Catechesis aims to help young people to deepen their personal relationship with Jesus Christ, to become his disciples in the Catholic community. It is an apprenticeship in Catholic faith which recognizes that people of all ages and stages of faith are on a journey together. The catechesis process relates the Gospel to the questions and yearnings in the minds and hearts of young people.
Catechesis is about entering into and developing a way of life, and so is much more than simply offering an understanding of the Catholic faith.
It seeks to initiate young people into the believing, celebrating, living and praying Catholic community.
It is through faith communities, especially families, parishes and Catholic schools, but also religious communities, groups and movements, that young people are formed in what it means to be Catholic, at the level of head, heart and hands.
People listen more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if people do listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses (cf Evangelii Nuntiandi #41).
Catechesis involves developing an awareness of the lives of those in whose footsteps we follow, from saints to members of the community, who provide living witness of remaining faithful to God in the world of today.
Catechesis includes praying the scriptures, celebrating sacraments, deepening appreciation for the Gospel as handed on by the Catholic Church, reflecting on daily life in the light of the Gospel and deepening in the life of Christ, who dwells within all who have received Baptism. |
Vision 
