CATECHIST’S CHECKLIST
On a scale of 1 to 4 (4 to signify the most important), rate the following items with reference to the catechist. Circle your response. Then X over the number that you rate yourself in each regard.
1 2 3 4 The catechist should have a sense of humor.
1 2 3 4 The catechist should care about people.
1 2 3 4 The catechist should be fair.
1 2 3 4 The catechist should know his or her own beliefs.
1 2 3 4 The catechist should encourage follow catechists and colleagues.
1 2 3 4 The catechist should be familiar with Scripture.
1 2 3 4 The catechist should have a commitment to Jesus.
1 2 3 4 The catechist should possess understanding.
1 2 3 4 The catechist should be a good organizer.
1 2 3 4 The catechist should share in parish sacramental life.
1 2 3 4 The catechist should be familiar with audiovisual aids.
1 2 3 4 The catechist should be open to other people.
1 2 3 4 The catechist should be respectful of life.
1 2 3 4 The catechist should be active in civic affairs.
1 2 3 4 The catechist should be excited about his or her work.
1 2 3 4 The catechist should have patience.
1 2 3 4 The catechist should be willing to work hard.
1 2 3 4 The catechist should possess courage.
1 2 3 4 The Catechist should be a good speaker.
1 2 3 4 The catechist should be a good listener.
1 2 3 4 the catechist should be familiar with religion textbooks.
1 2 3 4 The catechist should be familiar with religion textbooks.
1 2 3 4 The catechist should plan to spend time in class preparation.
1 2 3 4 The catechist should seek to live as a Christian.
1 2 3 4 The catechist should give witness to his or her beliefs in daily life.
The Heart of Catechesis is — the Heart of the Catechist.
The gift of faith rooted in the church and alive in your heart is the gift you will share!
Reflect:
Write what comes to mind when you hear the word catechesis?
Define catechesis…
What do you think is the purpose of catechesis?
Growing Spiritually as a Leader
As you work to become an effective Christian leader, it is important to grow in relationship with God. As in any relationship, building and maintaining a relationship with God takes time, energy, and sometimes help from outside sources. Following are ideas to improve your relationship with God. After reading through them, choose one that meets the greatest need you presently face in your spiritual growth.
Spiritual Director or Mentor
Sometimes you need guidance on the spiritual journey. A spiritual director is the person who helps as you sort through questions about your spirituality and who encourages you to grow in relationship with God. The following suggestions can help you identify a spiritual director.
- Many pastors, associates and parish staff members or campus ministers can recommend individuals who are trained in spiritual direction.
- A friend who is in spiritual direction might have a recommendation.
- Religious communities have spiritual directors among their members. Contacting the order’s provincial office is an option.
- Retreat houses often have staff members trained in spiritual direction.
- Someone you know has a deep and holy relationship with God and who lives his or her spiritual values consistently might be open to providing spiritual direction.
Individual Prayer
Taking the time to pray is an important part of maintaining a relationship with God. How is God asking you to change your life? What is God calling you to do? If it had been difficult to make prayer a regular part of each day try finding a particular place or time to pray, or choose something to remind you to pray. Some possibilities might include reciting a short prayer every time you walk up a flight of stairs or taking time to pray in the car before turning on the radio. It is also important to use the four basic types of prayer.
Types of prayer
- Prayers of adoration, praising God for being such a generous, awesome God;
- Prayers of thanksgiving, expressing gratitude for all the good things God has done in your life;
- Prayers of contrition, asking forgiveness for any failures to love and serve;
- Prayers of petition, asking God to give you what you need to fulfill your purpose in life.
To develop a positive prayer life, it is also important to choose styles of prayer which are comfortable for you.
Styles of prayer
- Traditional prayers of the Church like the rosary, Liturgy of the Hours or the Stations of the Cross;
- Meditation or reflection on a particular story or a statue, candle or icon;
- Contemplation, placing yourself in God’s presence and resting in God’s love;
- Praying passages from Scripture;
- Listening to reflective music while quietly conversing with God;
- Spontaneous prayer, in which you share your thoughts with God in the same way you would share them with a friend or close relative.
Reflection
Taking time to look back on your journey, connecting meaning to the actions and events in life and using new insights to adjust your future course are all parts of reflection. Reflection is most effective when used regularly. Keeping a journal of your thoughts is one way to focus during reflection time. Another tool to use during reflection is your personal mission statement. The mission statement is a marker against which you measure where you are and where you want to be. Ask yourself questions:
- What did I do today (or this week) to reflect the values named in my mission statement?
- Did I do something today which contradicted my mission? What was my motive?
Retreat
Going on a retreat is an excellent way to take time for reflecting. Retreats take different forms. Group retreats often focus on a particular topic. Directed retreats can give you the opportunity to work one-on-one with a spiritual director over a period of several days. Another way to experience retreat is by going away to a private place on a regular basis for reflection and rest.
Retreats for young adults
- Check with the diocesan office of spiritual formation, religious education, or young adult ministry for information on retreats for young adults or adults.
- Contact retreat centers within your diocese. Ask them to send you a brochure on upcoming retreats. (Retreat centers also offer private directed retreats if you would prefer that type of experience.)
- Check with parishes which have active young adult ministry to see if a retreat is on their upcoming calendar of events.
- Contact religious communities to see if they do retreats.
Scripture
The bible gives nourishment from the roots of our religion. You can study scripture in many ways, from following the cycle of readings for the Church year to studying a particular book or reflecting upon an inspirational passage.
Scripture-reading ideas
- Read a passage in four steps: focus on the actual text; meditate on the meaning of the passage for your own life; pray over the passage, ask God for help in doing whatever the passage calls you to do; and contemplate, move to action or a change of heart based on the message of the Scripture;
- Discuss Scripture with others (see possible options below);
- Read Scripture as if you were an eyewitness to the event or story; feel the heat or hear the words, see Jesus’ face or feel the crowd pressing against you.
Scripture Resources
- Join or start a bible study group in your parish or on campus;
- Join or start a lectionary-based faith-sharing group (a group model written for young adults is available through the Center for Ministry Development);
- Do an Advent or Lent journal based on the scripture readings for the season (one written by and for young adults is available through the Center for Ministry Development);
- Read the Bible with a good commentary to help you with interpretation.
Spiritual Reading
As spiritual reading has grown in popularity, so have the resources available in this area. Topics include lives of the saints, types of spirituality, methods of prayer and more.
Resources for spiritual reading
- Subscribe to a Catholic magazine and read key articles;
- Visit a Barnes and Noble, Borders or other bookstore and browse the spiritual reading section;
- Go to a Catholic bookstore or the campus bookstore and browse the religion section;
- Check out books on inspiring people like Mother Teresa, Pope John Paul II, Archbishop Oscar Romero, Cardinal Bernardin, and Henri Nouwen.
Faith-Sharing Groups
Faith-sharing groups provide an opportunity to meet others and share faith journeys. Groups can consist of women, men, couples, etc. They can focus on Scripture or Church teaching or follow a designated resource. True faith-sharing groups accept each individual where he or she is spiritually. Members of the group are free to express ideas, questions and understandings openly. Fait-sharing is characterized by sharing, learning, mutual support, prayer, and mission.
Finding a faith-sharing group
- Look for established groups in your parish (e.g. Renew, Christian Life Communities);
- See if your parish has a Bible study group;
- Gather interested young adults to form your own faith-sharing group. If you choose this route, check with your campus minister, pastor, or adult education/religious education director for possible programs to use (the Center for Ministry Development has faith-sharing models for young adults);
- Check with the diocesan office of adult education, religious education, young adult ministry, or family life for information on groups in existence.
Liturgical Ministry
Serving others through liturgy is a Spirit-filled experience. All parishes need trained liturgical ministers. The first steps towards becoming more involved in liturgy are to reflect on the gifts that you have to share and to speak with your pastor or parish staff member about possible ways of serving.
Liturgical ministry opportunities
- Lectoring;
- Cantoring or singing in the choir;
- Being a musician;
- Being a Eucharistic minister;
- Being a minister of hospitality;
- Being on the parish or campus liturgy committee.
Support for the Christian Leader
The journey of a Christian leader is not easy. If you follow Jesus’ example and live out your Christian values, you will not always be supported or successful in achieving your goals. Having friends, family members and colleagues who share your values is one means of support. Share your struggles, pray with them, and do not go it alone. Jesus had twelve apostles and a network of friends who supported him. Make sure you have that same type of network.
Now that you have spent some time reflecting on your own spirituality, take a few moments to assess the quality of your spiritual life. Rate how satisfied you feel about each of the following areas related to spiritual growth. Use a scale of 1 to 4, letting 4=complete satisfaction and 1=dissatisfaction. You are rating how you feel about each of these areas in your life, not in comparison to others or how you think someone else would rate you.
____ 1. I pray regularly and feel close to God as a result
____ 2. My quality of prayer is good. I am focused and present to God when I pray.
____ 3. I try a variety of styles (e.g., meditation, reading, listening to religious music,
silence) when I pray.
____ 4. I spend enough time just listening to God and not doing all the talking myself.
____ 5. I share my faith with others often; I seek out a group with whom to share on a
deeper level.
____ 6. My understanding of Church teaching is strong enough to help me make day-to-
day decisions.
____ 7. I have a spiritual mentor or director or spiritual friend to whom I can talk about
faith/religion.
____ 8. My relationship with God enters into the decisions I make in my everyday life.
____ 9. I participate actively in whatever community worship I attend.
____ 10. I take time regularly to reflect on how much I’ve integrated faith into my daily
life.
____ 11. I make a retreat at least annually.
____ 12. The Bible plays a role in my everyday life.
(From: “Leadership for Life: Discovering Your Gifts for Christian Leadership” by Mike Poulin, Lori Spanbaurs, Joan Weber, & Jennifer Willems. Naugatuck, CT. CMD 1997)