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This weekend is catechetical Sunday,\nthe weekend in which the Church asks us
\nto call forth those who have been chosen
\nto be catechists in our parish,
\nto bless them and commission them for the upcoming year.<\/p>\n
This weekend is catechetical Sunday,
\nthe weekend in which the Church asks us
\nto call forth those who have been chosen
\nto be catechists in our parish,
\nto bless them and commission them for the upcoming year.<\/p>\n
These are the teachers at our parish school, All Saints;
\nthese are the parish staff and volunteers
\nwho work with the children and teens
\nin the many youth faith formation ministries of the parish.<\/p>\n
They are more than teachers, they are catechists.
\nWhat does that mean?
\nThey do teach, certainly.
\nwhich is a worthy calling in and of itself,
\nbut today we recognize that the work they do goes beyond teaching.<\/p>\n
The word catechist comes from the root word \u201ccatechesis,\u201d
\nan ancient Greek word meaning \u201cto echo.\u201d<\/p>\n
A catechist is one who echoes the faith,
\nwho makes faith resound.<\/p>\n
God speaks to us all the time\u2014
\nin Scripture, in the words and actions of the Mass,
\nin the sun that finally breaks through the smoky sky,
\nin the loving embrace of a parent and child,
\nin the support of a community when tragedy strikes.
\nGod speaks to us each moment of the day in many and varied ways.<\/p>\n
It is the ministry of the catechist to echo God\u2019s voice,
\nto repeat it over and over, so that our children have no doubt
\nthat God loves them,
\nthat God cares for them,
\nthat God offers them a share
\nin the divine life.<\/p>\n
Each of the people to be called forth today
\nhas been entrusted with that sacred task.<\/p>\n
This day is also a time for them to rededicate themselves
\nto their mission of handing on the faith
\nand being a witness to the Gospel.<\/p>\n
But it is also a day for all of us, the baptized,
\nto reflect on our role
\nin handing on the faith,
\nin echoing God\u2019s love.<\/p>\n
After all, as important as the ministry of the catechist is,
\nit is secondary to the role of parents and family.
\nParents are the primary catechists in their children\u2019s lives,
\nand we who are catechists assist parents in their sacred task
\nof handing on the the faith.<\/p>\n
Together, we are to echo in unison the great song of love
\nthat God sings to the world, to the universe, to all of creation.
\nWe are to listen to God\u2019s Word and speak it to our children.
\nAnd God\u2019s greatest Word is the gift of his Son.
\n\u201cIn the beginning was the Word,
\nand the Word was with God,
\nand the Word was God.\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a lot of noise in the world today\u2014
\nthe honking horns and blaring sirens of fear;
\nthe screams of hatred and intolerance;
\neven the whispers of temptation.
\nOur children are drenched in messages
\nthat are contrary to God\u2019s message of love,
\nor that simply drown it out.<\/p>\n
On this Catechetical Sunday,
\nwe recommit ourselves to countering those messages
\nwith God\u2019s message of hope, acceptance, and compassion\u2014
\nmessages that say yes, there is a life of eternal joy after this world is done;
\nmessages that say yes, you belong, just the way you are;
\nmessages that say yes, you are loved more deeply than you can imagine.<\/p>\n
With the events of just a few days ago at Freeman High School,
\ncould there be a more important time
\nto echo our faith to our children?<\/p>\n
This is the moment to set aside time in our homes
\nto share our faith stories,
\nto talk about our brother and best friend Jesus.
\nTo echo God\u2019s love.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut what do I say?\u201d we might ask.
\n\u201cI\u2019m not a trained teacher.
\nI\u2019m no theologian.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neither were Peter, James, and John.
\nThey were simple men. They were fishermen.
\nMatthew was a tax collector.<\/p>\n
But they were also close personal friends of Jesus.
\nThey had spent several years with him,
\nand knew him better than anyone
\nexcept perhaps his Blessed Mother.<\/p>\n
That is all that is required of us: to know Jesus.
\nEach of you already know Jesus to some degree
\nor you would not be here today.
\nEach of us has been touched by Jesus,
\neach of us had the faith handed on by someone significant in our lives.<\/p>\n
Share that with the children in our lives\u2014
\nwhether they\u2019re still in school,
\nor whether they\u2019re grown up and living on their own.
\nSpeak with words, if that feels comfortable,
\nbut most of all speak with your lives.
\nTo be a catechist means to echo the words of Jesus,
\nbut it also means to echo his life.<\/p>\n
We are Christians, little Christs.
\nWe have committed ourselves to lives of sacrifice,
\nto taking up our crosses daily.<\/p>\n
When we live for the Lord instead of ourselves,
\nwhen we forgive not seven times but seventy-seven times,
\nthen we are speaking much louder than words could ever speak.<\/p>\n
Last week Fr. Lewis spoke about this church building,
\nof stewardship,
\nand of leaving a legacy.<\/p>\n
What better legacy could we leave
\nthan the legacy of handing on the faith to our children?
\nThis is the ministry of the catechist,
\nto hand on the faith by echoing God\u2019s love in our lives.<\/p>\n
And what you echo in your homes,
\nwe catechists echo in the parish and in the parish school.
\nIn a few moments I am going to call forward
\nthose who are to be blessed and commissioned as catechists.<\/p>\n
These are people who have recognized
\nthat God has given them gifts to share,
\nand they have responded to the call to share them.
\nIt is not easy.
\nI\u2019ve seen the parish education programs first hand
\nand from all different angles:
\nas a parent, as a volunteer,
\nas a teacher and administrator, and as a deacon.
\nI even got an inside look at religious education when Brenda
\nwas the Director of Religious Education for seven years.<\/p>\n
So let me be a witness to the incredible amount of work and passion
\nthat our catechists give to their ministries.
\nThey dedicate countless hours of their own time to preparation.
\nThey attend classes and workshops to better their skills.
\nThey spend time in prayer and on retreat to develop themselves spiritually.
\nThey work with children of all ages and abilities,
\nwith patience, compassion, and love.
\nMany are volunteers, who earn no money for their work.
\nSome are employed as teachers and administrators
\nwho earn less than their counterparts in public education.<\/p>\n
Maybe when you see them come forward
\nyou will be inspired by their example
\nto want to offer yourself in service in some way.
\nMaybe a little voice inside you will ask, \u201cHow can I contribute?\u201d
\nThere may also be a countering voice that says,
\n\u201cI don\u2019t have enough time, I don\u2019t have the skills,
\nI don\u2019t have the knowledge.\u201d<\/p>\n
Listen to the first voice,
\nthe one that feels drawn to being of service.
\nSit with that voice over the next week.
\nRead through the bulletin, look at the St. Peter website,
\nand think about all the different ministries of the parish.<\/p>\n
Each of those ministries is an echo of God\u2019s love in its own way,
\nand so each, in a broad way, is a chance to be a type of catechist.
\nMaybe you\u2019ll be drawn to classroom catechesis,
\nteaching religious education, helping with the youth group,
\nor volunteering at All Saints.
\nMaybe you can help by visiting the sick or welcoming new parishioners.
\nThe Griefshare group is always looking for people
\nto help those who have lost loved ones.
\nIf you feel called to advocate for the unborn,
\nor to help the homebound, or to deliver food to the food bank,
\nor to help new moms welcome their babies,
\nthere are groups and ministries in the parish for each of those needs.<\/p>\n
I encourage each of us here
\nto let the example of our catechists
\ninspire us to service,
\nespecially those who have not yet found a parish ministry.<\/p>\n
When everyone gets involved in parish life,
\nGod\u2019s love reverberates more powerfully and clearly
\nto a world in desperate need of it.<\/p>\n
After we bless and commission the catechists,
\nwe will continue with the Liturgy of the Eucharist,
\nculminating in Holy Communion.
\nAs each of us comes forward,
\nI invite you this day to listen to the echoing sound
\nof the voices all around you as they say,
\n\u201cThe Body of Christ,\u201d \u201cAmen.\u201d
\n\u201cThe Blood of Christ,\u201d \u201cAmen.\u201d
\nas they repeat over and over.<\/p>\n
Let the echo of those words not stay confined to this building
\non this day only,
\nbut let it resound throughout our lives each and every day,
\nin our families, at our places of work,
\nand in the various ministries of St. Peter Parish,
\nso that God\u2019s love can be heard loud and clear.<\/p>\n