{"id":4387,"date":"2013-09-28T18:52:00","date_gmt":"2013-09-28T18:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/live-your-faith-pope-exhorts-catechists\/"},"modified":"2013-09-28T18:52:00","modified_gmt":"2013-09-28T18:52:00","slug":"live-your-faith-pope-exhorts-catechists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2013\/09\/live-your-faith-pope-exhorts-catechists\/","title":{"rendered":"Live your faith, Pope exhorts catechists"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Vatican City, Sep 28, 2013 \/ 12:52 pm (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- Pope Francis met with a group of catechists from around the world on Friday, encouraging them to live a life of witness for the faith rather than simply catechizing as a job.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cBe catechists, don\u2019t work as catechists,\u201d the Pope said to a group of two thousand gathered in the Paul VI audience hall in Rome on September 27. \u201cBeing a catechist is a vocation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe pontiff stressed the importance of living a life of witness, because as Benedict XVI had noted, the Church does not grow through proselytizing, but through attracting, and that which attracts people is a life that witnesses to the gospel.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cPeople see the gospel in our lives: let them read the gospel,\u201d said Pope Francis.<\/p>\n

\tIn order to live the gospel, we must remain with Christ.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe first thing, for a disciple, is to be with the Teacher, to listen to him, to learn from him. And this always matters, it is a journey that lasts the whole of life!\u201d
\n\t\u00a0
\n\tThe Pope then asked the participants, \u201chow do you live, remaining with Christ?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\tWhen someone goes to pray before Jesus in the tabernacle, \u201cyou look at him, but do you let him see you? Allow him to look at you!\u201d encouraged Pope Francis.<\/p>\n

\tIt is in this union with the Lord that we find the strength to go out of ourselves in order to share the gospel with others, he explained.<\/p>\n

\tThese evangelization efforts must bring us to the periphery, because that is where God himself goes.<\/p>\n

\tPope Francis reflected on the story of Jonah, who was called by God out of his \u201ccalm and orderly life\u201d to go the city of Nineveh, which was \u201cbeyond his schema, at the periphery of his world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThis story teaches us that \u201cGod is not afraid of the periphery.\u201d In fact, \u201cif you go to the periphery, you will find him there,\u201d explained the Pope.<\/p>\n

\tHe then went on to give an example of how catechists could do this.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cIn Buenos Aires, there are many children who don\u2019t even know how to make the sign of the Cross! This is a periphery. We must go there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tPope Francis went on to emphasize the need for \u201ccreativity\u201d in catechesis, because \u201cyou need to know the circumstances in which you preach the gospel.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tAlthough the gospel message never changes, we must be able to adapt our methods according to our circumstances. \u201cGod is not rigid,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\tMoreover, said the Pope, Christian catechists cannot remain \u201cclosed off in our group, in our parish, in our movement, in our environment.\u201d Such an attitude leads to a person being \u201csick.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\tRather, we need the kind of catechist who \u201chas the courage to take the risk to go out\u201d preaching the gospel.<\/p>\n

\tSue Petritz of Sussex England, who works with adults entering the Catholic Church, was present at the meeting. She found Pope Francis\u2019 words motivating.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\u201cHe\u2019s just a great inspiration to catechists everywhere, because if the Pope can do it and he uses Jesus as his example, we can do it as well. He inspires us,\u201d she told CNA.<\/p>\n

\tThe meeting with Pope Francis was part of the International Conference on Catechesis organized for the Year of Faith. Two thousand catechists from around the world gathered from September 26-28 in Rome to consider the theme of \u201cCatechist: A Witness of Faith.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\tOne participant from Portugal, Christina, expressed her joy in being part of an international gathering.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cI think it\u2019s very important to meet with people from other countries and other cultural experiences \u2013 and then we feel that we really are brothers and sisters that have a common Father,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\tThe conference included the meeting with Pope Francis as well as various presentations on catechesis and a pilgrimage to the tomb of St. Peter.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vatican City, Sep 28, 2013 \/ 12:52 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- Pope Francis met with a group of catechists from around the world on Friday, encouraging them to live a life of witness for the faith rather than simply catechizing as a job.<\/p>\n

\t“Be catechist…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-vatican"],"yoast_head":"\nLive your faith, Pope exhorts catechists<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Vatican City, Sep 28, 2013 \/ 12:52 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- Pope Francis met with a group of catechists from around the world on Friday, encouraging them to live a life of witness for the faith rather than simply catechizing as a job. “Be catechist...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2013\/09\/live-your-faith-pope-exhorts-catechists\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" 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