The mission and vocation of being a catechist

November 30, 2021 in Featured Videos, News

In The Pope Video for December 2021, the Holy Father invites people to “pray for the catechists, summoned to announce the Word of God: may they be its witnesses, with courage and creativity and in the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Click on the link below to watch The Pope Video »

Pope Francis dedicates the last monthly intention of 2021 to catechists, whose role he recognizes as a service to the mission of the Church: a true vocation. For the Pope, you don’t “work as a catechist,” you “are a catechist.” He emphasizes that it’s necessary for there to be more and more people who proclaim the Gospel “with their life, with gentleness, with a new language, and opening new ways.”

Irish Jesuit Fr Paddy Carberry reflects on the Pope’s intention. He says:

“Catechesis today seeks to find ways of communicating the faith to both adults and children, but in a way that is appropriate for those addressed. It respects the questions that arise for them, and brings a faith perspective into the conversation.

It aims at engaging people on a personal level as well as on the level of intellect, integrating prayer and service with a growth in understanding. This approach demands of catechists that they be attentive listeners and constantly creative. They need the support of our prayers.”