“I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you” (1 Cor. 11:23)

Our school has opened and our children have returned!  I’m so happy to see them back and I know they’re happy to be back as well; I suspect many of their parents are happy to have them out of the house at last.  Many other parish activities are resuming, as well, although in new and different ways in the face of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.  We are working very hard to make sure that everyone remains safe and healthy as we resume parish life in a modified manner.  What hasn’t changed, however, is our commitment to our essential mission – living the Gospel of our Lord – and so we join with all of the parishes throughout the country in observing Catechetical Sunday.

This year’s theme “I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you,” is taken from Paul’s first letter to the Christian community in Corinth and is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the essential role that the catechists in our parish play in handing on the faith and being a witness to the Gospel.  Just as St. Paul, grateful to the Lord who called him to conversion while he was on his way to Damascus, dedicated the rest of his life to teaching what the Lord had taught him, Catechetical Sunday is an opportunity for our parish catechists, grateful to the Lord for the great gift of faith they have been given, to recommit themselves to this important ministry in our parish, even in the midst of this pandemic.  Those whom the community has designated to serve as catechists will be called forth at the 9:30am Mass to be commissioned for their ministry.

I will also ask God’s blessing on all parents who are present as well, praying that God may strengthen them in their resolve to share the precious gift of their faith with their children.  I ask that you join me in praying that they will embrace their mission with renewed enthusiasm.  This is particularly important for our parents because, as the Second Vatican Council states so clearly, “parents must be acknowledged as the first and foremost educators of their children.”  To emphasize this point, it goes on to say that “their role is so decisive that scarcely anything can compensate for their failure in it” (Declaration on Christian Education, §3).  The Catechists who will be commissioned this weekend can only reinforce and codify the lessons that parents teach their children at home, both by word and example.  We, the parish staff, recognize this and so we try to work closely with the parents of our students in both our parish school and our parish religious education program (PREP) so that each of us can fulfill our proper role in raising our children in the ways of the faith.

But, this Sunday is a good opportunity for all of us to rededicate ourselves to this mission as a community of faith, not only to our children but to everyone because, as we recognize throughout our lives, we are all in need of ongoing catechesis and our current situation offers new challenges and new opportunities for growth in our faith.   We come to Mass on Sunday to hear what we believe to be the Word of God in Scripture and to enter into what we believe to be communion with God through Jesus Christ, his Son.  Since we believe in Jesus, the Word of Life, it is important for all of us to reflect on this and rededicate ourselves to this essential aspect of our baptismal call: being witnesses for Jesus Christ.

Catechetical Sunday is an important moment to reflect on the role that each person plays – by virtue of Baptism – in handing on the faith and being a witness to the Gospel.  It is an opportunity for all of us to rededicate ourselves to this mission as a community of faith.  And, at this time, when we find ourselves turning to God even more anxiously as we continue to navigate the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, we become ever more aware of the importance of our faith in a loving and merciful God who always accompanies us in every moment of our lives and is particularly near to us in our times of trouble.

Catechesis is a distinct and special ministry in the Church.  According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, catechesis is “an education of children, young people and adults in the faith of the Church through the teaching of Christian doctrine in an organic and systematic way to make them disciples of Jesus Christ.”  As the Catechism of the Catholic Church makes clear, “Catechesis is intimately bound up with the whole of the Church’s life . . . her inner growth and correspondence with God’s plan depend essentially on catechesis” (§ 7). This ministry of teaching in the name of the Church has a profound dignity, which is why catechists are formally commissioned by the Church.  It is most appropriate that we set aside a day to highlight this ministry and invite the entire Church community to think about our responsibility to share our faith with others.

In a world where so many have forgotten God or turned away from God, catechesis leads us to understand that God is essential in our lives.  Especially today, when so many people have allowed fear to paralyze them, we can be witnesses of reliance in God who will protect us according to his divine plan.  After all, God has made us all for Himself and, as St. Augustine said so well, our hearts are restless until they rest in God.

As we begin another school year, let’s all rededicate ourselves to learning about and deepening our faith so that, like St. Paul, we may hand on to others what we have received from the Lord with renewed zeal.  And, let me take this opportunity, in the name of our entire parish, to thank those who have heard the call to become catechists for our children; it is such an extremely important role you play in passing on the precious gift of our faith!