Catechesis in the life of the church
Maynooth College Reflects on Catechesis in the Life of the Church», is an anthology of diverse reflections on some of the current challenges for catechists in the Catholic church » It is published by Messenger publications. The editors of the book are Jeremy Corley, Andrew Meszaros, and John-Paul Sheridan all of whom are faculty members at Maynooth Pontifical University.
The book is divided into four sections. ‘The Catechetical Task’ is the first, which considers wider aspects of catechesis, including insights from the psychology of human development, the mission of the catechist, and the major resources at hand for the catechist.
Part two is entitled ‘Bringing Catechesis Alive’ and it has both theoretical and practical chapters on animating the gospel message to touch hearts and spark imagination.
Part three, ‘The Good News in Catechesis’ covers the Church’s social teaching, theological anthropology, as well as contemporary lessons for catechists from St Augustine.
Finally part four, ‘Spirituality of Catechesis’ focuses on prayer and the scriptures as nourishment for the catechetical task.
The book is an ideal resource for both commissioned catechists and parish volunteers, as well as teachers, priests, parents transmitting the faith to children or those seeking to witness to the faith in the workplace.
The editors believe that bringing the ‘good news’ to the people of the day is at the heart of the Church’s mission. Pope Francis instituted the ministry of catechist (Antiquum Ministerium, 2021), which in turn served as the inspiration for this anthology. They note that the challenge, for the catechist is to speak in a way that can be heard and to present models, practices and structures that have meaning and relevance in a contemporary world. This, according to Bishop Michael Duignan, who wrote the forward to this book, is the “Ever old but always new art of Christian catechesis”.
