What Catechesis Is
Catechesis has as its center and its goal "... a Person, the Person of Jesus of Nazareth." (On Catechesis in Our Time no. 5) Catechesis is, therefore, for all ages. It is for all eras of history and for all time to come. It is for adults, for youth, for children; it is, as the Gospel itself, for people of every race and cultural heritage, for people of all strata of society, for those with special needs of every kind. Catechesis is the development of one's initial conversion to the mystery of Jesus Christ. It is the lifelong deepening of a personal relationship with Christ.
We who are privileged to serve the catechetical ministry are responsible for understanding the breadth and depth of the mission we share. In faithfulness to God's design we add to the masterpiece.
To grasp the whole of the catechetical ministry engages us in a vision that extends back in history. As any artist, we immerse ourselves in the story of which we are a part. Reflective and prayerful reading of the Church's catechetical documents steeps us in the roots and visions that the Church offers to sustain its catechetical ministry. Engaging in dialogue with the contemporary community of faith enables us to translate the work and words of the past into a catechetical masterpiece that will speak to the hungers and longings of people today.
The Church has traditionally named the first movement of faith, evangelization, that initial proclamation of the Good News which stirs a person toward conversion. In recent years, the Church has broadened its understanding of evangelization to be inclusive of the whole of one's lifelong conversion process.
Catechesis is called "a moment in the process of evangelization," "a remarkable one." The task of the catechetical leader is to ensure that opportunities for deepening one's faith are available to all people.
In the Acts of the Apostles we read that the members of the early Christian community "devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to prayers" (Acts 2:42). Since then, the Church has reiterated the importance of these same dimensions: word, Worship, Community, and Service in its catechetical documents. Catechesis, which if faithful and effective, will attend to these four dimensions in all its catechetical processes. it will integrate these in catechesis for adults, youth and children in the life of the parish community.
Catechesis happens in specific cultural contexts. Therefore, it respects the cultural, racial and ethnic expressions of faith and encompasses the customs, traditions, symbols and language of God's people.
excerpted from The Art of Leadership for Catechetical Ministry, pages 1 & 2 of Section Two.