Catechist Certification
Description of Module
Catechist (Level One)
Catechetics
In Baptism each Christian is gifted with the potential for fullness of life in Jesus, risen and glorified. This life is rooted in faith in the God who also gifts and offers each person a living, growing relationship of love. The goal of catechesis is to help people grow and mature in this loving relationship with God.
Christology
The fundamental question for each and every Christian is the one Jesus posed to the apostles, “Who do you say that I am?” This module of classes will examine the message of Jesus as it was understood and taught in the early Christian communities, and the names by which Jesus was proclaimed and worshiped.
DOCTRINE
To live lives that witness to God we must know and understand the basic truths of our Catholic belief. This module presents the fundamental truths of the Catholic Church from the historical perspective which required the Church to formulate the “Credo” statements and teach them. A basic understanding of who we are as Catholic and what we as a faith community profess and practice sustains us in faithful response.
CATHOLIC MORALITY
The ultimate measure and mirror of living as a Christian is the gospel of Jesus. These classes will present and discuss the aspects of growing in the ability to live as a committed Christian: proper formation of conscience, law and freedom, making conscience decisions and responding/failing to respond to God’s invitation to growth in covenant relationship with God, self, and others.
LITURGY AND SACRAMENTS
One of the results of Second Vatican Council was a renewal of the understanding of the rituals of the sacramental life of the Church. This module of classes will examine the sacraments from historical perspective to assist in understanding the implication for everyday life and illustrate how our celebration of the Liturgy becomes the source of all we have and do.
SACRED SCRIPTURE
This class invites participants to experience the beginnings of the Church through the writings contained in Scripture. The understanding of who Jesus is, the meaning of his passion, death and resurrection for himself and for us is the focal point for the beginnings of the Church and for the continued life of the Church in every age.
PRAYER AND SPIRITUALITY
This class addresses the personal faith journey of adults by considering the basic understanding of God’s invitation to relationship as found in scripture. How a person recognizes God’s invitation in his/her own life is then reflected in the response of prayer.
METHODOLOGY
This module of classes provides a catechist with an understanding of the ministry of catechesis; the personal preparation needed as well as the concrete aspects of catechetical sessions.
EQUIVALENCY
For Modules of Catechetics: May be earned by those catechists who have taught for at
least 3 years by the completion of an oral questionnaire. The oral questionnaire would be conducted through the Faith Formation Office of the Diocese. A sample of which can be found on page nine.
For Genesis Program Graduates: May be earned by submitting a certificate of
completion of the program, or topics and hours completed, if not entire program, to the Faith Formation Office of the Diocese.
For further questions on equivalency, please contact the Faith Formation Office.