Catechist Formation

With the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation (Confession), we grow as we go, confident in God's care. No need to expect perfection by next Friday. "Every saint has a past," as the saying goes, "and every sinner has a future."

Sacrament preparation is one of the best opportunities the Church has to welcome families and convince them they are in need of a permanent residence. Offering them a listening presence, moments of renewal and growth, and opportunities to discover their own needs for a more spacious place to live may result in a new spiritual home for them.

Starting, if you will, with the name of God ("I believe in God the Father..."), Christian creeds articulate in concise, almost poetic form, some of the most fundamental of the saving and joyful truths that constitute the Christian faith. Such formulations have been around since the beginnings of Christianity.

That does not mean we need to live in a world of religious animosity. Part of our catechetical task is to put our lessons on the Catholic faith into a real-world context. A major part of the context is the simple fact that our neighbors may not believe what we believe or understand the world the way we do.

I believe a catechist should be willing to respond to any question he or she poses to others. What follows are my reflections on these four questions.

by Kate Ristow for a worksheet to help older students learn about the mission and ministry of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Shortly after...

As we celebrate the Year of Faith, let us position the Church to engage not only the older generations but the emerging generations that are asking different questions and have different expectations.

One of the difficult things for volunteer catechists to do is find time to read catechetical or theological material. After all, catechists are busy people. They often have families, jobs, and household responsibilities, and, of course, they generously volunteer their time to be catechists. A book and media club might be one way to help catechists reflect on their experiences of faith. It might also be a way to help them develop a sense of community among themselves.

Teaching Catholics to pray should be a snap because we use so many prayer postures week after week. We genuflect, cross ourselves, kneel, bow, and strike our breasts. But somehow the phrase "teaching prayer" makes us feel uptight, and we think "memorization." The "enthusiasm and joy" that the Pope asks of us during this Year of Faith disappears. "Faith grows when it is lived as an experience of love received and when it is communicated as an experience of grace and joy," he says (Porta Fidei, n. 7).

Master Catechists answer questions from readers.