Around this time of the summer, I get the “itch” for the religious education year to begin! Being off (from teaching) for May and June and having a wonderful vacation in Marco Island, Florida, works wonders for restoring one’s energy. Don’t get me wrong…I still look forward to having July and August off from teaching. However, the “itch” is a general urge to be “in the game” again. I look forward to growing as a catechist in the coming year and trying new things. Of course, I’ll talk about those experiences here and I hope to hear from you about your experiences as well.

I hope you are enjoying your summer. Anyone want to offer some advice for summer reading especially for catechists?

“Then he summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority to expel unclean spirits…” (Mt 10:1)

Two things in particular strike me. One is the notion of authority. Catechists need to know that they have been given authority to teach. All authority belongs to God, who is the Author of all of creation. God, in turn, has given all authority to Jesus (Mt. 28:18). Jesus, in turn, has given authority to the Church (Mt. 16:19). The Church, in turn, authorizes catechists, to minister in Jesus’ name, proclaiming the Gospel. We are to teach with authority because we have been given (entrusted with) that authority. Knowing this should give us confidence and courage to do our work.

Second, I’m struck by the notion of “expelling unclean spirits.” For so long, I associated this verse strictly with the notion of “driving out demons” from people who are “possessed.” In many ways, I’ve dismissed this phrase an anachronistic…harkening back to a time when people thought that many maladies (which today we can diagnose and treat) were caused by demonic possession. Upon further reflection, however, I realized that the term “unclean spirits” need not be (nor should be) interpreted in such fantastical supernatural terms. We ALL deal with unclean spirits - those “forces” that separate us from the love of God and render us “unclean” - not fit to participate in the divine life. The most basic examples would, of course, be the Seven Deadly Sins: pride, covetousness, envy, anger, gluttony, lust, and sloth. We are all too familiar with these “unclean spirits” from our own lives and we see them in the lives of those we teach. IT IS OUR JOB AS CATECHISTS TO EXPEL THESE UNCLEAN SPIRITS! Not through rituals of exorcism but through our teaching: we have been given authority to expel that which is contrary to the will of God.

We don’t have to become some kind of wacky Benny Hinn-type preacher to expel unclean spirits. We just have to teach the Gospel with authority - with confidence and courage, knowing that the Author of Life has revealed the truths we are imparting!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90OcnKfpURk

The NCCL (National Conference for Catechetical Leadership) has a link on their Web site with resources for the Pauline year. Go to http://www.nccl.org/mc/page.do and click on “Resources for the Year of Paul.”

Loyola Press has a Web site dedicated to the year of Paul. Go to www.yearofsaintpaul.com.

If you know of other helpful links, pass them along!

In the meantime, here’s a cool pic of my grandmother from her First Holy Communion in 1902!!! I just received this pic from a distant relative. I wonder how old Granny was when this pic was taken…she looks older than 7!

Joe,

I feel similarly blessed by this contact.

The reason why the Rwandan curriculum wouldn’t work in scope (it would to some extent in sequence) is that the general education level in Rwanda is very low and catechist, according to the canons, only have to be able to read and write, basically an elementary education. Also, Anglican parishes, even very small rural ones, tend to have a much higher level of education—college degrees are the norm. (BTW, this is changing in our mission (www.theamia.org) not because of fewer educated people but because of intentional outreach to other groups).

Obviously, in this situation, while we’re not looking for a compressed seminary education, we do need to offer a higher standard. We’re looking at not only teaching methodology and basic pastoral skills, but also doctrinal, biblical, and church historical content.

I’m hoping to move beyond this pilot project at some point and offer it on a much broader scale and use it as a DMin project (yes, I already have a doctorate—I’m just a glutton for punishment).

What I’m especially interested in at this point is how the Catholic Church trains its catechists, both scope and sequence, content and materials.

Thanks and blessings.

Rev. -N-

Here is my response:

Dear Rev. -N-

Thanks so much for your follow up. This is very helpful.

Catechist formation in the Catholic Church differs from one diocese to another, however, more and more diocese are requiring catechists to become certified, after participating in so many hours of formation and training.

For example, here in Chicago, the Office for Catechesis and Youth Ministry requires catechists to achieve 50 hours of formation for certification. Now, in reality, most catechists begin their ministry without this formation and then work toward certification while on the job. The requirement, at least in Chicago, is that catechists must be working toward certification and that responsibility falls to the parish director of religious education. Here is the curriculum for Chicago (this is actually the old one which required 48 hours…the new one is not yet posted):

http://www.catechesis-chicago.org/FF/FF_Curriculum/ffcurrintro.htm

I highly recommend checking the Web sites of other dioceses, big and small, to see what they require. Look for their catechetical office, usually named either the Office for Catechesis or Office for Religious Education, or some variation thereof. Here are a few examples:

http://www.dioceseoftrenton.org/church/certification.asp

http://www.archdiocese.la/learning/ore/formation/certification.html

http://www.cdob.org/catechesis/certification.htm

You’ll notice that this last link to Brownsville, TX, makes mention of a video series titled Echoes of Faith. This video series is used by many rural dioceses where catechists simply cannot get to central locations for training and formation. It is a very effective tool. Check it out:

http://faithfirst.com/html/eof/modules.html

Of course, I myself have authored a very popular book titled The Catechist’s Toolbox: How to Thrive As a Religious Education Teacher (Loyola Press) which focuses on the teaching skills and methodologies that volunteer catechists need for their ministry. I have a follow up book coming out this summer titled A Well-Built Faith: A Catholic’s Guide to Knowing and Sharing What We Believe (of course, this one will be a little too Catholic for you, I’m sure!). This one focuses more on the content, as outlined in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

I hope these suggestions are a start. I’m happy to talk more after you’ve done some of this initial exploring. This may just scratch the surface of what you are looking for, so by all means, feel free to follow up and we can delve further. It’s a pleasure to be of assistance to you. Peace.

-joe