Franciscan at Home

A fundamental theme that runs throughout Sacred Scripture is to be called by name. In other words, in the eyes of God, you and I are not simply one in a crowd, nor are we a serialized number.

This article explores chapters 3-4 of the Directory for Catechesis.

One could liken chapters three (The Catechist) and four (The Formation of Catechists) of the new Directory for Catechesis to a meditation on windows and how they are made.  

Identity and Vocation of the Catechist

In the early Church, those who followed the Way were often called “saints.” This designation did not refer to the canonized (or even “canonizable”), but to the fact that, as Joseph Ratzinger points out, all of the faithful were called “to use their experience of the risen Lord to become a point of reference for others that could bring them into contact with Jesus’ vision of the living God.” Ratzinger applies the image to the present, saying that believers should, “in all their weaknesses and difficulties, be windows for the light of the living God.”[1]

Like a window, which offers a particular glimpse of light outside, the catechist facilitates a unique encounter with his or her own source of light. The catechist is a reference point, a witness to the Tradition of the Church and “a mediator who facilitates the incorporation of new disciples of Christ into his ecclesial body” (DC 112).

This means, of course, that the catechist participates in a mission that he or she did not initiate. As the Directory says, the catechist is “a facilitator of an experience of faith of which he is not in charge” (DC 148). Instead, the catechist is empowered by the Holy Spirit, “the true protagonist of all authentic catechesis,” and participates in Jesus’ mission “of introducing disciples into his filial relationship with the Father” (DC 112). Catechesis is, above all, what Benedict XVI calls a theandric activity. This is to say it is “made by God, but with our involvement and implying our being, all our activity.”[2]  The True Catechist—and this is a critical point—is Jesus Christ. The window itself is not the source of light, but that which mediates the entry of the light into the room. Similarly, the human catechist participates in the mission of the light by mediating its presence today. The catechist fosters an encounter with Jesus Christ, the One who initiates this encounter.

According to paragraph 113 of the Directory, the catechist is:

• A witness of faith and a sign for others of the credibility of Christianity through the testimony of his or her life. The catechist also serves as a keeper of the memory of God who safeguards the “memory of God’s history with humanity.”
• One who “introduces others to the mystery of God, revealed in the paschal mystery of Christ” by acting as both a teacher and a mystagogue. As a teacher, the catechist transmits the content of the faith. As a mystagogue, the catechist leads others in the mystery of faith by “introducing them to the various dimensions of Christian life.”
• An educator who is “an expert in humanity” and skilled in the art of accompaniment.[3]

In the early Church, every Christian was to be a saint. That call remains, and it aligns with the catechetical call for all of the faithful. Through Baptism and Confirmation, the Directory says, "Christians are incorporated into Christ and participate in his office as priest, prophet, and king; they are witnesses to the Gospel, proclaiming it by word and example of Christian life” (DC 110). In this way, “the whole Christian community is responsible for the ministry of catechesis” (DC 111). We might think of it as something of a universal call to catechesis—a call for all the baptized to witness and to proclaim, a call for “the transmission of faith and for the task of initiating" (DC 112).

Catechists in the Body of Christ

While windows have something of a “universal call,” namely, the mediation of light, it is not the case that one window is exactly the same as the next. Windows vary based upon their function for a space, though their fundamental purpose is the same. Vatican II’s dogmatic constitution Lumen Gentium emphasizes the universal call to holiness for all the faithful, regardless of rank or status, while making the point that the response to the call takes on a certain uniqueness based upon one’s state in life.[4] While all the faithful are called to catechize, the Directory specifies precisely how that call is to be answered according to one’s “particular condition in the Church: ordained ministers, consecrated persons, lay faithful” (DC 111). These distinctions of catechetical roles allow for a rich flood of the light of Christ in the Church and the world.

This article explores chapters 1-2 of the new 

The much-anticipated Directory for Catechesis is finally here! So many of us involved in the work of catechetical renewal have eagerly awaited its publication.

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Few people impact us on such a deep level that it changes our life journey. For me, that influence happened in 1994. In August of that year, Barbara Morgan began the catechetics program at Franciscan University of Steubenville. I had the great blessing of being there when it started. She became a spiritual mother to me and infused in me a deep sense of purpose. In this article, I would like to share a few ways in which she did that with me.

The First Class

Barbara’s significance in my life was unparalleled, and I knew it would be profound as soon as I encountered her. At that first class, in the course entitled “Content and Curriculum,” I sat in the front, which is usually not the case for me (give me the back row, please). Since I showed up to the MA program with almost six years of parish youth ministry experience, I wanted to pay attention, since this course would be geared directly to pastoral situations. Little did I know what I was in for. As much as I loved the study of theology in all its disciplines, when Barbara began to teach catechetics, I was moved at a far greater level than any subject I had studied before. Through her, God revealed my vocation and identity to me and, as a result, I could never be the same person.

After her first class, I could not contain myself. I followed her to her office and had to tell her my plans for a teen Confirmation resource. I’m sure I sounded like a babbling fool. What was happening was not about my ideas regarding Confirmation; in a real way all my grandiose plans and projects were secondary. The underlying reason I had to seek her out was because I had had an unprecedented encounter with the Lord. I was reacting with unabated joy to a calling and could not contain myself.

And that was just the first class.

¿Cómo se hace catequesis durante una pandemia?

Varios meses de separación forzosa de su grupo de RICA o su clase de Primera Comunión no es una contingencia para la cual es probable que algún catequista haya planeado. Sin embargo, aun cuando la vida ordinaria cambia más allá de toda familiaridad, el llamado que hace Cristo a Sus fieles a profundizar nuestra relación con Él ha permanecido constante – y también ha sido constante la necesidad de catequesis que hace eco de aquel llamado divino en Su Iglesia.

La sombría realidad de la cuarentena con su encierre ha incitado una respuesta inmediata e ingeniosa de parte de los catequistas. En la diócesis de Portsmouth, Reino Unido, esta respuesta ha adquirido varios formatos. Examinar cómo los catequistas de la diócesis han respondido a la crisis nos proporciona no solamente amplios ejemplos de maneras en las que la catequesis puede adaptarse a una situación de encierre o de cuarentena -  a la cual la respuesta internacional al COVID-19 quizás no sea la última – sino que también destaca las dificultades y los retos que presenta una tal “catequesis de encierre” y lo que revela acerca de la práctica de la catequesis más ampliamente.

La catequesis en el Reino Unido

El encierre comenzó en el Reino Unido el día 23 de marzo del 2020, al clausurar los negocios, los establecimientos de servicios, y los lugares del culto, y con la prohibición de viajes no esenciales. En ese entonces, los catequistas del RICA se estaban preparando para acoger en la Iglesia a sus catecúmenos y candidatos en la próxima Vigilia Pascual, mientras que los catequistas de Primera Comunión y de Confirmación estaban preparando a sus candidatos para la recepción de los sacramentos en el verano o a principios de otoño. Los catequistas en el Reino Unido trabajan dentro de un contexto que presenta un reto distinto aun sin la carga adicional del encierre: de los 3,129 millones de personas que residen en la diócesis de Portsmouth, solamente 230,000 son católicos – y de ellas, solo el 13% (29,000 personas) practican su fe.[1] Los catequistas son voluntarios normativamente no pagados que hacen caber sus responsabilidades catequéticas alrededor de sus vidas llenas profesionales y familiares.

En Portsmouth, la catequesis recibe el apoyo de un equipo llamado Formación para la Misión, un grupo diocesano compuesto de voluntarios experimentados dedicados a la formación continua de los catequistas. Seis miembros del equipo de Formación para la Misión, activos en varios apostolados en las parroquias de toda la diócesis, compartieron sus experiencias de la cuarentena conmigo: cómo han adaptado, lo que han aprendido, y cómo aquellas lecciones del encierre podrían transformar a la catequesis a largo plazo.

Subiendo la catequesis en línea

Sin excepción, los catequistas con quienes platiqué han hecho uso extensivo de la comunicación digital, principalmente el correo electrónico y la plataforma de videoconferencias Zoom, para mantenerse en contacto – pero, de distintas maneras según su apostolado específico.

Los catequistas de Primera Comunión (PC), por ejemplo, han utilizado el correo electrónico para continuar con una catequesis estructurada, basada en lecciones para los niños a quienes instruyen. Jo, una catequista de PC en Alton, utiliza el correo electrónico para enviar cada semana “un esquema de una lección para que los padres de familia lo realicen con sus hijos”, con una invitación a que los papás le envíen “algún tipo de respuesta de los niños”. Mary, una catequista del Sacramento del Bautismo y de PC en East Hendred, graba sesiones del programa de preparación para los sacramentos, I Want to Make My Home in You [Quiero hacer mi morada en ti] de Come Follow Me [Ven, sígueme] – un programa basado en la Sagrada Escritura que hace uso de grandes tarjetas con siluetas de personajes bíblicas – y las envía “a los padres de familia por correo electrónico para que las pongan a sus hijos, junto con fotos de las tarjetas con las siluetas”. Angela, una catequista de PC en Southampton con responsabilidades adicionales relativas a la catequesis de los padres de familia, envía correos electrónicos para actividades catequéticas adaptadas a los niños: por ejemplo, “la redacción de cartas a los parroquianos ancianos o compañeros de oración en su parroquia”.

El 25 de octubre del año en curso, El Pontificio Consejo Vaticano para la Promoción de la Nueva Evangelización publicó el nuevo Directorio para la Catequesis. Este es el tercer documento apostólico explícito y oficial sobre la catequesis en tiempos recientes.