Spirituality of the Catechist

1. Spirituality of the Catechist But each of us was given grace According to the measure of Christ’s gift… The gifts he gave were that some would be apostle, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. Eph 4:7, 11-13

2. Spirituality of the Catechist • Reflect upon and share our understanding of ourselves as a spiritual person • Understand our call to holiness through our life experiences • Connect the message of Jesus to our own faith story. • Share the responsibility of passing on the beliefs and traditions of our faith community through the use of storytelling • As teacher-companion hand on the Tradition of the Church and invite others into a lifelong journey of faith. • Reflect on ways we are called to witness for justice.

3. Spirituality of the Catechist CHRISTIAN HOLINESS "All Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of charity." All are called to holiness: "Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.“ In order to reach this perfection the faithful should use the strength dealt out to them by Christ’s gift, so that . . . Doing the will of the Father in everything, they may wholeheartedly devote themselves to the glory of God and to the service of their neighbor. Thus the holiness of the People of God will grow in fruitful abundance, as is clearly shown in the history of the Church through the lives of so many saints. (ccc 2013)

4. Spirituality of the Catechist The catechist stands as a symbol of the church community. What images of church are your words and actions communicating to your students?

5. Jesus’ Threefold Mission Service Acting To Serve BEHAVIORAL Message Thinking To Know Community Feeling To Love AFFECTIVE COGNITIVE

6. Spirituality of the Catechist The role of the catechist is to be a spiritual leader, To Teach As Jesus Did. Storyteller Teacher-Companion Leader of Prayer Witness for Justice

7. Spirituality of the Catechist Understanding these roles strengthens every catechist to fulfill the fourfold purpose of catechesis: • to be a teacher of the message, • to build the faith community, • to be a leader of prayer and worship • and to call others to service. (National Catechetical Directory) What strengths do you bring? Where do you need help?

8. Spirituality of the Catechist Catechist As Storyteller Recall your favorite family story. One that you tell regularly. Why do you repeat this story? What stories have contributed to your faith formation? Our greatest storytelling model is Jesus, who understood that his followers learned his message through the stories of ordinary experiences.

9. Spirituality of the Catechist Catechist As Storyteller Catechesis is derived from the Greek term meaning “to echo.” Catechists echo the Word of God Things to look for: • The catechist as a symbol of the church • The significance of stories in people’s lives • Techniques for storytelling • Jesus’ use of story in his teaching • The use of storytelling in sharing faith

10. Spirituality of the Catechist Catechist As Storyteller Reasons for Storytelling • To find out who you are • To discover where you come from • To meet those who went before you • To discover why you believe what you believe • To learn right from wrong • To experience adventure • To entertain • To discover truth • To learn about heroes

11. Spirituality of the Catechist Catechist As Storyteller Techniques for Storytelling • Read the story or parable quietly determine the message • Practice with voices while reading the story aloud • Decide the tempo for each section • Determine the volume of the voice at the climax • Practice changing the voices of the characters • Look in the mirror and match facial expressions with moods and tones • Blend story, voices, and dramatics. • Retell story without book or Bile.

12. Spirituality of the Catechist Catechist As Storyteller Elements of a Good Story • Words that paint pictures for the listeners • Characters with whom the listeners can identify • Settings that involve the senses • Problems that are realistic • Action that engages the imagination • Suspense that captivates the listener • Solutions that are feasible • Conclusions that tie the story together

13. Spirituality of the Catechist Catechist As Teacher-Companion The summit and center of catechetical formation lies in an aptitude and ability to communicate the Gospel message (GCD 111) Catechists journey with their learners as teachers and companions. They teach the beliefs and traditions of the Catholic Church in ways that stimulate reflection and conversion.

14. Spirituality of the Catechist Catechist As Teacher-Companion What people in your life have influenced your faith and how? Were any of these persons teachers? How were they also companions on your faith journey?

15. Spirituality of the Catechist Catechist As Teacher-Companion We teach the parents of our students as well “The catechist of adults must have an adult faith and be capable of supporting and leading other adults on their journey of growth in the faith.” (Adult Catechesis in the Christian Community 71) • The influence of family and teachers in faith formation • The characteristics of effective teacher-companions • The implications of teaching as a companion

16. Spirituality of the Catechist Catechist As Teacher-Companion Faith must be shared with conviction, joy, love, enthusiasm, and hope (NCD 207) • Demonstrate a deep commitment to living the faith • Perceives learners as gifts • Shows interest and care with each learner • Respects each learner as an individual • Models love and compassion • Leads and supports learners in their search for meaning • Communicates knowledge with enthusiasm

17. Spirituality of the Catechist Catechist As Teacher-Companion Being a catechist means being a companion to those whom you catechize. Companion comes from the two Latin words cum and panis which mean ‘with’ and ‘bread’ A companion is one who shares bread with or walks along the way of faith with others, encouraging and strengthening them in faith. Being a companion and teacher will lead the community to recognize Christ among hem and to rejoice at his presence. The walk to Emmaeus

18. Spirituality of the Catechist Catechist As Teacher-Companion Techniques for Becoming a Good Listener • Diminish distractions from the environment • Engage the speaker with your full attention • Face the person who is speaking to you • Use your eyes to show interest and involvement • Acknowledge you are listening by using appropriate facial expression • Process your understanding of the conversation or discussion by asking questions • Affirm the conversation or discussion by commenting or asking for further details

19. Spirituality of the Catechist Catechist As Leader of Prayer Catechists strive to deepen their relationship with God. Both personal prayer and liturgical prayer assist in developing this relationship. The catechist must be a person of prayer, one who frequently reflects on the scriptures and whose Christlike living testifies to deep faith. (NCD 207)

20. Spirituality of the Catechist Catechist As Leader of Prayer Which of these ways of praying are part of your prayer life? • Meditation • Traditional prayers • Liturgy of the hours • Rosary • Scriptures and other spiritual writings • Way of the Cross • Morning and Night prayers • Retreats • Novena • Song, music Which types of prayer do you feel comfortable leading?

21. Spirituality of the Catechist Catechist As Leader of Prayer “The liturgy is a participation in Christ’s own prayer addressed to the Father in the Holy Spirit. In the liturgy all Christian prayer finds its source and goal.” (ccc 1073) God created us with the senses of sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste. The use of these senses in prayer helps to put us back in touch with the holy Spirit. • Integration of prayer into the life of the catechist • The relationship between catechist and liturgy • Variety of prayer forms

22. Spirituality of the Catechist Catechist As Leader of Prayer “Building upon the sense of wonder, catechesis leads people to a sense of the sacred and to recognition of God’s presence in their lives.” (NCD 145) Primary Symbols and Gesture Used in Liturgy The assembly (gathering) The cross (signing) Light (passing) Salt (pouring) Oil (anointing) Hands (laying on) White garment (putting on) Water (immersing) Bread and Wine (eating and drinking) Incense (rising)

23. Spirituality of the Catechist Catechist As Leader of Prayer Forms of Prayer • Blessing: God is the source of every blessing • Petition: Forgiveness and the quest for the kingdom are objects of our prayer • Intercession: Our prayer knows no boundaries and extends to enemies • Thanksgiving: Every joy and suffering, every event and need can become the matter for thanksgiving • Praise: God is God and we are children of God

24. Spirituality of the Catechist Catechist As Leader of Prayer When searching for God, it is best to look first at ones own prayer life. The harmony of signs (song, music, words, and actions) is all the more expressive and fruitful when expressed in the cultural richness of the PEOPLE OF GOD who celebrate (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy 110) (ccc 1158)

25. Spirituality of the Catechist Catechist As Witness for Justice Action on behalf of justice and participation in the transformation of the world fully appear to us as a constitutive dimension of the preaching of the Gospel (Justice in the World 6) Name a time when you worked with others to give witness to justice. What person has provided the greatest example to you of justice and how? Sermon on the Mount what does it mean?

26. Spirituality of the Catechist Catechist As Witness for Justice “So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.” (Jn 13:14-15) Catechesis concerning justice, mercy, and peace should be part of the catechetical process. It should include efforts to motivate people to act on behalf of these values. (NCD 170)

27. Spirituality of the Catechist "The Church on earth is endowed already with a sanctity that is real though imperfect." In her members perfect holiness is something yet to be acquired: "Strengthened by so many and such great means of salvation, all the faithful, whatever their condition or state - though each in his own way - are called by the Lord to that perfection of sanctity by which the Father himself is perfect.“ (ccc 825)

28. Spirituality of the Catechist CHRISTIAN HOLINESS We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him . . . For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the first-born among many brethren. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.“ (ccc 2012)

29. Spirituality of the Catechist CHRISTIAN HOLINESS Spiritual progress tends toward ever more intimate union with Christ. This union is called "mystical" because it participates in the mystery of Christ through the sacraments - "the holy mysteries" - and, in him, in the mystery of the Holy Trinity. God calls us all to this intimate union with him, even if the special graces or extraordinary signs of this mystical life are granted only to some for the sake of manifesting the gratuitous gift given to all. (ccc 2014)

30. Spirituality of the Catechist CHRISTIAN HOLINESS (CCC) • The way of perfection passes by way of the Cross. There is no holiness without renunciation and spiritual battle. Spiritual progress entails the ascesis and mortification that gradually lead to living in the peace and joy of the Beatitudes: He who climbs never stops going from beginning to beginning, through beginnings that have no end. He never stops desiring what he already knows.

31. Spirituality of the Catechist • The Symbol of the faith confesses the greatness of God's gifts to man in his work of creation, and even more in redemption and sanctification. What faith confesses, the sacraments communicate: by the sacraments of rebirth, Christians have become "children of God,“ " partakers of the divine nature. ”Coming to see in the faith their new dignity, Christians are called to lead henceforth a life " worthy of the gospel of Christ." They are made capable of doing so by the grace of Christ and the gifts of his Spirit, which they receive through the sacraments and through prayer.

32. Spirituality of the Catechist • "Justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God," "sanctified . . .[and] called to be saints,“ Christians have become the temple of the Holy Spirit. This "Spirit of the Son" teaches them to pray to the Father and, having become their life, prompts them to act so as to bear "the fruit of the Spirit" by charity in action. Healing the wounds of sin, the Holy Spirit renews us interiorly through a spiritual transformation. He enlightens and strengthens us to live as "children of light" through“ all that is good and right and true."

33. Spirituality of the Catechist • The fidelity of the baptized is a primordial condition for the proclamation of the Gospel and for the Church's mission in the world. In order that the message of salvation can show the power of its truth and radiance before men, it must be authenticated by the witness of the life of Christians. "The witness of a Christian life and good works done in a supernatural spirit have great power to draw men to the faith and to God."

34. Spirituality of the Catechist 2045 Because they are members of the Body whose Head is Christ, Christians contribute to building up the Church by the constancy of their convictions and their moral lives. The Church increases, grows, and develops through the holiness of her faithful, until "we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ."

35. Spirituality of the Catechist • By living with the mind of Christ, Christians hasten the coming of the Reign of God, "a kingdom of justice, love, and peace.“ They do not, for all that, abandon their earthly tasks; faithful to their master, they fulfill them with uprightness, patience, and love.

36. Spirituality of the Catechist • The heart is the dwelling-place where I am, where I live; according to the Semitic or Biblical expression, the heart is the place "to which I withdraw." The heart is our hidden center, beyond the grasp of our reason and of others; only the Spirit of God can fathom the human heart and know it fully. The heart is the place of decision, deeper than our psychic drives. It is the place of truth, where we choose life or death. It is the place of encounter, because as image of God we live in relation: it is the place of covenant.

37. Spirituality of the Catechist • "Pray constantly . . . always and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.“ St. Paul adds, "Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance making supplication for all the saints." For "we have not been commanded to work, to keep watch and to fast constantly, but it has been laid down that we are to pray without ceasing." This tireless fervor can come only from love. Against our dullness and laziness, the battle of prayer is that of humble, trusting, and persevering love. This love opens our hearts to three enlightening and life-giving facts of faith about prayer.

38. Spirituality of the Catechist • Prayer and Christian life are inseparable, • for they concern the same love and the same renunciation, proceeding from love; • the same filial and loving conformity with the Father's plan of love; • the same transforming union in the Holy Spirit who conforms us more and more to Christ Jesus; • the same love for all men, the love with which • Jesus has loved us. "Whatever you ask the Father in my name, he [will] give it to you. This I command you, to love one another." He "prays without ceasing" who unites prayer to works and good works to prayer. Only in this way can we consider as realizable the principle of praying without ceasing.