Our People

The Catechist as Preaching the Gospel

By Most Rev. Julian Porteous
Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney
15 October 2004

Behold! A sower went out to sow. As he sowed some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it had not much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil; and when the sun rose it was scorched, and since it had no root it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns which grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing, and yielding thirty fold, sixty fold, and a hundred fold.                  (Mk 4:3-8).

The parable of the sower going out to sow is the source of inspiration for any catechist. I am sure it has often been the subject of your reflection on your work as a catechist. You no doubt identify with so many aspects of the parable – not least the different types of situations in which the seed falls!

The seed, of course, is the word of God (Lk 8:11). The sower in the parable is Jesus Christ, but we can interpret our role as catechists.
The conditions of the soil into which it falls vary greatly. The Gospel "falls by the wayside" (Lk 4:4) when it is not really heard; it falls on "stony soil" without taking root; it falls "amongst the thorns" (Lk 4:2) where it is quickly choked by the cares and troubles that weigh upon the hearts of people. Nonetheless, some seed falls "on good soil" (Mk 4:8) that is among those who are open to God in some way. There are the hearts of some of our children who are hungry for the word of life that we offer to them.

I believe in the current climate of our society that we need to situate catechesis within the context of evangelization.

Let me explain. In previous times the cultural supports for faith and the Christian faith in particular were much stronger than they are today. Even if a person did not practice their faith, they still had a rudimentary belief and often had respect for the Church and its teaching. Children had much more exposure to various expressions of the faith, in the home and in society as a whole. Now, we can no longer presume that the child before us in the classroom has much idea about faith at all. Their environment has been largely secular and while their parents may be Catholic most would live as though God did not exist.

This is not news to you. But what do we mean by “evangelization”.

Let me quote from the General Directory on Catechesis (Congregation for Clergy, 1979, n. 53),

In proclaiming the Good News of Revelation to the world, evangelization invites men and women to conversion and faith. The call of Jesus, "Repent and believe in the Gospel", (Mk 1,15) continues to resound today by means of the Church's work of evangelization. The Christian faith is, above all, conversion to Jesus Christ, full and sincere adherence to his person and the decision to walk in his footsteps. Faith is a personal encounter with Jesus Christ making, of oneself a disciple of him. This demands a permanent commitment to think like him, to judge like him and to live as he lived. In this way the believer unites himself to the community of disciples and appropriates the faith of the Church.

I think that is a pretty good explanation of what the task of evangelization is all about. The focus is upon enabling a person to come to know Jesus Christ. Not just as an historical figure, but as a living person in whom they can put their full and complete trust. The conversion that is spoken of here is not a thing of the mind – though there is clearly an intellectual content – but it is a thing of the heart.

The General Directory goes on to say (n. 54):

This "Yes" to Jesus Christ, who is the fullness of the revelation of the Father is twofold: a trustful abandonment to God and a loving assent to all that he has revealed to us. This is possible only by means of the action of the Holy Spirit.

And then quotes from the document of the Vatican Council on Divine Revelation (Dei Verbum n. 5)

"By faith man freely commits his entire self completely to God, making the full submission of his intellect and will to God who reveals, and willingly assenting to the Revelation given by him".

The General Directory (n. 55) goes on to paint a picture of the person who fully responds. This is our goal, our dream as catechists:

Faith involves a change of life, a "metanoia", that is a profound transformation of mind and heart; it causes the believer to live that conversion. This transformation of life manifests itself at all levels of the Christian's existence: in his interior life of adoration and acceptance of the divine will, in his action, participation in the mission of the Church, in his married and family life; in his professional life; in fulfilling economic and social responsibilities.

Please allow me one final quote from this wonderful section of the Directory. This passage speaks so beautifully of the nature of the faith of the Christian:

Faith and conversion arise from the "heart", that is, they arise from the depth of the human person and they involve all that he is. By meeting Jesus Christ and by adhering to him the human being sees all of his deepest aspirations completely fulfilled. He finds what he had always been seeking and he finds it superabundantly. Faith responds to that "waiting", often unconscious and always limited in its knowledge of the truth about God, about man himself and about the destiny that awaits him. It is like pure water which refreshes the journey of man, wandering in search of his home. Faith is a gift from God. It can only be born in the intimacy of Man's heart as a fruit of that "grace [which] moves and assists him", and as a completely free response to the promptings of the Holy Spirit who moves the heart and turns it toward God, and who "makes it easy for all to accept and believe the truth".

Thus, behind all that we do in our catechesis lies this great vision of evangelization. And there are some simple implications for us that I would like to share with you.

1. As has been mentioned the work of evangelization is ultimately a work of grace, an action of the Holy Spirit. As catechists we are merely the instruments of the Spirit. Thus, we approach our catechetical work looking to be such instruments. We must prepare our classes, and prepare them well. But we also know that we need to be open to the inspiration of the Spirit. Thus, we begin our preparation with a simple prayer to the Spirit asking for his guidance on our class.
2. The second point flows from this. The importance of prayer in the class. It is not easy I know. But teaching the children to pray. Not just formal prayers, but to be able to be quiet and interiorized and attentive to the presence of God.
3. Another consideration here is how important the Scriptures are in teaching the faith. The Scriptures are the living Word of God. Helping the children to read the Scriptures as the Word of God can help them to hear the voice of God.
4. Through all we teach and following the curriculum we can identify our primary task – we are to bring the children into a personal relationship with Jesus. This can be the underlying theme to all that we do. This can be the special message and the particular focus of the sharing of our faith. We can testify as to how important Jesus is to us. We can encourage the children to pray to Him, to seek his help, to open their hearts to his love.

Let me return to my theme, again drawing on the teaching of the Church. In the document on catechesis that emerged from the Synod on Catechesis, Catechesi Tradendae, there is this clear expression of the purpose of catechetical activity:

The definitive aim of catechesis is to put people not only in touch, but also in communion and intimacy, with Jesus Christ. (CT n. 5)

The Directory explores the process of formation in faith building on initial evangelization in paragraph 80:

All evangelizing activity is understood as promoting communion with Jesus Christ. Starting with the "initial" conversion of a person to the Lord, moved by the Holy Spirit through the primary proclamation of the Gospel, catechesis seeks to solidify and mature this first adherence. It proposes to help those who have just converted "to know better this Jesus to whom he has entrusted himself: to know his 'mystery', the kingdom of God proclaimed by him, the requirements and comments contained in his Gospel message, and the paths that he has laid down for anyone who wishes to follow him". Baptism, the sacrament by which "we are configured to Christ", sustains this work of catechesis with the help of its grace.

May the great and noble task that you have embraced as catechists be fruitful and a source of joy and consolation to you all.