Loving God, Creator of all things,
you call us to be in relationship with you and others.
Thank you for calling me to be a catechist,
for the opportunity to share with others
what you have given to me.
May all those with whom I share the gift of faith
discover how you are present in all things.
May they come to know you, the one true God,
and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
May the grace of the Holy Spirit guide my heart and lips,
so that I may remain constant in loving and praising you.
May I be a witness to the Gospel and a minister of your truth.
May all my words and actions reflect your love.
Amen.
Loving Catechists needed:
Make a difference in the spiritual life of a child and join our dedicated, fun and amazing team!
If you enjoy working with children, can dedicate 1-2 hrs/week, and commit from Sept-May on Sunday’s, we need you! No experience necessary.
Regular quarterly meetings are held along with spiritual opportunities, retreats and conferences to broaden your theological knowledge of your faith.
If interested to answer God’s call, please contact:
Beatriz Hernandez, Spanish Admin Asst at [email protected].
You’ll need to be fingerprinted (no charge) and take a safety online course. A program discount will be provided for Catechists, Assistant catechists and volunteers to help in the office.
Look forward to hearing from you. All classes will begin in September.
General Directory for Catechesis speaks of parents as the “primary educators” (§226). Parents are the “primary catechists,” those who are both chronologically first in teaching and, as sociological study suggests, have the greatest impact on handing on the faith to their children.
Canon law envisions catechists as laypeople that collaborate with the teaching office of their priests and bishops (Can. 776) and as significant aids in missionary work (Can. 785§1), which in certain areas includes lay preaching, teaching, and leading liturgical worship.
Pope Francis in the Apostolic Letter Antiquum ministerium, with which the Holy Father institutes the lay ministry of catechist.
It is necessary to recognise “those lay men and women who feel called by virtue of their baptism to cooperate in the work of catechesis.” At the same time, Pope Francis emphasises the importance of “genuine interaction with young people,” as well as “the need for creative methodologies and resources capable of adapting the proclamation of the Gospel to the missionary transformation that the Church has undertaken.”
“The role of catechists is of the highest importance” (Ad gentes, 17) for “the development of the Christian community.”
Catechetical ministry is a “calling.” Any person seeking to be instituted as a catechist must do so only because he or she has heard the voice of the Lord beckoning and because the ecclesial community has discerned the requisite gifts necessary to answer the call fruitfully. A catechist must not only proclaim and teach but walk alongside the catechized.