I was getting frustrated.
The student sitting across from me was preparing for Confirmation, and he had all the “right answers.” He could name the sacraments, recite the prayers, and explain the doctrines. But everything he said felt… flat. Memorized. Detached. His Catholicism was part of his family heritage and a subject at school—but not something shaping his life.
I didn’t want him to pass a test. I wanted him to meet Jesus.
So I handed him a journal and said, “Between now and the next time we meet, anytime something trivial or too hard to describe happens—write it down. If you have a question or a thought, write that down too. Then before Mass this weekend, read everything back and offer it to God.”
To my surprise, he actually did it.
When we met again, something had shifted.
He wasn’t answering my questions—he was asking his own. He was curious, reflective, even a little excited to dig deeper. Over time, we added more practices: how to listen to Scripture, how to sit with silence, how to discern movements in his heart.
None of this came from more information.
It came from habits.
If catechesis is only an intellectual exercise, we teach people about God but never teach them how to walk with Him. Faith becomes something learned instead of lived. And eventually—even if they can recite the Creed—they drift because they don’t know how to pray, reflect, or hear God’s voice when life gets messy.
Habits change that.
At one parish I served, we focused intentionally on a handful of practices:
serving, tithing, personal prayer, sacramental living, fellowship, and witnessing.
It wasn’t a complete list—it was a foundation. And it helped people start thinking about their faith beyond the classroom and the Sunday liturgy.
If you want to help your parish build disciples, not just students, consider:
1. Start with your people’s real needs.
Listen to what keeps them up at night. Pay attention to struggles you hear repeatedly. Let those needs shape the habits you emphasize.
2. Anchor the habits in your parish’s identity.
Does your patron saint model hospitality, service, evangelization, contemplation? Let those charisms guide your core practices.
3. Keep it simple and repeatable.
Three to five habits practiced consistently will form stronger disciples than twenty concepts taught sporadically.
The Confirmation student eventually grew into a young adult who prays, discerns, and seeks the Lord with curiosity. Not because he remembered everything I taught, but because he learned practices he could carry into life.
That’s what lifelong formation looks like.
Not more content—but deeper rhythms.
Habits that sustain faith long after the program ends.