Some weeks, I feel like being a catechist is the greatest gift on earth and that I have influenced the lives of young people in profoundly significant ways. Other weeks, I feel like I’m completely inadequate and that I’m wasting my breath. Suffice it to say, there are ups and downs to being a catechist. What’s your greatest joy in being a catechist? What is the greatest challenge you face as a catechist?
Joy:
Sharing Christ & our holy faith with the children, and being able to see from their faces that they’re getting something from it.
Touching the lives of the children
Challenge:
Trying to teach when they would rather pay attention to anything but the material and won’t sit still (or anything resembling sitting still).
Maria, thanks for sharing. Hopefully the joys will always outweigh the challenges!
Joy: When asking a question and you get more than the ‘I get it’ response.
Challenge: Parents not taking the kids to Mass, yet it is important for the kids to make First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion.
Michelle, I think most catechists are frustrated with the lack of Mass attendance. I often tell catechists about my mother’s experience. Niether of her parents were churchgoers, yet at the age of 12, she converted to Catholicism, went on to raise 9 children in the Catholic faith, and today, at the age of 79, continues to attend daily Mass! Have faith…the Spirit is in control.