{"id":4756,"date":"2011-09-16T06:45:09","date_gmt":"2011-09-16T11:45:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.austincnm.com\/?p=4756"},"modified":"2011-09-16T09:47:27","modified_gmt":"2011-09-16T14:47:27","slug":"how-stuff-works-cat-e-what-catechesis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2011\/09\/how-stuff-works-cat-e-what-catechesis\/","title":{"rendered":"How Stuff Works: Cat-e-what? (Catechesis)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>
\n\u201cGo, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. \u2013Matthew 28:19-20a<\/em><\/p>\n

Ever see one of these and felt thoroughly confused? CCC, CCD, CEP, CYM, DRE, DYM, EM, FF, RE, REP, SVdP, TMIY, USCCB, YM. These are some of the more common acronyms you might see that you’ll see across multiple parishes. Then there are some of the parish specific acronyms: SJN, SIMCS, STM, STP, SAY, SJV.<\/p>\n

Is your head spinning from too many capital letters yet?<\/p>\n

Regardless of how involved you are in the Church, some of the acronyms and phrases that are thrown around in conversation can be daunting. And one of the places that we most commonly find acronyms in a parish is related to their parish Faith Formation\/Religious Education\/Youth Ministry ministries. But all these confusing Faith Formation\/Religious Education\/Youth Ministry acronyms and words can be summed up in one word: Catechesis.<\/p>\n

Catechesis should be a relatively familiar sounding word. Many of us are at least somewhat familiar with the word catechesis because of the word catechism, which is the compendium (summary) of our Catholic Church\u2019s teachings. The word catechist is derived from a Greek word meaning \u201cto echo, or resound,\u201d so the word catechesis is the act of resounding or bringing thing Church\u2019s teachings into the world.<\/p>\n

We are all called to be catechists, bringing Christ\u2019s teachings into the world and resounding Christ to others. Christ called on his disciples, including us, to \u201cGo, therefore, and make disciples of all nations\u2026 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you\u201d (Matthew 28:19-20a). We are all called to be catechists, a person who teaches in the name of the Church. We don\u2019t have to be perfect in our knowledge of faith or \u201cknow everything\u201d to be a catechist. And honestly, between the mysteries of the faith like the Holy Trinity, and the 2000+ years of teachings and traditions, there\u2019s no way to be perfect in our knowledge and know everything about our Catholic faith. And yet, we are still called to be catechists.<\/p>\n

Yes, we are all called to be catechists (get the hint yet?). The Catechism of the Catholic Church makes clear that this is a special and distinct ministry, \u201cCatechesis is intimately bound up with the whole of the Church\u2019s life . . . her inner growth and correspondence with God\u2019s plan depend essentially on catechesis\u201d (CCC # 7). So basically, without catechesis, the faith would not and could not continue. If no one taught about the Catholic Christian faith, a parish could not exist and no one would follow Christ\u2019s teachings because no one would know what those teachings were. And while we are all called to be catechists in one way or another, there are groups of people whom have special roles of catechesis. The most important group? Parents.<\/p>\n

As Catholics we recognize the parents are the first and primary catechist of their children. Parents prepare the soil and plant the first seeds of faith within the soul. Parents have the role of making their households a Catholic Christian place where faith is encouraged, nurtured and passed down among the generations. Children model what their parents do, and are educated by those they are first around, their parents.<\/p>\n

Education in the faith by parents, which should begin from the children’s tenderest age is already being given when the members of a family help each other to grow in faith through the witness of their Christian lives, a witness that is often without words but which perseveres throughout a day-to-day life lived in accordance with the Gospel\u2026 Family catechesis therefore precedes, accompanies and enriches all other forms of catechesis.-Blessed Pope John Paul II
\n<\/em>
\nAgain, parents don\u2019t have to know everything about their faith. But they do need to provide a healthy, positive faith environment where faith is seen as a priority. Good ways to provide basic catechesis as a parent? Attend Mass together as a family, pray together at meals, learn and recite basic prayers like the \u2018Our Father\u2019 and \u2018Hail Mary\u2019 and nightly family prayer time.<\/p>\n

Aside from parents, often many in the Church are called to teach in ministry settings of Religious Education or Youth Ministry. This too, is a special calling that requires a desire to serve God by seeking to teach and share the Catholic faith. These teachers in Religious Education and Youth Ministry are the people we typically think of when we hear the word catechist.<\/p>\n

However, we are all called to be a catechist in the example of our daily lives. We have all been called to be catechists by virtue of our baptism into this Catholic faith. This baptism has placed a catechetical calling into our hearts to live daily as Catholics are living examples of the teachings of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

And so to all us catechists, new and old, and especially those just beginning to realize and find your catechetical calling, I want to wish you a \u201cHappy Catechetical Sunday,\u201d as this Sunday, September 18, 2011, the whole of the Catholic Church in the United States prays for the efforts of all who catechize. Have a wonderful and blessed Sunday and go, therefore and catechize all nations in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit!<\/p>\n

A Catechist\u2019s Prayer*
\nFather of all families, you have called me to serve the family in truth and love as a catechist. May I be faithful to this call, rooted in your Word, and open to the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
\nMay I use these gifts, especially the gifts of faith, hope and love, to serve the family as witness to you, who are love and life and the source and destiny of all families.
\nLet your Spirit enlighten my mind and strengthen my heart so that I can be a path of Christ\u2019s love to families, especially those in need, the homebound and aged, the disabled and disheartened.
\nThrough the intercession of Mary and Joseph, I pray for the Church, the Bride of Christ, whose mission to build a civilization of love passes through the family.
\n*United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Copyright 2010
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

More information about Catechetical Sunday: http:\/\/www.usccb.org\/beliefs-and-teachings\/how-we-teach\/catechetical-ministry\/catechetical-sunday\/index.cfm<\/a><\/p>\n

Acronyms explanations:
\nCCC- Catechism of the Catholic Church
\nCCD- Confraternity of Christian Doctrine
\nCEP- Christian Education Program \/ Catholic Education Program
\nCYM- Coordinator of Youth Ministry
\nDRE- Director of Religious Education
\nDYM- Director of Youth Ministry
\nEM- Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist \/ Eucharist Minister
\nFF- Faith Formation
\nRE- Religious Education
\nREP- Religious Education Program
\nSJN- St. John Neumann
\nSIMCS- St.Ignatius, Martyr Catholic School
\nSTM- St. Thomas Moore
\nSTP- St. Paul
\nSAY- St. Albert\u2019s Youth
\nSJV- St. John Vianney
\nSVdP- St. Vincent de Paul Society (Ministry serving the poor while seeking charity and justice)
\nTMIY- That Man Is You (Men\u2019s Ministry program)
\nUSCCB- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
\nYM- Youth Ministry<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cGo, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. \u2013Matthew 28:19-20a Ever see one of these and felt thoroughly confused? CCC, CCD, CEP, CYM, DRE, DYM, EM, FF, RE,… [Read More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4756","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-blog","7":"entry","8":"has-post-thumbnail"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":42689,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2013\/12\/pope-francis-teaching-parenthood\/","url_meta":{"origin":4756,"position":0},"title":"Part 5 of 6 – Pope Francis, Teaching, and Parenthood","author":"Trey and Stephanie Cashion","date":"December 5, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"As with previous Popes, Francis teaches. \u00a0It's his job so to speak. \u00a0As parents, we also are called to be the first and primary teachers, the \"first heralds\" of the faith to our children. \u00a0We can learn a great deal about fulfilling that role by watching him do his job.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Column"","block_context":{"text":"Column","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/column\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Pope Francis","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Pope-Francis-010-300x180.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":165498,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/10\/coping-with-grief-on-all-souls-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":4756,"position":1},"title":"Coping with Grief on All Souls Day","author":"Britt Echtenkamp","date":"October 26, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"One week from today, on November 2, 2015, we, the Church, will celebrate All Souls Day. 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