In his great apostolic exhortation On Catechesis in Our Time, Pope St. John Paul II reminds us that the goal of all catechesis is intimacy with Christ. He went on to say that the goals were, “To present Christ and everything in relation to him;” “[to promote] the following of Jesus and communion with him;” and “to present the Christian faith as the following of his person.” This reminds us of Christ’s own words, “Come, follow me. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me. Abide in me and I in you and you will bear much fruit; and I will make you fishers of men.”[1]
As catechists, preparing for this new catechetical year, we should be mindful of the example the Blessed Mother provides us. She was, after all, the most supremely Christ-centered person. By following her example, we too, can become more Christ-centered.
This “Christ-centeredness” is essential to the mission of the Church and catechesis itself. What is handed on in catechesis (at least if it’s done faithfully) is not only the teaching of Jesus, but also Christ Himself! He is the Word of God after all! Christ is the “one teacher” whose message is identical with Himself.
Here we see more clearly the Blessed Mother’s role as the “model catechist.” The entirety of her mission is to bring man to Christ, and Christ to man. That is our mission too! But looking at her example, we see that the Blessed Virgin conceived the Word in her mind in faith before conceiving him in her womb in the flesh. This is the goal of catechesis!
As Pope St. John Paul II reminds us, “Catechesis aims… at developing understanding of the mystery of Christ in the light of God’s Word, so that the whole of a person’s humanity is impregnated by that Word.”[2]
Following the example of the Blessed Mother in handing on Christ through catechesis, we must faithfully proclaim the Word of God and nothing but that Word. The goal is to better allow those we encounter to cooperate with the grace and plan of God; that they also may be led to the place of declaring, “Let it be to me according to your word.” Only then can Christ be “conceived” in the womb of their hearts and His incarnational presence be manifest.
Mary is the supreme example of the “obedience of faith” that the catechist desires to achieve in his or her listeners. Of course, catechists cannot give what they do not have, and therefore, we must also make these same words, indeed, this very same experience, our own.
As catechists we seek, like the Blessed Mother, to bring Christ to the world and the world to Christ so that they may encounter the love of Christ and discover the joy of the Gospel. Much like Mary, this requires us to encounter the love of Christ for ourselves. We must receive the Word of God in our hearts and in humility say, “Be it unto me.” Only then can we become bearers of Christ in the world.
As Pope Francis reminds us, “I invite all Christians… to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to letting him encounter them; I ask all of you to do this unfailingly each day.”
Let us look to the Blessed Mother as the model for this personal encounter, that the word of the Lord would bear fruit in the wombs of our hearts; let us look to her as our model catechist, and like her declare, “Be it unto me according to thy word, oh, Lord.”
[1] Matt 4:18-22; Matt 11:29-30; John 15:4-5
[2] Catechesi Tradendae, 20