A Profile of a Catechist Today

(A Talk to be given to the catechists of the Diocese of Tagum)

by
Erwin Joey E. Cabilan

Activity 1
Mag DISCO ta!

A. Small Group Sharing

Mga Pangutana:

1. Alang kanimo, unsa man ang pagkakatekista?

2. Unsa man ang mga butang nga naghatag kanimo og kahulugan sa imong
pagpadayon sa pagpangalagad isip usa ka katekista?

• Magpili og mga sumusunod:

a. Facilitator nga mao usab ang Reporter
b. Secretary

B. Big Group Sharing

Activity 2
Deepening

Ang Unang Pangutana  kinsa ang katekista

 i-grupo ang ilang mga tubag sa tulo ka mga klasipikasyon:
A. Head
B. Heart
C. Hands
 nagkadaiya ang mga tubag
1. Diha sa pagkalahi, adunay makita nga nindot nga kamatuoran: “COMPLEMENTING
REALITY”
= ang atong pagkatalagsaon maoy mag awhag kanato sa
Pagpakiglambigit
= imong mapun-an ang akong panginahanglan ug vice-versa

2. Ang atong talagsaon nga hunahuna maghatag og usa ka MALANGKUBON nga

pagsabot kon kinsa ug kon unsa man ang pagkakatekista.

3. Sa ato pa, ang tulo ka klasipikasyon naghatag kanato og susi sa pagtan-aw sa atong
pagkakatekista isip usa ka KINATIBUK-AN MISYON.
Head  Pagpaambit sa Pagto-o
Heart  Pagsalig ngadto sa Dios
Hands  Pagkinabuhi nga dinasig sa Gugma

Activity 3
Pagpikas-pikas sa Pulong sa Dios

The Same Group for the Gospel Sharing

They may decide to give others the responsibility to be a Facilitator-Reporter and a
Secretary.
Biblical Text: The Gospel according to St. Mark. 4: 2-20

Mga Pangutana:
1. Unsa man ang mga butang diha sa maong pagbasa nga adunay dakong
kalambigitan diha sa imong kinabuhi isip usa ka katekista?
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2. Unsa man ang imong gibati human nga ikaw nakabasa sa maong teksto sa
Ebanghelyo? Ngano?
3. Isip usa ka katekista, unsa man ang mga hagit nga imong
napamalandungan niining maong pagbasa?

Pagpalawom:

Unang Punto

Question number 1
= mga konsepto nga nahimamat sulod sa maong pagbasa
= kining mga konsepto maghatag usab og mga pagsabot ug magdala usab sa mga
magbabasa ngadto sa MENSAHE sa maong Pulong sa Dios

Question number 2
= isip mga Pilipino, ang pagbati adunay dakong kalambigitan aron sa pagdiskobre sa
hilabihang kamatuoran.
= ang «pagsinati sa pagbati »dili mao ang tumong niining kalihukan kon dili mao
magtabang sa pagdiskobre kon unsa man ang labing makahuluganon niining maong
pagbasa. Ang makahuluganon mao ang MENSAHE SA DIOS.

Question number 3
= niining maong pangutana, madiskobrehan sa matag partisipante kon unsa man ang mga
posibleng lakang nga ilang mahimo isip mga katekista aron mapadayon ug mapatunhay
ang misyon sa Simbahan
= do what you can, not what you can’t
= kining mga posibleng mga lakang maghatag usab og mga mahinungdanong butang
alang sa pagpakaylap sa MENSAHE SA DIOS

Sa ato pa:
Question 1  Head 
Question 2  Heart  MENSAHE SA DIOS
Question 3  Hands 

Ikaduhang Punto
Biblical Exegesis
Catechetical Explanation
1. This text is used in the General Directory for Catechesis 1997.
2. The said Gospel passage communicates the essential in doing Catechesis for our
modern times.
3. The Gospel passage tells us about a kind of pedagogy.
4. This pedagogy does not only tell us about WHAT TO DO but also HOW TO DO
and WHY WE ARE INVITED TO DO IT.
5. Renewed Catechesis does not only mean
a. Renewal in Methodology
b. Renewal as an Output in Catechesis
c. but also Renewal of the Agents of Catechesis itself.

Who is a Catechist?
Classical Definition:
3 Cs
=Christian
=Called
=Commissioned
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In addition to those ideas, let me give you some qualities that are faithful to the ideals of
Catechesis.

A CATECHIST IS A……
Facilitator
Mediator
Witness

1. FACILITATOR
The catechist plays a very important role in the catechetical process. The
catechetical process that I am referring to is not just something to be done but more than
this it is something ought to be done. Some only consider this (catechetical process) as
very ordinary. Why? For those who view catechetical process in a too simplistic way,
they would invoke the “methods of yesteryears” such as memorization and question and
answer. All the more, our learners are only expected to mentally grasp Church teachings,
the Ten Commandments, the Seven Sacraments, the Basic Prayers, etc. If they can, then
we can consider them as Catholics in good standing. In terms of handling students, they
still consider the teacher-centered approach as always possible in any given situation.
Are these enough? If not, can we venture into another dimension where catechetical
ministry as a process may grow and develop in order to respond to needs of our time?

Catechesis is more than what we are doing either functionally and relationally.
Relating this to its missionary characteristic, catechesis is larger than what we do either at
the School or at the Parish levels. Because of its vastness, we are always called by the
Spirit of the Lord to explore all possibilities in order that we can be of better service to
God’s people. What are some aspects that are integrally part of the Catechetical Process?
Let me give you the following:

1. The Catechist
2. The Recipients
3. The Context/Situation
4. The Approach
5. Faith-Community References
6. Expected/Desired Vision

Wow! All these things are interrelated. Because these are interconnected, we
might as well say that the Catechetical Process is, indeed, a complicated matter. I guess a
pessimistic catechist might look into this reality as complicated. But an optimistic
catechist sees interrelatedness of things as richness of the ministry itself! And he/she will
ask him/herself: What is my vocation as a catechist in this multi-faceted reality? How
can WE do this?

I think there is no specific idea as to what should the catechist be amidst the given
situation. This is also true in searching for the only manner in doing everything. But if
we are going to focus on the topic The Catechetical Process, the most feasible icon that
we can project of a catechist is the Icon of a being a FACILITATOR. Allow me to give
the following mission-oriented tasks of the Catechist as a Facilitator.

F Friend, Faith-sharer
A Analyzer
C Creative Companion
I Initiator
L Listener
I Innovator
T Teacher
A Always ready
T Talented
O Organizer
R Realistic
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All these characteristics of a catechist as a facilitator can never be developed in a

day or in a week. We need to grow in these mission-oriented tasks day by day. God has
given us the charism to catechize. He knows better than us. We are called by Him to
discover all these gifts in us, share them to others and sustain them in your day to day
prayerful encounter with the Lord. By sharing to us His mission, God vividly shows that
He loves His people and he also trusts us very much.

2. MEDIATOR

Before, Church teachings were received without any question. Catholics would
accept them as they were for they believed that what the people in authority would give
to them were really meant for their ultimate destiny: Salvation……. Eternal Life……
Heaven. But people nowadays question such passive receptivity by saying, “Did they
understand what they adhere to?”

With the current flow of time, we witness how human potentials have been
shaping our lives in all aspects. Critical insights, inventions and even fads are just few
among the many proofs that humanity is, indeed, gifted and a gift. However, if these
“being gifted” and “being a gift” are downplayed by egoistic claim that “I” am THE
center, any communicated truth can be made obscure. Truth can even be relativized. An
example of this by putting it in an interrogative way is, “Do I really need God so that I
can attain life’s fullness and meaning?” or in a declarative statement, “God and Church
are nothing for they hinder me to be what I want to be.” This emerging attitude of some
people of today who question the necessity of faith in God is alarming especially for
us people of faith. Faith in the God who is constantly drawing us to Himself is an
essential element for full communion with our deepest selves, with our neighbors
and even with Mother Nature.

These situations do not only concern our personal lives as Catholics and as
Catechists. They also open our minds and hearts on what pastoral response can we
offer so that faith and life can be integrated. In this way, the richness of our
Christian faith can forever be affirmed as it faithfully dialogues with the reality of
plurality of life. In linking faith and life, catechesis plays a vital role.

In those two aforementioned situations we can see two defining moments in

catechesis. The first scenario gives us an indication that catechesis was understood as
purely “transmission of Church teachings to the recipients”. The movement can be
described as “one way and downward”. People in authority “gave” the Christian faith
for the “salvation of souls”. The recipients, either baptized or first hearers, received what
the early missionaries gave. In our Philippine history, we know that numerous natives
were baptized because they followed their king and his royal family. Later, the friars
catechized our ancestors by way of rote memory; even learning basic Christian prayers
and the Doctrina Cristiana in lengua Española. Christian life was focused on do’s and
don’ts. The rest was history. But no matter how imperfect their catechetical strategies
were, God’s plan of planting the seeds of faith was made.

The second scenario is an eye opener for Christians of today. For us catechists we
cannot stop from asking ourselves and our fellow catechists this basic question: “How
can God fulfill His saving plan through you and through me well in fact, people
nowadays are indifferent with the Church, its teachings and even with God?” Yes, we
feel so helpless. I believe, this is encountering a side of Christianity in which like Jesus,
hanging on the cross, we cry out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”
Indeed, this reality is like the arrow that has hit our Achilles’ heel. But this challenge can
be a source for on-going catechetical renewal not only among ourselves but in the whole
Body of Christ. As catechists, our role as mediators can effectively be applied.
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The role of a mediator is very close to our life. We look for somebody whom we
trust so that relationship will blossom like the mother between the father and the child,
like a best friend who links the boy to a girl. A mediator is not only intimate to a certain
party. Both sides are persons whom he/she really knows well and vice-versa. Because
he/she knows how to communicate each other’s thoughts and feelings, a mediator is
being trusted because he/she faithfully conveys to both parties what they would like to
speak. Above all, the mediator’s ultimate aim is not to make both parties indifferent to
each other but, at the end, both will become intimate; if they are in quarrel, they will be
reconciled.

Let us transpose those ordinary points into our catechetical mission. A catechist is
a mediator in our contemporary time in the following ways:

1. The Catechist believes in God who has first loved him/her. This love of God
is the life-force that makes him/her respond to God’s call of serving His
people: the children, the youth, the adults and even the old, from all walks of
life. The catechist believes that God is present in the people whom he/she serves.
Confident that God is “present” even if He’s seemingly “absent” because of the
things that he/she sees in people’s way of life, attitude and behavior, the catechist
patiently discovers in every human person some essential elements that refer to
the human person as a being who “created in God’s image and likeness”. When
the minister of the living Word finds the “hidden treasures in the field”, he/she
will help the people to see those hidden treasures in their lives.
2. The Catechist shares the gift of faith that he/she has received from God
through his/her family, community and friends-----the community of disciples
of Jesus Christ. In the Human Evocative Approach, this is known as the
Christian Message. For Thomas Groome, he calls this as Sharing the Christian
Vision and Mission. Take note, we don’t dictate Church teachings here. We offer
to them Christ’s Vision and Mission for us. The discovery of those “hidden
treasures” serves as a fertile ground where Christian faith can gradually penetrate
into their personal and collective lives. In this way, catechesis, which is one of
the most communicative ways of sharing the gift of faith, takes a very unique task
in the mission of the Church in the world.
3. The Catechist’s aim is to make the conversation and the journey between the
Human Person and God ever active, meaningful, transformative and fruitful.
God loves each of us. He can never deny us nor reject us, even if we have
committed the greatest mistake. On the part of the catechized, they may come to
own what they have discovered (“hidden treasures in the field”) and treasure
them by way of faithfully walking hand in hand with God in various ways. The
most possible way that they can articulate their faith-commitment is to do what
they can do in fulfilling God’s Kingdom here on earth. The catechist, therefore,
never leaves what God has gained through and with him/her. Rather, he/she
nurtures the faith-journey that is actually on the way to growth and development
for Jesus.

No matter how challenging this era is for us, we can do what Jesus has
commissioned us, “Go therefore and make disciples to all nations; baptize them in
the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to carry
our what I have commanded you and know that I am with you always until the end of
time.”(Mt. 28:16-20) The last verse is the heart of Jesus’ statement. In those words,
we find ourselves, our ministry and others ever united at the Heart of Jesus amidst the
ever changing and challenging milieu.

3. WITNESS
A. The Gospel According to St. Mark 4:3-8
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1. In looking at the world from the eyes of faith we need to have the following
elements: (GDC 1997 § 16 and GS § 2)
a. All reality is marked by the creative activity of God which communicates
goodness to all beings.
b. The power of sin limits and even numbs the human person.
c. The dynamism which bursts forth from the Risen Christ, the Seed that
constantly renews us towards life’s fulfillment.
2. To see all challenges in the world today according to the eyes of faith allows us to
construct a “hope-filled vision”.
GDC 1997 § 203 states some duties that a catechist must do to see the connection of
faith and life.
a. To know in depth the culture of persons and the extent of its penetration into
their lives.
b. To recognize a cultural dimension in the Gospel.
c. To proclaim that God, through His Gospel, continues to renew and
regenerate our culture.
d. To give witness to the Spirit of the Gospel in the particular culture.
e. To promote a new expression of the Gospel in accordance with the
evangelized culture.
f. To maintain the coherence of the integration between faith and culture.

Ismael Maningas, quoting Buetow, said that teachers/catechists, in imitation of Jesus

Christ play a significant responsibility in opening the eyes of the students to the
realities of the world and in helping them to cope with such realities. (Ismael Ireneo
Maningas, Contemporary Approaches in Religious Education, p. 27, Manila: St. Paul
Publications, 2003.)

A catechist whose vision is filled with faith and hope is also called to be a WITNESS
to the possible link between faith and life, between the Gospel and of Human Culture.
Having the lay character in the Church and in the world, the catechist has “a
special task of offering to their students a concrete example of the fact that people
immersed in the world, living fully the same secular life as the vast majority of the
human family, possess this same exalted dignity.” (Sacred Congregation for Catholic
Education, Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith § 18)

What are the implications of these faith-filled insights in our catechetical ministry
today?

This question demands too much. But there are two significant things that can
feasibly answer this question. If we can develop these in our catechetical ministry day by
day with the help of our collaborators, surely, we can make it.

SPIRITUALITY
Some basic points:
a. Christian Spirituality has Two Dimensions.
• “I and God” (Vertical Dimension)
Authentic Christian Spirituality in this dimension has the following
characteristics:
°Strong belief in the God who has first loved us.
° Listening heart that enables the person to be simple, single-minded
and humble.
° Life is grasped by the Spirit of God as shown in his/her day to day
life. (Theory of Imitability)

• “I and Others” (Horizontal Dimension)

Authentic Christian Spirituality in this dimension has the following
characteristics:
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+ a heart for God’s people.

+ an open heart (allows others to share in that very heart that he/she
has.)
+ love/charity is the life force behind in all things that he/she does for
others.
Thus, a catechist who has a loving relationship with God has a very good
relationship with others as well. This is authentic spirituality.

How do can we know? We can know by its fruits such as (according to Maningas,
2003:35-37)
1. Open-mindedness
2. Confidence
3. Compassion
4. Commitment

CONCLUSION
A Catechist is a person of Integrity
A Well-integrated person lives a Christ-like life

22 October 2006
Sunday
Mission Sunday