About

Preparation

I would like to share a few of my most important thoughts about these books and my preparation for their development. For thirteen years, I have been teaching religion in Polish parishes and Polish continuing education schools. This brings me great joy. At the same time, I am aware of the responsibility of transmitting and awakening faith among children and young people. Today, looking back, I see that God has been preparing me and continues to prepare me, both for catechesis and for writing textbooks. Spiritual preparation and commitment seem to me to be the first and most important. Hence, various communities have been and are on my path (altar boys, Oasis, Academic Ministry, the Families of Nazareth Movement), thanks to which I discovered the gift of the daily Eucharist, frequent and constant confession, the power and need for prayer, especially praying the rosary, spiritual direction, and participation in retreats.

The second important link is theological and pedagogical preparation. I completed my pedagogical studies in Poland. I also studied law for three years. Then I came to New York and completed my theological studies there, and later my doctorate in education at Fordham University.

Another important aspect is the experience of the catechetical work. God invited me to teach catechesis in one of the largest Polish parishes on the east coast, the parish of St. Stanislaus Kostka. Here, for thirteen years, I have been teaching religion at virtually all levels, from first to eighth grade, as well as to high school students. Working at the Henryk Sienkiewicz Polish Supplementary School is also a valuable experience, as well as, years ago, working at the Holy Cross parish, where I taught religion in English. I meet with over two hundred students weekly. Some speak Polish very well, but others only understand the spoken language. This was the impetus to write these textbooks, some of which will be translated into English. Work on methodological textbooks has also been underway for two years, two of which are already completed. Other teaching aids are also in preparation.

Team

I would like to emphasize that, in addition to myself, a larger group of people are involved in the work on these textbooks. I extend special words of appreciation and thanks to Rev. Dr. Krzysztof Kobylski and Rev. Tadeusz Maciejewski for their theological consultations, Sister Dorothea Jurkowski for proofreading and consulting the English version, Ms. Beata Biały for proofreading the Polish version, Ms. Beata Biały, Ms. Elżbieta Majkut, and Ms. Małgorzata Staniszewska for their dedication to the work on the methodological textbooks, and my wife Urszula for her assistance with accounting and legal matters. I would also like to thank Ms. Małgorzata Pawlusiewicz for her methodological and authoring advice, and the Solarz family for their editorial assistance.