By Jennifer Duerte
EVERY baptised Catholic has the responsibility to catechise, to aid building a relationship with God. As we mature in our faith, we cannot be just a devotional or cultural Church but we must form a thinking Church.
Fr Terence Kesavan, Director of the Office for Catechesis (OFC) from the Archdiocese of Singapore, stressed this at formations sessions at the Church of St Michael, May 16-18.
While there is a curriculum for catechesis in the whole of Malaysia, Fr Terence said that it should be used only as a guide as every diocese, every parish, every class, every teacher and every child to be catechised is different.
Fr Terence pointed out a glaring truth about the norm among Catholics and those of our separated brethren. While the latter have high expectations for each of their disciples, Catholics aim for the bare minimum (as can be seen in the CCC 2041 -2043). These references in the Catechism of the Catholic Church refer to the five precepts of the Catholic Church.
He reiterated that Catholics today cannot afford to be lackadaisical in their way of life. Catholics should do more so that the norm is raised. The aim of Catechesis is to become disciples and learn the discipline of discipleship. There are five areas of growth in Christian living – evangelisation, teaching, service, community and fellowship and prayer and liturgy. To develop a better understanding of these areas, he encouraged all Catholics to read Rick Warren’s The Purpose-Driven Life so that we would be able to reflect on our lives and answer questions like ‘What Am I here for?’, ‘How am I doing?’ and ‘Where am I going?’.
Fr Terence matched the six Covenants of God with mankind, from Adam and Eve to Jesus, with the different stages of maturity in spiritual growth from infancy to adulthood, stressing that there was every possibility that an adult Catholic may not be spiritually mature. Catechists were then divided into groups of three where they discussed what would happen in each stage of maturity for each of the five areas of growth in Christian living.
‘It was an eye-opener for me,’ said one of the participants, ‘as I have come to realise that I am not mature in my spiritual life at all! I really need to be serious about my faith and work towards becoming an adult in all the five areas of growth in Christian living. I need to know this so that I can help my catechism kids to aim higher and gain maturity in their spiritual life.’
Fr Terence also stressed on spiritual accompaniment of catechists with those whom they catechised, the goal of which was to help the latter discover who God had made them to be. There were five dimensions to this, namely, spiritual (prayer), human (understanding of self), intellectual, pastoral (service) and community.
To connect with God, Fr Terence introduced the nine pathways to God, referring to the book Sacred Pathways by Gary Thomas. The catechists answered a series of questions and discovered how they really connected with God. Although knowing how they connected with God was good, they were encouraged to try the other ways to connect with God better.
One of the participants shared, ‘I am so glad to know that enjoying nature is one of the ways that I can connect with God and it is not wrong. I don’t really say a lot of prayers, but I enjoy watching sunsets and even see beauty in the formation of clouds. I am a naturalist and find God in nature.’
Fr Terence went on to talk about the culture of evangelisation and how Catholics were wary of evangelising, spreading the Good News, for various reasons. He stressed that it is our duty to evangelise, especially since we have benefitted from those who have shared the Good News with us and we are convinced that Christ died to save us from sin and death.
Today, we are expected to evangelise to non-Catholics, re-evangelise to inactive Catholics and share testimonies with active Catholics. We are all called to evangelise because it is a participation in Jesus’ mission.
Where RCIA was concerned, he advised that it was an Initiation so it was important that each topic was introduced not too deeply. The enquirers were being initiated into Christianity (knowing Christ), a family (knowing each other) and a way of life (knowing themselves). They had to be informed that formation continued, even after the RCIA process. Accompaniment, however, was of the essence throughout the journey. The roles of sponsors, companions and godparents were therefore very important in the whole process, from the period of evangelisation and pre-catechumenate to the period of post-baptismal Catechesis or Mystagogy.
After the formation sessions, the catechists were spirited with the great responsibility they held in sharing the faith through the discipline of discipling and evangelising, not only with the catechism kids but with all around them. – Herald Malaysia
