The Ministry of Catechesis
By Baptism all members of the Catholic Christian Community are called to be living witness to the faith they profess by gathering as a faith community, proclaiming and living the Good News of Jesus and serving those in need.
Some members of the community are called to a more specific role of proclaiming, teaching and sharing God’s word. This is to say that they are called to be catechists, those who “echo the faith” in a deliberate, conscious manner.
The Process of “echoing the faith” is called catechesis. The purpose of catechesis is to enable the faith of others to become living, conscious and active so that they will be led to worship God and serve others through the works of justice, mercy and love.
The talents, gifts and natural inclinations of catechists determine the area of the life cycle in which they will be most effective in “echoing their faith,” e.g. with pre-school children, young children, with teenagers, older youth, with young adults, older adults, seasoned adults.
Life experience and training also plays an important role in determining the areas of catechetical ministry, e.g. pre-baptismal catechesis for expecting parents, assisting parents in their role as the primary catechist of their children, sacramental preparation, family catechesis, ongoing catechesis for children, youth adults, RCIA.
To be an effective catechist a person must be learning, growing and developing in his/her own faith life. Obtaining CATECHIST CERTIFICATION, and then maintaining the certification, is the means by which a person who is called to the ministry of catechesis prepares himself/herself to continually proclaim and “echo” the faith which they have received from God through others.
The following pages describe the levels of CATECHIST CERTIFICATION and the way to maintain certification in the Diocese of Reno. Adults who have received CATECHIST CERTIFICATION in other dioceses can obtain certification in the Diocese of Reno through equivalency. Contact the Office of Faith Formation for additional information.