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The Seven Deadly Don’ts of Being a Catechist
1/ Don’t assume your catechumens/candidates or students know anything. I once had the experience of teaching someone who had never heard about the Trinity. He had no frame of reference and no idea what I kept referring to. That experience taught me to ask my students what they knew about a particular area of faith, before we discussed it.
2/ Don’t assume your students know nothing. It seems that every year I am shocked by one person who has been studying the Faith on their own and could probably teach the class! Again, beginning with a question and answer session is a great way to learn what gaps and what knowledge your students have.
3/ Don’t think teaching the Faith is all about knowledge and education. Teaching Faith is more about relationship than anything else. If you connect with your students, establish trust and have a true interest in their spiritual journey, they will be engaged and interested in the information you share with them. Catechism differs from other ‘classes’ they will take in life, as it will become a part of their life. The hope is for your students to not just learn, but internalize and love their Faith.
4/ Don’t think everyone learns the same way. Students tend to learn either auditorally (by hearing something), visually (seeing) or tactically (feeling). Combing different styles of teaching can be more effective to more people. For example, teaching about the Mass, then attending a Mass and discussing it afterwards (or during, if your parish priest doesn’t mind explaining things as he goes along) will help students who learn in different ways absorb the information.
5/ Don’t think you must have all the answers. It is okay to explain to your class that all aspects of Catholic teaching can take a lifetime to learn. We have a finite amount of time to cover all important topics, so if you don’t know something just tell them you don’t know and look it up for the next class. I encourage my adult class to look up the answers on their phone or computer when I don’t have the answers so that we can learn together.
6/ Don’t avoid the tough questions. Most catechists get questions that can make us uncomfortable. When this happens, the best response is to depersonalize the answer and just answer it frankly and honestly, referencing the Catechism (rather than sounding like you are the moral authority). I usually begin by saying, “The Church, in her wisdom and led by the Holy Spirit, states in the Catechism…” If they have an interest in learning about how this teaching has affected me personally I will go ahead and share that with them.
7/Don’t believe that someone else’s faith journey is your responsibility. We have an obligation to instruct, engage and set a good example, but it is the Holy Spirit, and not the teachers, who leads someone to Faith! We can assist the Spirit by increasing in our own knowledge of the Faith so that we are effective instructors, showing genuine Christian love for our students and praying for them. Good luck and God Bless!
The Mass Explained App
The Mass Explained is a new app for that teaches the history, traditions, symbols, art, music, and spirit of the Mass. This app is currently only available for Apple’s iPad & iPad mini, and truly takes advantage of all the multimedia power of the iPad to bring the Mass to new light and understanding for the reader. This app may seem expensive at $24.99, but once you realize that it took years to develop with many resources that require royalty/copyright fees, this is quite a value that will be a worthwhile reference for years to come. Dan Gonzalez is the man behind the scenes who has assembled one of the finest Catholic Apps yet on the market. It is an amazing app that has the potential to get more people excited about “The Mass–the Source and Summit of our Catholic Faith”, offering over 300 multimedia pages:
- 23 Chapters offering deeper knowledge and understanding of The Mass
- Writings from The New American Bible
- Catechism of the Catholic Church
- 3-D Objects can be rotated with your finger
- Interactive Maps
- 360 Panoramas of Holy Sites
- Videos to enrich content
- Audio of music and prayers
- Artwork with scalable images
Educational Discount
I really think that the Mass Explained App offers a new chapter in catechesis. Schools and groups interested in learning about the Mass in RCIA, study groups, and schools should look into this opportunity for discounted app to make this more affordable. This App offers a great experience for the reader, learner, and teacher to learn many aspects of the Mass in Gospel and Liturgy. The app is available through Apple’s Volume Purchase Program (VPP) allowing your school, class, institution, parish or group to receive a 50% discount when purchasing the app in quantities of 20 or more. When purchased through Apple’s VPP, Mass Explained can be distributed to your students or group members through redeemable codes or installed over the air automatically without user interaction. VPP purchases may be made using purchase orders, credit cards or PayPal. For more information on Apple’s VPP, visit www.apple.com/education/it/vpp/
NOTE: The Mass Explained App is all self-contained and does not need internet connection for its content, so it can be used in any classroom. It is a large app and needs 299MB of memory space.
This is a nice introductory video offering a sampling of its content.
Take a look at the links below for more information, and to see the many endorsements and praises this app is receiving. The blog also offers printable kids crafts, and book & video resources. There is one book not mentioned that is one of the best books about The Mass: The Lamb’s Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth by Dr. Scott Hahn. This app reminds me of this book that first sparked my awakening to the history, beauty, truth, and goodness of The Mass.
LINKS
John Clem, O.F.S.
Amazing Catechists welcomes guest blogger John Clem, O.F.S. who will be contributing reviews of technology that can aid in catechesis. John Clem, O.F.S is the Director and Media Minister at Catholic Web Services (https://catholicws.com/). John is a professed member of the Secular Franciscan Order, and loves to share his talents in faith, technology, and journalism in service to the church. John also writes a blog entitled Call To Holiness (https://www.calltoholiness.