Catechist Spirituality

We are recruiting catechists in the parish for RCIA, and our other catechetical programs. We are going to be having some in-services, and I will have some time with the RCIA volunteers and so I am putting together some material on what it means to be a catechist.

Catechist Spirituality

- A catechist never wastes any time bringing up the subject of the Good Lord.
- A catechist does not have an agenda, or a program that they are trying to promote. A catechist places themselves totally in the service of the truth. Specifically catechists teach what the Church teaches and nothing more. There is a place for opinion, but that place is not the catechetical setting.
- A catechist has to evangelize constantly, as well as teach doctrine. The heart and the head must move together or one will be left behind and act as an anchor holding the student back. Other principals that must be passed on are prayer, participation in community, and the habit of caring for others.
- A catechist must have a strong faith in Lord, and constantly care for it so that it remains strong.
- The most effective and important material for communicating the faith are in order of precedence:
o The Bible especially the Gospels
o The Catechism of the Catholic Church
o The living witness and example in faith of the catechist
- Catechists do not concern themselves with what they want to teach to their students, but more with what their students need to be taught.
- A catechist needs to listen, and generate conversation. The more conversation generated the more a catechist can evaluate the degree that the students are internalizing the information.
- Listening but do not judge, teach but do not condemn. If there is a mistake correct the mistake, but love the one who made it.
- Never waste any time bringing up the Good Lord. 5 minutes is too long. Connect everything back to Christ. Stop talking about the Church, and start talking about Christ living in the world through His Body the Church.
-An RCIA catechist does not count converts, lest they begin to think that it is they who make the convert and not the Holy Spirit.
-A catechist will say 'I don't know, let me get back to you.' rather than giving a bad answer to a question.