Guest Column: The Reason For Hope

Every third Sunday of September, parishes around the United States call forth those who have agreed to fulfill the sacred role of catechist. This weekend bears the title of Catechetical Sunday, and it falls this weekend. Yet what is this special celebration?
 
Depending on your parish, to be a catechist may mean you experienced a tug on your heart when the pastor called for more volunteers to teach the children our Catholic Faith. It may mean you are brand new to this experience or a seasoned veteran in the field of Faith Formation. But the deeper meaning of Catechetical Sunday can be found in the definition of the word catechist—a word that has Greek origins meaning “to echo” or “to resound”—essentially indicating that a catechist echoes or resounds our Church’s beliefs to the next generation.
 
Parents and guardians agree to be the primary catechists of the Catholic Faith to their children and godchildren when they request baptism for their children. Parish volunteers who serve as catechists fall into the role of “support staff” and mentors for families’ children—they are not meant to be the only teachers or even the first teachers, yet they often are when parents or guardians feel inadequate in their own Faith life.
 
In fact, in some countries, devoted catechists risk their lives to pass on the Faith to those under their care. One such catechist includes Blessed Peter To Rot (to-row), set to be the first canonized saint from Papua New Guinea. Blessed Peter taught the Faith in his village and held strong to the values of marriage and family life despite governmental occupation during World War II that demanded the opposite. He prayed in secret services to keep the flame of Faith alive, until he was caught and killed in prison. His commitment encouraged others to hold to their Faith despite pressure to dissolve.
 
In other places, catechists break down cultural differences. Take for example Servant of God Nicholas Black Elk, a Lakota medicine man and visionary who converted to Catholicism and spent many years of his life teaching his people the Catholic Faith. He even translated the Bible into the Lakota language and sang Latin hymns to his children and parishioners. Part of the gift of Nicholas’s role was his ability to take Lakota spiritual practices and integrate them into the Catholic Faith, thereby honoring the culture from which he came while also upholding Catholic teaching.
 
So as we prepare to gather and bless our catechists this weekend, let us recall this sacred role for what it is, and may we not be afraid to live out this year’s theme, “Always be ready to give an explanation…for a reason for your hope” (1 Peter 3:15). Thank your children’s catechists for their “echoing of Faith” to this generation.
 
Kerry Acker is Director of Religious Education and OCIA at St. Thomas the Apostle Church, Amarillo.