The Catechist's Toolbox: How to Thrive as a Religious Education Teacher: How to Thrive As a Religion Education Teacher - Softcover

A catechist is a person who facilitates the process of faith formation. This is done first by echoing the word of God in his or her own life, and second by helping others to do so. Please know that you are not easily replaced. Although there may be a half-million volunteer catechists in the United States, you are part of a select community of people in the church who are dedicated to sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ in a formal setting. Through your work with adults, families, adolescents, and children, you are passing on a lived faith.

 

Introduction

 

On-the-Job Training
Imagine that you are moving into a house or an apartment. There’s a great deal of work to be done, isn’t there? Aside from moving all your personal belongings and furniture, you find that there are many repairs and improvements to be accomplished before you can move a single thing into your new home. If you’re like most people, you compromise: some of the work gets done by professionals, while much of it is accomplished by you with on-the-job training.
At one time or another, all of us have tried to undertake some home repairs by ourselves. Manuals can be very helpful in assisting the novice home-repair person in tackling some projects that otherwise would require much more time and money if handled by a professional. By following the step-by-step instructions, we are able to do some minor plumbing, electrical work, and even construction. Accomplishing these tasks, however, is not a reason to give up our day jobs. To be certified as a professional plumber, electrician, or construction worker takes a great deal of time, experience, studying, and preparation.
On-the-Job Training for Catechists
As catechists, many of us find ourselves face-to-face with challenges for which we have had no formal training. Most of us are not professional schoolteachers with training in methods and skills for classroom management. What are we to do? For the most part, we will have to discover on our own how to handle certain situations and challenges. Like a home-improvement manual, The Catechist’s Toolbox is a do-it-yourself manual to provide you, the volunteer catechist, with on-the-job training and assistance.

No Shortcuts!
The truth is, in order to be an effective catechist, you need more than good intentions. Think about it: electricians and plumbers must complete thousands of hours of training before being certified. It makes sense that catechists—people who are entrusted with the spiritual formation of children, young people, and adults—should likewise be required to complete training and formation leading to certification in their local diocese. The Catechist’s Toolbox is not meant to be a substitute for formal catechetical formation and training. Rather, it is meant to complement such preparation so that you can become the effective catechist that God is calling you to be.

Chapter One
Shop-talk: The Language of Catechesis

 

I enjoy browsing around the local home improvement/hardware megastore, allowing myself to get lost in the vast array of gizmos, gadgets, and thingamajigs. I’ve just tipped my hand to a problem that I have—I don’t always know the correct names of the items that I’m looking for. Often, when a store worker comes up to me and asks if I need some help, I feel embarrassed. I know what I’m looking for but I don’t know the correct name. Relying on gestures to describe the shape, size, and purpose of the item I need, I end up feeling like I don’t speak the same language as the worker. Eventually, he or she figures out what it is that I’m looking for, the purchase is
completed, and I can get back to my home improvement project.
The Language of Faith Formation
Home improvement has a language of its own. The same is true of faith formation. In fact, in many ways, the church has a language of its own.
For our purposes, we need to become more familiar with the language of faith formation, or catechetical language.

“Catechetical materials . . . should encourage and assist in the development of a common language of faith within the Church.”
National Directory for Catechesis, 70a

 

The church seems to like big words. Here are a few you probably don’t use in everyday conversation!
? Ecclesiology   ? Episcopacy
? Evangelization   ? Sanctification
? Magisterium   ? Ecumenism
? Transubstantiation 

 

In decades past, the church did such a good job of teaching us a language of faith formation for children (CCD) that we are still having a difficult time of growing beyond this term.
Since the Second Vatican Council, the church has been emphasizing a different set of words in relation to faith formation or religious education. Notice that I did not refer to these words as new. The fact is, the words that the church is now using when it comes to faith formation are words that are actually quite ancient. They may seem new to many of us but to the church, they are more like antiques.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that all of these words derive from the same root word—the Greek word katakein meaning “to echo” or “to sound again.” When one person echoes another, it means that he or she is imitating or reflecting back what that person has said or done. So what do each of these words mean?

Do you know what CCD stands for?
Confraternity of Christian Doctrine

 

catechism

catechesis

catechist

catechumenate

catechumen

 

A catechism is a written summary of the church’s understanding of God’s word as revealed through Scripture and Tradition. In a sense, a catechism is the WHAT of our beliefs as Catholics. For many centuries, it was customary for children to “learn their catechism,” often through a question-and-answer format known as the Baltimore Catechism. Today, the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992) is the official source for Catholic teaching, intended as the principle resource for bishops and catechetical ministers.
 Catechesis is the process of transmitting the gospel. To help us understand this process, the church has given us the General Directory for Catechesis (1997) and the National Directory for Catechesis (2005). These documents help us to understand the HOW of catechesis.
 A catechumen is an adult (or child of catechetical age) who is preparing for baptism. Each Lent, we pattern our lives in such a way as to journey with the catechumens to baptism. Like them, we pray, fast, and give alms as we strive to surrender ourselves to the grace of the death and resurrection of Jesus. The catechumens teach all of us about the desire, commitment, and discipline needed to be a disciple of Jesus.
 The catechumenate is the formal period of preparation for catechumens who are preparing for the Sacraments of Initiation—Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist. Through the catechumenate, those preparing for initiation into the church receive formation and catechesis from catechists and sponsors, which help them enter more deeply into the Catholic way of life.
 A catechist is a person who facilitates the process of faith formation, first by echoing the word of God in his or her own life and second by helping others to do so. Please know that you are not easily replaced. Although there may be a half-million volunteer catechists in the U.S., you are part of a select community of people in the...