Now that the catechetical year is coming to a close, it’s time for you to do whatever you can as a catechist to assist your catechetical leader in recruiting new catechists for next year. The best encouragement comes from people who are in the trenches doing the work of catechesis and finding such great rewards (in the midst of the challenges)!
With that in mind, let’s all chip in and offer at least one good reason people should consider serving as a catechist. Please offer your thoughts below in the Speak Your Mind space (comments box), and let’s compile an impressive list of why serving as a catechist is well worth considering!
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Eternal rewards! ~ Constant feelings of joy! ~ Growing deeper in faith! ~ Lives touched beyond measure! ~ Service to God and Church! ~ Using the talents God gave you! ~ Best boss you’ll ever have! ~ Honoring the mission Jesus gave us! ~ Opportunities for holiness! ~ Share love!
In the process of forming disciples of Christ, I always need to check that if I too, am a disciple, and if my actions matches my aspirations, that I am an authentic witness of Christ. This process anchors me into prayer life that abides in Christ and intercedes for all the students, to have the initial encounter with Christ and be touched by Christ. So that they may too have that personal relationship with Him, and be His instruments. The responsibility of the catechist keeps me on my feet ad forms me into a shepherd after the good shepherd, as broken bread offered and shared, as candles burnt in sacrifice to offer His light to others, all for a share in His mission to draw all into one. So awesome and holy a task, and so dependent on the Holy Spirit to work and transform lives that are so unschooled in the ways of God. see this as a task to save souls, and one that can last for generations. In this great work of His, I am honored to have a little share, to be able to work in His Presence.
Do you need to grow closer to Jesus on your faith journey? If so, then become a Catechist, because you will surely encounter Him through your students. Jesus desires more FROM you on your journey, and He also desires more FOR you!
The enrichment I have received in my personal faith journey as a catechist for the last 26 years is amazing grace! I now see children of some of my beginning years proof that we are ONE – HOLY – CATHOLIC – CHURCH! The parish family is the foundation for the furture of our church and seeing the generations is just part of the Divine plan that GOD has in store for us in Eternal Life. The challanges faced are often the greatest lesson and opportunity to have personal growth in my soul.
the longer I teach, the more I learn. every year because of teaching my faith grows. that is the selfish reason to become a catechist. even when there are years when I’m not sure I want to return due to a large amount of antsy kiddos, there is always one or two kids that come in the door not wanting to be there or know Jesus and walk out loving God. God’s amazing grace makes every minute of prep time and class time worth it. When you see a child in high school serving as a hospitality minister or Eucharistic minister, that you taught in 2nd grade, there is nothing that beats that! Thank you God for allowing me to be a catechist!
You will learn as much as your students when it comes to not only religious but life in general. I have been a catechist for 25+ years and have become more spiritually aware through that journey. It is amazing when you see the “light bulb” goes off when your students get the point you are trying to make.
In 1 Peter 4:10, it’s written that God has given us talents to be used and to use them well. Being a catechist is a way for us to serve God and what a joy this is! It completes me in knowing that I am bringing His little ones closer to Him through my role. Alleluia 🙂
The love and curiosity I have for Christ is what brings me back each year to teach catechism. It brings joy to my heart as I watch the children so excited to learn about our faith. Being a catechist has been rewarding to my soul. My heart rejoices by serving God and the church.
The Lord God touched my heart through others who evangelized me, now its my turn to spread that love and mercy through teaching.
I love sharing the good news of Jesus Christ and his Church!
It”s a wonderful way to get involved in your parish and community. Children react with such joy when they see you outside of church. I ran into a student at the playground of my subdivision and he was amazed and joyful when he learned I lived in his neighborhood. A great opportunity to bridge church life and community life!
why? your inner fire will inflame the hearts of others
It’s like a Chance to Serve God by spreading his good news to the coming generation. Because now the people are so involved in the worldy life that hardly anyone gets time to know god or say even to pray. And in such circumstances we need volunteers to take the lead and make people aware about God and spread good news about God.
I learn as much or more than my students when preparing a lesson, plus I feel that this is what every Christian should be doing, spreading the Gospel.
Because Jesus asks us to do it!
God called you. Say yes to God and your worldview will change. We have to be willing to grow our church. The best way is to be a catechist so the Gospel can reach the people of the next generation. God gives us the tools. All we have to do is say yes.
The pay is PRICELESS!! – Eternal life in heaven with God and all of the angels and saints. You cannot buy that. But you can reserve your place through faith and good works.
Being a Catechist enables us to spread the word of God to a generation of youth who will take these life lessons with them to adulthood and beyond. I often compare this to acting as a good shepherd and his sheep attending the flock. In our world today, we desperately need to spread and share our love of the Lord to all! Become a much needed Cathechist today and share this special journey. I guarantee your own life will benefit as well as those lives you touch!
I am a catechist because I wanted to do something for my church community. I so enjoy meeting with my class to share our faith, learn how to love the Lord more, and to share my experiences with them. Not only does my class learn the importance of having faith but I am reminded too! I feel holy and closer to my God each week. It’s my pleasure to volenteer this coming year!
Sharing my faith through catechesis has been a great experience. Evidence of the work of the Holy Spirit, in our young ones, becomes apparent and gives us hope for the future of God’s chosen people. The students surprise us every time! My specific experience, the last few years, has involved working in a group role (four teachers) which has helped me realize the value of different talents coming from parts of the Body of Christ.
It’s both a challenging and rewarding experience. Like a plants’ roots streching out to find water to grow, the Lord will increase your faith when you take the step to share what He’s already given you. I never thought that offering to share my faith would turn out to be a somewhat selfish endeavor. However, by giving just a little I have received SO MUCH! If you’re feeling as though youre ready to get off the ‘milk’ and really sink your teeth into the ‘meat’, consider becoming a catechist! Thanks be and Glory to God!
God has been so good to me, how can I say no.
With out our faith where would we be in this world. By sharing our Faith it is the best “Thank you” one can give to God . Our world might not be always wonderful, but believing in God and knowing we are not alone makes Life ” Do abled” So why not share with our young and give them the tools we wish we had when we were young.
Time off purgatory!
As several others have noted, catechists can renew their own spirituality to an extent that even surprises them. I grew up in a very Catholic family where we attended daily Mass, prayed the rosary at home after supper, and attended rosary and Benediction in our parish on Sundays. (We were Croatian immigrants from a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea. We moved to a non-Croatian community in the U.S.) I attended Catholic schools from first grade through my Master’s degree. I became a catechist at the request of my pastor after my husband and I raised three children and I retired from the teaching profession.
The reason I said “yes” to my pastor was because I wanted my students to know, love, and grow closer to God like I had. Prayer was a constant in my upbringing. I wanted my students to realize the power of prayer and the spiritual journey that could result in an evermore closer friendship with God. I also wanted them to know that nothing was impossible with God even when it didn’t turn out quite the way they wanted or expected. Many times I have used personal experiences to illustrate that point to my students. In addition, I wanted my students to have that complete trust in God that I was brought up with … because as my late mother would say, “When you have God, you have everything!”
Being a Catechist is my way of having a Spiritual Awakening every week! My students teach me much more that I teach them, I Love It!!
A very wise man once told me this story: He answered the phone about 3 a.m. The young man on the other end of the line was speaking with desperation. He had no reason to live. They talked. For a long time. A very long time about everything – some secular-mostly, some spiritual. But the wise man mostly listened. The young man hung up and the wise man didn’t know what would become of the young man.
Several months later, he got another phone call, this one early evening. The young man told him that when he cried out for help, the wise man gave his all. Time was not important, nothing else was important and he got that nowhere else.
The wise man’s gift to me: YOU may be the ONLY ONE there is in that time and that place that SAVES.
A lot of my kids want to tell their personal stories and we LISTEN, and SUPPORT their concerns and take them further, drawing on the teachings and the Greatest Commandment and ENCOURAGE them to talk to Jesus, their friend, about anything. You may be the messenger for the Greatest Gift a child can receive -a personal relationship with Jesus Christ—even if ONLY ONE child embraces the Gift.
Because it is a way to live our Baptism, on it we were configured one with Christ, and we were blessed to heard and proclaim His word once our time comes. And it is now.
I literally derived joy and excitement in preparing and presenting each week’s lesson. Children have an innate curiosity to learn, and my goal each week was to help children have a greater understanding of our Catholic faith and a deeper love of God and in Jesus Christ as our Lord and redeemer. Being a catechist has deepened my faith as well. I was learning right along with the children.
Give it a try, at least for a year, and experience the joy of bringing God’s message into the hearts and minds of our children!
I realized a couple of years ago that my one hour of teaching once a week may be the only exposure many of these children have to Christ and what his life meant to us. What a gift I could give to a child by just dedicating one hour, once a week… Priceless !
You are so right, Patricia! In your/our “gift” of one hour each week are faith “seeds” being planted that will grow over time to draw the youth into a closer relationship with Jesus – more exposure!
The Great Commission is meant for us all. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”. What becomes the problem for many would be the time commitment – being invested into the program for approximately 8 months or so, feeling inadequate as a “Teacher” – no equip to handle that role, or that’s not for me but someone else would be better off – quick to pass the buck rather than embrace the possibility of being a teacher. What we are quick to forget is that we are the Domestic Church and we’ve been teaching and passing on all along our Faith within our very own Homes. Therefore, if we have been doing this all along there really shouldn’t be any hesitation to continue with children of our own Parishes. The Great Commission is for us all to pass on to others.
The answers here are very good. I am amazed and in awe of all that you do here. The only thing that I can say, is to give it one year. If after a year you don’t realize the importance of it, what do you have to lose?
I became a catechist because I wanted to grow closer to Jesus Christ. I’m teaching older children now after teaching little children for more than 30 years. Is quite different but rewarding. It might not reach all the children. But you will reach that certain “someone.” I had a stroke a couple years ago and I have recovered far beyond what was expected . I feel this is my chance not only to give back, but share what God has done for me.
I am a catechists because I want children to know they are loved by God and God never gives up on them. Some have never been told that and some can’t believe it. I tell the kids I depend on God everyday and I want them to be able to do that as well.
One good reason to become a Catechist . . . growing in faith with the children. Witnessing first hand the growth of something you’ve helped sow is amazing.
To help a young couple go through the process so they could get married in a catholic church and begin their family in the same parish.
I teach 6th grade, where we read mostly the Old Testament. And the backstory of the Jews is really important. I love it when students finally get it about the temple sacrifices and Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross. I have had a few pipe up with words from the mass, “this is the blood of the new and eternal covenant shed for us and the forgiveness of sins”. It always feels like a miracle when that happens.
I am not a teacher and was very afraid saying yes, but I did. The Holy Spirit was working overtime.
What a surprise I had. Not only was I feeding these children to make them disciples, but I was being fed. My knowledge has grown as well as my teaching skills. But more importantly, my faith has increased, my prayer life has been wonderful and I am so close to the Lord. I urge everyone to take this wonderful step.