This coming Sunday (September 16) we celebrate Catechetical Sunday, whose theme is "Catechesis: Encountering the Living Christ." Each year, the Church in the United States chooses one Sunday when we can focus our attention on the work of catechesis, the process of teaching the faith that is essential to the mission of the Church.
Catechesis transcends the walls of the classroom. Truly, it is the immersion of persons, both young and old, into all aspects of Catholic-Christian life. As such, catechesis is more than an academic exercise. It takes place in the interplay of liturgy, prayer and service, as well as in the learning of Church doctrine and practice. Catechesis involves the building up and the sustaining of faith among all the People of God.
Catechesis is not about learning Christian doctrine alone. Since the aim of Christian doctrine is Christ, so all our catechesis, you might say, is Christocentric, centered on Christ and knowing who He is. Our catechesis should always lead us to a personal relationship with Christ and His Church. Our catechesis is relational, not merely instructional.
As Pope John Paul II, of happy memory, taught in his pastoral letter, Catechesi Tradendae, contemporary catechesis should not neglect traditional methods or emphases. It is unfortunate that for the past two generations our catechesis has concentrated on methodologies. As a result, many of our Catholic people are ignorant about many of the essential doctrines of the faith. At the same time, they do not have that personal relationship to Christ to keep them practicing the faith. Formation in the faith is not something we ever complete; there is no graduation from the school of catechesis. There is a lifelong effort to develop our relationship with Jesus Christ and to develop the practical aspects of doctrine, enabling us to truly know who Jesus Christ is.
When Catholic catechesis is authentic, it focuses on Christian identity and teaches what is unique and significant about the Catholic faith. True catechesis never degrades any other faith, nor descends to a level of relativism for the sake of ecumenical or interfaith relations. Catechesis teaches us to stand our ground and to know our faith and to understand the truth of our faith, to be able to defend it against those who would question our Catholic doctrine.
In the Church today we need to develop the older approach of apologetics, which enables those who practice the faith to respond to inevitable inquiries, sometimes even attacks, from those who misunderstand the Catholic faith. Developing a true catechesis is culturally sensitive in our world and is a formidable task, especially the catechesis of youth. Many efforts are being made to revise our textbooks, but most of all we must recruit catechists who wish to witness to their faith.
By and large our catechists are parish volunteers. The religious education coordinators and others who are supervisors give generously of their time and talent for the instruction of young people in their faith. The ministry of catechesis is essential to the handing over of our faith to new generations of Catholic Christians. There is always a need for new volunteers who can be trained to be catechists. We should never forget the wonderful work of our Catholic school teachers and other personnel. They also are catechists, as well as teachers of other subjects. Their primary responsibility as Catholic school teachers is to be catechists and witnesses to the faith.
When all is said and done, the first and best catechists for children are their parents. How they live and work is how they catechize. After the parents, pastors bear the chief responsibility for catechizing the parish family. The pastor must see to it that volunteers are well-trained and he must constantly encourage the work they do.
This Sunday, you may witness the commissioning ceremony for parish catechists. While you may not be formally installed as a parish catechist, your responsibility for handing down the faith to those around you, especially those in your family, is as real for you as for those being commissioned.
I take this opportunity to thank the Office of Faith Formation, which is constantly renewing the efforts of the Diocese to train catechists properly. Our directors of religious education perform a most important task in every parish to ensure that the faith is being involved in every activity. These leaders of catechesis have the special responsibility to teach what the Church teaches and not to impose on others their own likes and dislikes on the doctrines of our faith.
As we go forward with parish reconfiguration and recognize the demographic changes that challenge our Diocese, we need to be open to new approaches and new ways in which our parishes and clusters can be more effective instruments in the work of catechesis. We are challenged to "put out into the deep," to look again at our methods, to refine them, to act as witnesses to the presence of Jesus Christ in the world. He is the reason and the source of all catechesis.
