Sacramental Formation Really Did Form People?
Leonard DeLorenzo, PhD
Parents would like to form their children better in the faith, but they don't know how. Parishes would like to includes families in religious education, but they never quite pull it off. Schools would like to bridge the gap to students' home, but the gap doesn't narrow. What if we took a different approach to forming young people in the faith, one that focused on the home, empowered parents, and passed on the Catholic faith as a beautiful whole rather than as a bunch of little pieces? That is what this workshop is about. It is about a totally practical approach to formation for Confirmation or RCIA. Most proposals for sacramental formation focus on ideas without adequate resources or resources without substantive ideas. What we will explore together includes both: practical resources and a theologically sound, biblically rich, catechetically refreshing approach to faith formation.
Leonard J. DeLorenzo, Ph.D., serves in the McGrath Institute for Church Life and teaches theology at the University of Notre Dame. The author of seven books and the editor of three others, Leonard's authored books include 'Turn to the Lord' (Liturgical Press, 2021), 'Into the Heart of the Father' (Word Among Us, 2021), and 'What Matters Most: Forming Young Catholics for Life's Big Decisions' (Ave Maria, 2018). Leonard travels and speaks regularly across the country to dioceses, parishes, and schools on a broad range of topics. He also hosts the Church Life Today radio show and podcast. His weekly newsletter is available at bit.ly/lifesweetnesshope and his website is leonardjdelorenzo.com. Leonard lives in South Bend, Indiana, with his wife, Lisa, and their six children.