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The Ministry Of Catechesis

The ministry of catechesis with young people has several distinct features that give direction to catechetical programming. Specifically, catechesis with teens

• Recognizes that faith development is lifelong and therefore provides developmentally appropriate content and processes around key themes of the Catholic faith that are responsive to the age-appropriate needs, interests, and concerns of young and older teens;
  
• Teaches the core content of the Catholic faith as presented in the Catechism of the Catholic Church - the profession of faith, celebration of the Christian mystery, life in Christ, and Christian prayer - in order to provide a solid foundation for continued growth in faith;
  
• Integrates knowledge of the Catholic faith with the development of practical skills for living the Catholic faith in today's world;
  
• Utilizes the life experience of youth, fostering a shared dialogue between the life of the youth - with its joys, struggles, questions, concerns, and hopes - and the wisdom of the Catholic faith;
  
• Engages youth in the learning process in incorporating a variety of learning methods and activities through which youth can explore and learn important religious concepts of the Scriptures and Catholic faith. A variety of learning approaches keeps interest alive among teens and responds to their different learning styles;
  
• Involves group participation in an environment that is characterized by warmth, trust, acceptance, and care, so that young people can hear and respond to God's call (This fosters the freedom to search and question, to express one's own point of view, and to respond in faith to that call.);
  
• Provides for real-life application of learning by helping teens apply their learning to living more faithfully as Catholic
  youth - considering the next steps that they will take and the obstacles that they will face;
  
• Promotes family faith development through parish and school programs by providing parent education programs and resources, by incorporating a family perspective in catechetical programming, and by providing parent-youth and intergenerational catechetical programming;
  
• Recognizes and celebrates multicultural diversity by including stories, songs, dances, feasts, values, rituals, saints, and heroes from the rich heritage of various cultures;
  
• Incorporates a variety of program approaches including parish and school programs; small-group programs; home-based programs, activities, and resources; one-on-one programs or activities;
  
• Explicitly invites young people to explore the possibility of a personal call to ministry and the beauty of the total gift of self for the sake of the kingdom.

The ministry of catechesis most effectively promotes the faith development of teens when the curriculum in focused on important faith themes drawn from the teachings of the Church and on the developmental needs and life experiences of teens. The following faith themes have demonstrated their significance within the context of lifelong faith development and learning. Their selection is designed to "shed the light of the Christian message on the realities which have great impact on the adolescent" (GCD 84). This framework, organized around the four pillars of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, is offered as the basis of developing a catechetical curriculum for younger and older youth. Additional faith themes may need to be included to address local needs.

The Profession of Faith

• Jesus Christ - discovering the meaning of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and what this means for living in Christ's spirit today.
  
• The Mystery of the Trinity - understanding and experiencing the triune God.
  
• Revelation - understanding the revelation of sacred Scripture and sacred tradition.
  
• Old Testament - developing the knowledge and tools to read the Old Testament and to understand their meaning and challenge for us today.
  
• Paul and His Letters - developing the knowledge and tools to read Paul's letters and to understand their meaning and challenge for us today.
  
• Faith and Identity - exploring Catholic beliefs and what it means to live as a Catholic today.

The Sacraments of Faith

• Sacraments of Initiation, Healing, and the Service of Communion - understanding the sacraments and how they are both personal and ecclesial, evoking a response from each of us.
  
• Worship - developing an understanding and skills for participating in the sacramental life of the Church, especially the Eucharist.

The Life of Faith

• Catholic Morality - applying Catholic moral teachings to contemporary life situations as one encounters the many complexities in our world.
  
• Conscience, Virtue, and Sin - understanding and uncovering the desire to turn toward God and to do good and to act in accordance with God's grace, understanding the meaning and impact of sin, and learning to make decisions in accordance with one's rightly formed conscience.
  
• Justice and Peace - understanding that the Catholic faith calls people to work for justice, to pursue peace, and to defend human dignity, and developing skills to act of justice, peace, and human dignity.
  
• Lifestyles and Vocation - discerning how to live the Christian vocation in the world, in the workplace, and in marriage, single life, ministerial priesthood, permanent deaconate, or consecrated life.

Prayer in the Life of Faith

• Christian Prayer - understanding and experiencing the variety of Christian prayer traditions and discovering and responding to the Spirit's person invitation to develop a person prayer life.