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Theology

Resources for Ministry

Email Patrick Manning, Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology, at [email protected] to recommend a website not already listed below.

* Indicates the top recommended resources if you only have time to look at one website in this category.

Explore Graduate Classes

Choose from a variety of graduate theological courses, and apply credits toward a master's in theology or pastoral ministry.

Learn more

Evangelization 

Short descriptions and links to a variety of evangelization programs including:

  • Alpha for Catholics
  • ChristLife
  • Christ Renews His Parish (Dynamic Catholic)
  • Renew
  • Others

USCCB New Evangelization Toolkit:

  • Resources for evangelization from the American bishops including:
  • Theological Reflection
  • Guiding Principles for Pastoral Ministry 
  • A Planning Framework for Discipleship-Focused Pastoral Ministry
  • A Five-Step Planning Process to be a new evangelization parish
  • Practical Resources to support the planning process

(Note: The toolkit is still forthcoming as of December 2020.)

St. Catherine of Sienna Institute:
Since 1997, the Catherine of Siena Institute has provided formation and training for lay pastoral leaders, priests, deacons and bishops that is deeply rooted in the Tradition and Magisterial teaching of the Church. This website contains information about workshops and leadership training as well as resources for forming and supporting intentional disciples including: 

  • The Called & Gifted™ Discernment Process 
  • Training in evangelization/making disciples
  • Training in spiritual accompaniment

Rebuilt Parish resources:
Guidance for how to become a vibrant, welcoming, evangelizing parish from the authors of Rebuilt including:

  • Free resources (via email sign-up)
  • Supplementary resources for their books
  • Parish consultation services
  • Blog
  • Podcast

Divine Renovation:
From Fr. James Mallon, the author of Divine Renovation, guidance for transforming the culture of a parish from maintenance to mission. Resources include:

  • Network of mission-driven parishes
  • New video resources each week (via email sign-up)
  • Podcast
  • Coaching
  • Additional resources for a paid subscription

Catechesis/Faith Formation

* Lifelong Faith:
A vast collection of Christian (not all specifically Catholic) resources and guidance for digital faith formation, intergenerational faith formation, and faith formation geared toward specific age groups.

  • Faith formation toolkits
  • Downloadable book and workbook chapters
  • Online journal on faith formation
  • A collection of curated digital resources on the Bible, prayer, worship, and more

Catholic Current:
A service of the USCCB, this website provides resources for catechesis and evangelization, including constantly updated resources tailored for each week of the liturgical year. Resources include:

  • Bulletin inserts
  • Weekly suggestions for social media posts
  • Printable catechetical and informational materials
  • Articles on a wide variety of topics
  • A ministry blog

Formation Reimagined:
An excellent resource of the Archdiocese of Bridgeport broken into areas of personal, parish, and family formation. It includes practical articles, educational videos, and guidance for how individuals, families, and parishes can grow in faith.

Formed:
A subscription-based digital platform from the Augustine Institute that gives parishes access to hundreds of high-quality resources including:

  • video-based study programs 
  • feature films
  • audio presentations
  • eBooks

Catechist.com:
From the team behind Catechist magazine, a website for catechists that includes:

  • Lesson plans and learning activities
  • Classroom management tips
  • Articles on theology and spirituality to support catechist formation 
  • Links to additional resources

Catechist's Journey:
A website for catechists from renowned catechist and author Joe Paprocki. Resources include:

  • Tips on teaching skills and using technology
  • Resources specific to catechetical topics
  • Resources for catechist spirituality
  • Resources for those in charge of parish catechesis

The Religion Teacher:
Website from veteran catechist and author Jared Dees. Resources include:

  • Guide to lesson planning
  • Teaching strategies
  • Lesson plans, activities, and worksheets
  • Videos

Prayer & Spirituality 

* Creighton online ministries:
An impressive collection of resources for prayer and spirituality from Creighton University including:

  • Reflections on the daily lectionary readings
  • Audio retreats
  • Online stations of the cross
  • Guides for daily prayer
  • Guided meditations
  • Online reading groups
  • Presentations on spirituality
  • And much more

Loyola Press prayer resources:
Prayer resources from Loyola Press including:

  • 3-minute online retreats
  • Faith and art
  • Prayers for children and families
  • Ignatian approaches to prayer
  • Traditional Catholic prayers
  • And more

Living Space:
Commentaries on the daily lectionary readings from the Irish Jesuits.

Franciscan Media:
Resources for prayer, spirituality, and Catholic life from the Franciscan Friars including:

  • Saint of the Day
  • Minute meditations
  • Information on Franciscan spirituality
  • Articles on family faith and the sacraments
  • Catholic news
  • Videos
  • Blog

Busted Halo:
A ministry of the Paulist Fathers, this website aims to present the Catholic faith in relevant, accessible, and innovative ways through testimonials, videos, podcasts, and other high-quality virtual resources. Having the vision of presenting the joy of the Gospel to the everyday person, the website insightfully covers a wide range of life, cultural and ministerial topics such as entertainment, politics, personal growth, prayer, social teaching, and questions of faith among others.

Dynamic Catholic parish book program:
Quality Catholic reading for as cheap as $2/book when purchased in bulk.

10 Ways to pray:  
A guide to ten different approaches to prayer, each of which includes: 

  • a brief story of one saint's approach to being with God
  • clear steps to each method 
  • suggestions for busy people trying to deepen their prayer life 
  • ideas for using the method with a prayer partner or small group
  • questions for thought and discussion
  • resources for further study

Preaching

* Homlies.com: 
A repository of homilies and preaching resources with links to dozens of other preaching websites. Includes homilies categorized for:

  • Sundays
  • Weekdays
  • Youth
  • Funerals
  • Humor

Prepare the Word: 
Preaching help and content for preaching and teaching that is engaging, enlightening, and true to the teachings of the Church. The website also offers help for funerals, audio reflections, and distribution ready parish materials.

ePriest:
A resource for Catholic priests that includes "Homily Packs," reflections on the daily readings, and articles on best practices in various areas of ministry. (Must create a free account to access most materials.

Liturgy and Sacramental Preparation

* The Sunday Website:
An uncluttered website with help for preparing for the Sunday liturgy including:

  • Prayers for preparing for Sunday
  • Reflections on the spirituality of the Sunday readings
  • Exegesis on the Sunday readings
  • Resources for music planning
  • Suggested general intercessions

Liturgy.com:
A subscription-based tool for liturgists and music directors to prepare liturgies for their parishes that includes a simplified music planner, the ability to explore new songs, and more content to enrich your music ministry. A subscription allows five users to create and share music outlines and planning tools.

Catholic publishers of sacramental prep materials:

Social Ministry

* Ignatian Solidarity Network:
A growing library of thousands of text-based and multimedia resources for those who wish to study, teach, and practice Catholic social tradition. Resources include:

  • Toolkits/guides for planning social justice related events
  • The Ignatian Solidarity Network YouTube channel
  • Information on national social justice related programs and events
  • Articles on a variety of topics related to issues of social justice
  • Social justice related blogs

Social Justice Resource Center:
A massive collection of resources on social justice and Catholic social teaching that includes:

  • Resources (articles, stats, videos, etc.) organized by topic and potential actions
  • Biographies of key figures in the fight for social justice
  • Links to many other websites on social justice

We Are Salt and Light:
An initiative of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, this website houses many articles aimed at helping parishes and individual Catholics learn about Catholic social teaching and put it into action. Users can use a variety of search filters to find relevant articles or search within four general categories:

  • Pray together
  • Reach out together
  • Learn together
  • Act together

Poverty USA:
A website from the US Bishops' Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) broken into three areas:

  • Encounter: Videos and articles highlighting the stories of people living in poverty
  • Learn: Maps and statistics on poverty, Catholic teachings, and resources for learning about and discussing poverty
  • Act: Resources for planning events, for prayer, and for connecting with local CCHD groups, including a Poverty USA toolkit

Catholic Relief Services:
Resources for parishes, dioceses, schools, and universities developed by Catholic Relief Services including:

  • Resources adapted for feast days and the liturgical seasons
  • Inserts for parish bulletins
  • Information about leadership training and guest speakers
  • "CST 101" videos and lesson plans on the 7 pillars of Catholic Social Teaching
  • Educational materials on different aspects of Catholic social teaching

JustFaith:
A program for purchase that invites participants to look at contemporary issues through the lens of Christian faith by engaging in reading, prayer, thought-provoking dialogue, encounter, and by building lasting relationships with a small group. JustFaith is available as a 24-week program or in three eight-week phases that can be done individually or in groups.

Parish Administration

*Revive:
Watch courses, engage with others, and learn from experts one-on-one, all on-demand. Course topics include evangelization, culturally diverse parishes, youth ministry, fundraising, and more. Subscription is 100% free.

Amazing Parish:
Organization dedicated to equipping pastors and pastoral leaders with the training, resources and support they need to create parishes that are centered on the sacraments and prayer, committed to organizational health, and passionate about evangelization and discipleship. Free resources include:

  • Steps for getting started 
  • Print materials and guides
  • Training videos
  • Webinars
  • Coaching over the phone

Parish Catalyst:
An initiative to support pastoral leaders through research, learning communities, consultation services, and up-to-date articles on best practices in parish ministry.

Catholic Leadership Institute:
An institute dedicated to providing bishops, priests, religious, deacons, and lay persons in the Roman Catholic Church with pastoral leadership formation and consulting services (for a fee) that strengthen confidence and competence in ministry. Some of their services include:

  • Episcopal support sessions
  • The Good Leaders, Good Shepherds priest formation program
  • Tools for helping parishioners to grow as disciples
  • Consulting and leadership coaching services

Rebuilt Parish:
Guidance for how to become a vibrant, welcoming, evangelizing parish from the authors of Rebuilt including:

  • Free resources (via email sign-up)
  • Supplementary resources for their books
  • Parish consultation services
  • Retreats
  • Blog
  • Podcast

Divine Renovation:
From Fr. James Mallon, the author of Divine Renovation, guidance for transforming the culture of a parish from maintenance to mission. Resources include:

  • Network of mission-driven parishes
  • New video resources each week (via email sign-up)
  • Podcast
  • Coaching
  • Additional resources for a paid subscription

Pastoral Care

Pastoral Solutions Institute:
A website with various resources including books, online videos and courses, online quizzes, tele-counseling, and more. 

Catholic Therapists:
This site includes a blog with articles on a variety of pastoral care topics and listings of Catholic therapists.

Catholic Health Association:
Recommended spiritual care apps, articles, and books on pastoral care from the Catholic Health Association. (Geared toward chaplains in health care settings).

For Your Marriage:
Dedicated to help couples at all stages of life to understand and live God's plan for happy, holy marriages by providing educational and spiritual resources. Launched in 2007 as part of the National Pastoral Initiative for Marriage, an initiative of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Twenty Third Publications:
Books offering guidance for various aspects of Catholic pastoral care including funeral planning, bereavement, discernment, and more.

Life and Leadership:
An overview of pastoral care and overviews of helpful books on the topic.

Pastoral Counseling:
An overview of pastoral counseling and overviews of helpful books on the topic.

Youth and Young Adult Ministry

Diocese of Gary Office for Youth and Young Adults
A practical resource page from the Diocese of Gary that includes links to websites, webinars, podcasts, programs, books, videos, and apps for youth, young adults, and those who minister with them.

USCCB Resources for Youth and Young Adult Ministry
Catholic teaching and documents, principles for ministry with youth and young adults, webinars, and links to external resources, publishers, and organizations.

National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry
Webinars, recommended articles and documents, and resources for youth and young adult ministry related to a variety of topics including catechesis, pastoral care, mental health, methods and models, and diversity and inclusion. Additional resources available for subscribed members.

Center for Ministry Development
The Center for Ministry Development promotes the development of ministry and catechesis with youth and families through leadership formation, service learning, and resources rooted in Catholic tradition and Scripture. The website contains information about service trips, webinars, and training available from CMD as well as a limited number of free resources and articles. Many more resources and services are available for subscribed members.

National Dialogue
Resources resulting from a series of national meetings aimed at energizing and unifying a Church committed to forming and engaging youth and young adults as missionary disciples. The website includes a report and recommendations from the National Dialogue as well as facilitator resources for engaging young people in conversation and organizing local events.

Catholic Publishers of Ministry Resources