Catechesis and catechists for new evangelization

Catechists are invited to go "first to the city, to meet people busy with their daily chores.".

This is what Pope Francis said in a meeting with those responsible for catechesis in the particular Churches of Europe, on "Catechesis and catechists for the new evangelization" (17-IX-2021).

The new Directory for Catechesis

The successor of Peter has pointed out that "Catechesis is not an abstract communication of theoretical knowledge to be memorized like mathematical or chemical formulas. It is rather the mystagogical experience of those who learn to meet their brothers and sisters where they live and work, because they themselves have met Christ, who has called them to be missionary disciples".

The core of catechesis is therefore the witness of the encounter with Christ, made proclamation and transmitted by catechists in the whole of their educational task: The risen Jesus Christ loves you and never abandons you! This is the first proclamation which, Francis stresses, can never find us tired or repetitive in the various stages of the catechetical journey. 

The task of catechists

And his helplessness has led the Pope to to institute the ministry of catechistHe reveals that the corresponding ritual is currently being prepared. In this way he expects "that the Christian community feels the need to awaken this vocation and to experience the service of some men and women who, living the Eucharistic celebration, feel more vividly the passion for transmitting the faith as evangelizers"..

Catechists, Francis points out, are witnesses who put themselves at the service of the Christian communityto support the deepening of faith in the concreteness of ordinary life. They are people who untiringly proclaim the Gospel of mercypersons capable of creating the necessary bonds of welcome and closeness that allow us to better appreciate the Word of God and to celebrate the Eucharistic mystery by offering fruits of good works.

The meeting at the Bratislava Cathedral

After affectionately remembering the catechists who prepared him for his first communion, the Pope recalls their meeting a few days ago in the cathedral of Bratislava. (cf. Speech of 13-IX-2021) with pastors and faith educators.

He then stated that "evangelization is never a mere repetition of the past.".

And he pointed out that the great evangelizing saints, such as Cyril, Methodius and Boniface were creative, with the creativity of the Holy Spirit. They opened new paths, invented new languages or "alphabets" to transmit the Gospel and inculturate the faith.

Along with that advice, in the Bratislava speech the Pope encouraged pastors and educators of the faith to form in inner freedomteaching responsible discernment in conscience, with trust in God's mercy and the capacity for dialogue.

Catechists with creativity

This, Francis now points out, requires knowing how to listen to the people, knowing their culture and their history, and not in a superficial way, nor relying on prefabricated answers.

In the same line as the speech in Bratislava, the Pope maintains that "the great Christian tradition of the (European) continent must not become a historical relic, otherwise it is no longer tradition. Tradition is alive or it is not. And catechesis is tradition, is tradere [to deliver] but living tradition, from heart to heart, from mind to mind, from life to life. Therefore: passionate and creative, with the impulse of the Holy Spirit.". 

That is why he insists that "the catechist allows himself to be challenged by the reality he encounters and transmits the Gospel with great creativity, or he is not a catechist"..

With gratitude for the thousands of catechists working in EuropeThe Pope encourages them to continue in their decisive task in the service of the faith, assisted by the Holy Spirit.