Every autumn, on the third Sunday of September, parishes throughout the United States commission catechists who minister to children, youth and adults. Both evangelization and catechesis are essential ministries of the church --- gifts of grace as a result of faith that is destined for community benefit. "The catechist is essentially the mediator. . .(who) facilitates communication between the people and the mystery of God" (General Directory for Catechesis, n. 156).
The theme for this year's commissioning, "Stewards of God's Gifts," is based on the Gospel for this Sunday, Luke 16: 1-13. In the story, Jesus tells of the "rich man's steward who was reported to him for squandering his property. Surprisingly, it ends with the master commending the steward for his prudence. This conclusion leads us to question how well we use our own "wealth" of gifts and talents in the contemporary world.
This call to stewardship is a responsibility that many trained members of the laity choose to accept as one of their ways of service to others. One of their "gifts" as a teacher or facilitator is the art of awakening joy in assisting others as they discover God's creative love for all people. Another "gift" is opening the path toward faith, the source and center of all religious life. These gifts are given by the Holy Spirit and constitute the "wealth" of many evangelizers and catechists in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles who use their gifts in a variety of ways.
As with all gifts given by the Spirit, these are given to each person for the good of the whole community. Gifts entrusted to many different people within the community are for the good of all. With these gifts comes the responsibility to nurture, to develop, to grow and to deepen our conversion to Jesus Christ --- a graced process that we understand to be life-long.
This is one reason why we are beginning to understand evangelization and catechesis in terms of the whole Christian community. "Whole Community Catechesis" calls all of us to engage in prudent stewardship of our gifts, a stewardship that fosters ongoing and life-long personal growth and conversion, always in service of the whole community. Anne Dunn, PhD, is a member of the Immaculate Heart community and the Santa Barbara Region consultant in adult education and formation for the Office of Religious Education. |