Yesterday afternoon, at 5:00pm in the Paul VI Hall, the Holy Father, Pope Francis met with participants in the International Congress for Catechists which is taking place in the Vatican from September 26-28. The theme of this gathering, sponsored and organized as part of the Year of Faith festivities is The catechist: a witness to faith.
Address of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
Dear catechists, good evening!
I am pleased to see that during the Year of Faith, this gathering is taking place: the catechist is a pillar for education in faith, and we need good catechists! Thank you for this service to the Church and in the Church. Even though at times it can be difficult, you work so hard, you are so involved and sometimes you do not see the desired results, educating in the faith is a beautiful thing! It is perhaps the best inheritance that we can give: faith! Educate others in the faith, because in so doing, you grow. By helping children, young teenagers, young adults and grown adults to know and to love the Lord more and more is one of the most beautiful and educative adventures, through which we build the Church! Be catechists! Don't simply work as catechists: this isn't enough! I work as a catechist because I love to teach ... but if you are not a catechist, you won't be able to work as one. It will not bear fruit, it will be a worthless endeavour! Catechism is a vocation: being a catechist is a vocation, not doing the work of a catechist. Mind you, I did not say make catechists, but be catechists because this is a life choice. It leads to an encounter with Jesus, with his word and with life, it calls us to be witnesses. Remember what Benedict XVI said: The Church doesn't grow through proselytizing; it grows through attraction. And that which attracts is the witness we give. To be a catechist means to give testimony to the faith; to be consistent in your manner of life. And this is not easy. It is not easy! We help one another, we guide each other toward the encounter with Jesus through our words and our lives, through our witness. I like to recall some words which Saint Francis of Assisi used to say to his brothers: Preach the gospel at all times and, if necessary, use words too. The words will come ... but first there must be a witness: so that people may see the gospel in our lives, so that they may read the gospel. To be a catechist calls us to love, to always strive to love Christ more and more, to love his holy people. And this love can't be won through negotiation, it can't be bought, not even here in Rome. This love comes from Christ! It is a gift from Christ! It is a gift from Christ! If it comes from Christ, it begins with Christ and we should begin anew in Christ, in the love that He gives. What does it mean for a catechist to begin again in Christ, what does this mean for you, for me, because I too am a catechist? What does this mean?
I will speak of three things: one, two and three, like the old Jesuits used to do ... one, two and three!
First of all, to begin in Christ means to be familiar with Him, to know Jesus: Jesus strongly urged his disciples at the Last Supper, when you desire to live the highest gift of love, you must look to the sacrifice of the cross. Jesus uses the image of the vine and the branches and says: remain in my love, remain in me, as a branch is attached to the vine. If we are united with him, we can bear fruit, and this is what it means to know Christ. Remain in Jesus! It means that we must cling to him, in him, with him, speaking with him: remain in Jesus.
The first requirement for a disciple is to be with the Master, to listen to him, to learn from him. And this always true, it involves a journey that lasts a lifetime. I remember, many times in dioceses, in other dioceses that I had before, having seen at the end of courses in seminary catechesis, catechists who would come out saying: I have the title of catechist! That doesn't mean anything, those persons had nothing, they had walked a little way down the street! Who will help you? This is the real truth! It's not a title, it's an attitude: to be with him, for your whole life! And one who is in the presence of the Lord allows himself to be looked upon by him. I ask you: How are you present to the Lord? When you go to visit him, when you look toward the tabernacle, what are you doing? Silently ... But I would say, say, think, meditate, feel ... Very good! Do you allow yourself to be looked upon by the Lord? To allow oneself to be looked upon by the Lord. He looks and this is one way of praying. Do you allow yourself to be looked upon by the Lord? But how do we do this? Look toward the tabernacle and allow yourself to be looked upon ... it's simple! It's a bit boring, I fall asleep ... Sleep, sleep! He will still look upon you, he will still look upon you. Be sure that he looks upon you! And this is much more important than the title of catechist: it is a part of being a catechist. It warms the heart, it keeps the flame of friendship alight between us and the Lord, it helps us to feel that he is truly looking at us, he is close to us and he loves us. In one of the outings I had here in Rome, during one of the Masses, a man once came close; he was relatively young and he said to me: Father, I'm pleased to meet you, but I don't believe in anything! I don't have the gift of faith. He understood that it was a gift. I don't have the gift of faith! What do you say to that? I replied: Don't be discouraged. He loves you. Let him look upon you! Nothing more. And this I say to you: allow yourself to be looked upon by the Lord. I understand that for you it might not be so simple: especially for those who are married and who have children, it's difficult to find a long enough period of peaceful time. But, thank God, it's not necessary that we should all do things the same way; in the Church there is a variety of vocations and a variety of spiritual practices; the important thing is to find a way to be with the Lord; and this can be done, it's possible regardless of our state in life. In this moment, all of us can ask ourselves: How do I live in this state of being with Jesus, how do I remain in Jesus? Are there moments when I stay in his presence, in silence, when I allow myself to be looked upon by him? Do I allow his fire to warm my heart? If we don't have his warmth in our hearts, his love, his tenderness, how can we, poor sinners, warm the hearts of others? Think about this!
The second element is this: to begin again from Christ means to imitate him in going outside ourselves and meeting the other. This is a beautiful expression, it's a bit paradoxical. Why? Because it places truly at the centre of Christ's life, it puts us off-centre! The more you are united to Jesus, and the more he becomes the centre of your life, the more he makes you go outside of yourself, the more he knocks you off-centre and opens you to the needs of others. This is the true dynamism of love, this is the movement of God himself! God is the centre, but it's always a matter of self giving, relationship, life that communicates ... We too become like this if we remain united to Christ, he causes us to enter into this dimension of love. Where there is true life in Christ, there is always an openness toward the other, there is always a willingness to go outside of oneself in order to encounter the other in the name of Christ. And this is the work of the catechist: to continually go outside of oneself in love, to witness to Jesus and to speak of Jesus, to preach Jesus. This is important because the Lord does it: it is really the Lord who compels us to go out toward others.
The heart of a catechist always lives this movement of systolic - diastolic: union with Jesus - meeting with the other. They are two things: I am united to Jesus and I go out to encounter others. If one of these two movements is missing, the beating stops, it cannot live. I receive the gift of the kerygma, and in turn, I offer it as a gift. This little word: gift. The catechist knows that he or she has received a gift, the gift of faith and it is given to others. And this is beautiful. It's not as though a certain percentage of the gift is kept back for oneself! All that is received is given! It's not a business! It's not a business venture! It is pure gift: gift received and gift transmitted. The catechist is there, at this intersection of gifts. It is the same with the nature of the kerygma: it is a gift that creates mission, that always pushes us beyond ourselves. Saint Paul said: The love of Christ compels us, but this compels us can also be translated as possesses us. In this way, love attracts you and invites you, takes you and gives you to others. In this tension, the heart of a Christian is moulded, in particular the heart of the catechist. Let us all ask ourselves: is this how my heart beats: in union with Jesus and with the encounter with another? With this systolic-diastolic movement? Does it feed into a relationship with Christ, so that I may share him with others and not keep him for myself? I want to tell you one thing: I don't understand how a catechist can remain committed without this movement. I don't understand!
And the third element - three - still in the same line: to begin again from Christ means not being afraid to go with him to the periphery. Here, I think of the story of Jonah, a really interesting character, especially for our times of change and of uncertainty. Jonah is a pious man, living a quiet and ordinary life; this meant that he had all his plans clearly made; everything was in order. He judged everyone and everything strictly according to these plans. Everything is clear, he knows what is true. He's rigid! So when the Lord calls him and tells him to go and to preach in Nineveh, the great pagan city, Jonah doesn't listen. Go there! But I have all that I need right here! He doesn't listen ... Nineveh is outside of his plans, it's on the periphery of his world. So he runs away, he goes to Spain, he runs away, he boards a ship that goes there. Go, read the book of Jonah! It's short, but it's a very informative parable, especially for us who are in the Church.
What does it teach us? It teaches us not to be afraid to go outside of our own plans in order to follow God, because God always goes outside of himself. But do you know? God is not afraid! Did you know that? He is not afraid! He is always beyond our plans! God is not afraid of the periphery. But if you go to the periphery, you will find him there. God is always faithful, he is always creative. Please, a catechist who is not creative cannot be understood. Creativity is the backbone of catechism. God is creative, he is not closed in upon himself, therefore he is never rigid. God is not rigid! He welcomes, he comes to meet us, he understands. To be faithful, to be creative, we must know how to change. Know how to change. Why must we change? In order to adapt to the circumstances in which we must proclaim the gospel. To remain with God, we have to know how to go out, we must never be afraid to go out. If a catechist allows him or herself to be controlled by fear, he or she is a coward; if a catechist remains quiet, he or she ends up a statue in a museum: and there are so many who are like that! There are so many! Please, don't be a statue in a museum! If a catechist is rigid, he or she becomes wrinkled and sterile. I ask you: does anyone among you want to be wrinkled, a statue in a museum or sterile? Does anyone want this? (Catechists answer: No!) No? Are you sure? Good! What I say now, I have already said many times, but it comes from my heart When we Christians are closed in on our little group, in on our movements, in on our parishes, in on our environments, we remain closed and something happens that occurs with everything that is closed up; when a room is closed, it begins to smell of stale moisture. If a person is closed in that room, he will get sick! When a Christian is closed in on his or her group, in on his or her parish, in on his or her movement, he or she is closed, and gets sick. If a Christian goes out into the streets, to the peripheries, the same thing might happen to him or her that might happen to anyone who goes out into the street: there might be an accident. Many times, I've seen accidents in the streets. But I always say: I prefer a thousand Churches involved in accidents to a sick Church! A Church, a catechist who has the courage to run the risk of going outside, and not a catechist who studies, knows everything, but who is always closed in: that one is sick. Sometimes, he or she is sick in the head ...
But be careful! Jesus is not saying: go, fix everything! No, he's not saying that at all! Jesus says: Go, I am with you! This is our beauty and our strength: if we go, if we go outside of ourselves to proclaim the gospel with love, with true apostolic spirit, with clarity, he walks with us, he goes ahead of us, - In Spanish, they say - he precedes (ci primerea). The Lord always goes ahead of us! By now, you have learned the meaning of this word. The bible says it, it's not my word. The bible says, the Lord says in the bible: I am like the flower of the almond tree. Why? Because it is the first flower that blooms in Spring. It is always primero. This is fundamental for us: God always precedes us! When we think about going far away, to an far-off periphery, it's natural for us to be a bit timid. In truth, God is already there: Jesus waits for us there with the heart of a brother, in its wounded flesh, in its oppressed life, in its faithless soul. Do you know that one of the peripheries that causes me pain, that is just painful - I saw it in the dioceses that I had before? It's the state of children who don't know how to make the Sign of the Cross. In Buenos Aires there are so many children who don't know how to make the Sign of the Cross. This is a periphery! You must go there! And Jesus is there, he waits for you, to help these children to make the Sign of the Cross. He always goes ahead of us.
Dear catechists, the three points are finished. Always begin again from Christ! I want to thank you for what you do, but above all because you are part of the Church, among the People of God on the journey, because you journey with the People of God. Remain with Christ - remain in Christ - seek always to be at one with him; follow him, imitate him in his loving movements, in his willingness to meet with humanity, and let us go out, let us open the door, we must be bold enough to chart new paths for the proclamation of the gospel.
May the Lord bless you and the Madonna accompany you. Thank you!
Mary is our Mother, Mary always leads us to Jesus!
Let us pray for one another, let us ask the Madonna to pray with us.
Hail Mary ...
Blessing ...
Thank you very much!
Address of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
to participants in the International Congress for Catechists
Dear catechists, good evening!
I am pleased to see that during the Year of Faith, this gathering is taking place: the catechist is a pillar for education in faith, and we need good catechists! Thank you for this service to the Church and in the Church. Even though at times it can be difficult, you work so hard, you are so involved and sometimes you do not see the desired results, educating in the faith is a beautiful thing! It is perhaps the best inheritance that we can give: faith! Educate others in the faith, because in so doing, you grow. By helping children, young teenagers, young adults and grown adults to know and to love the Lord more and more is one of the most beautiful and educative adventures, through which we build the Church! Be catechists! Don't simply work as catechists: this isn't enough! I work as a catechist because I love to teach ... but if you are not a catechist, you won't be able to work as one. It will not bear fruit, it will be a worthless endeavour! Catechism is a vocation: being a catechist is a vocation, not doing the work of a catechist. Mind you, I did not say make catechists, but be catechists because this is a life choice. It leads to an encounter with Jesus, with his word and with life, it calls us to be witnesses. Remember what Benedict XVI said: The Church doesn't grow through proselytizing; it grows through attraction. And that which attracts is the witness we give. To be a catechist means to give testimony to the faith; to be consistent in your manner of life. And this is not easy. It is not easy! We help one another, we guide each other toward the encounter with Jesus through our words and our lives, through our witness. I like to recall some words which Saint Francis of Assisi used to say to his brothers: Preach the gospel at all times and, if necessary, use words too. The words will come ... but first there must be a witness: so that people may see the gospel in our lives, so that they may read the gospel. To be a catechist calls us to love, to always strive to love Christ more and more, to love his holy people. And this love can't be won through negotiation, it can't be bought, not even here in Rome. This love comes from Christ! It is a gift from Christ! It is a gift from Christ! If it comes from Christ, it begins with Christ and we should begin anew in Christ, in the love that He gives. What does it mean for a catechist to begin again in Christ, what does this mean for you, for me, because I too am a catechist? What does this mean?
I will speak of three things: one, two and three, like the old Jesuits used to do ... one, two and three!
First of all, to begin in Christ means to be familiar with Him, to know Jesus: Jesus strongly urged his disciples at the Last Supper, when you desire to live the highest gift of love, you must look to the sacrifice of the cross. Jesus uses the image of the vine and the branches and says: remain in my love, remain in me, as a branch is attached to the vine. If we are united with him, we can bear fruit, and this is what it means to know Christ. Remain in Jesus! It means that we must cling to him, in him, with him, speaking with him: remain in Jesus.
The first requirement for a disciple is to be with the Master, to listen to him, to learn from him. And this always true, it involves a journey that lasts a lifetime. I remember, many times in dioceses, in other dioceses that I had before, having seen at the end of courses in seminary catechesis, catechists who would come out saying: I have the title of catechist! That doesn't mean anything, those persons had nothing, they had walked a little way down the street! Who will help you? This is the real truth! It's not a title, it's an attitude: to be with him, for your whole life! And one who is in the presence of the Lord allows himself to be looked upon by him. I ask you: How are you present to the Lord? When you go to visit him, when you look toward the tabernacle, what are you doing? Silently ... But I would say, say, think, meditate, feel ... Very good! Do you allow yourself to be looked upon by the Lord? To allow oneself to be looked upon by the Lord. He looks and this is one way of praying. Do you allow yourself to be looked upon by the Lord? But how do we do this? Look toward the tabernacle and allow yourself to be looked upon ... it's simple! It's a bit boring, I fall asleep ... Sleep, sleep! He will still look upon you, he will still look upon you. Be sure that he looks upon you! And this is much more important than the title of catechist: it is a part of being a catechist. It warms the heart, it keeps the flame of friendship alight between us and the Lord, it helps us to feel that he is truly looking at us, he is close to us and he loves us. In one of the outings I had here in Rome, during one of the Masses, a man once came close; he was relatively young and he said to me: Father, I'm pleased to meet you, but I don't believe in anything! I don't have the gift of faith. He understood that it was a gift. I don't have the gift of faith! What do you say to that? I replied: Don't be discouraged. He loves you. Let him look upon you! Nothing more. And this I say to you: allow yourself to be looked upon by the Lord. I understand that for you it might not be so simple: especially for those who are married and who have children, it's difficult to find a long enough period of peaceful time. But, thank God, it's not necessary that we should all do things the same way; in the Church there is a variety of vocations and a variety of spiritual practices; the important thing is to find a way to be with the Lord; and this can be done, it's possible regardless of our state in life. In this moment, all of us can ask ourselves: How do I live in this state of being with Jesus, how do I remain in Jesus? Are there moments when I stay in his presence, in silence, when I allow myself to be looked upon by him? Do I allow his fire to warm my heart? If we don't have his warmth in our hearts, his love, his tenderness, how can we, poor sinners, warm the hearts of others? Think about this!
The second element is this: to begin again from Christ means to imitate him in going outside ourselves and meeting the other. This is a beautiful expression, it's a bit paradoxical. Why? Because it places truly at the centre of Christ's life, it puts us off-centre! The more you are united to Jesus, and the more he becomes the centre of your life, the more he makes you go outside of yourself, the more he knocks you off-centre and opens you to the needs of others. This is the true dynamism of love, this is the movement of God himself! God is the centre, but it's always a matter of self giving, relationship, life that communicates ... We too become like this if we remain united to Christ, he causes us to enter into this dimension of love. Where there is true life in Christ, there is always an openness toward the other, there is always a willingness to go outside of oneself in order to encounter the other in the name of Christ. And this is the work of the catechist: to continually go outside of oneself in love, to witness to Jesus and to speak of Jesus, to preach Jesus. This is important because the Lord does it: it is really the Lord who compels us to go out toward others.
The heart of a catechist always lives this movement of systolic - diastolic: union with Jesus - meeting with the other. They are two things: I am united to Jesus and I go out to encounter others. If one of these two movements is missing, the beating stops, it cannot live. I receive the gift of the kerygma, and in turn, I offer it as a gift. This little word: gift. The catechist knows that he or she has received a gift, the gift of faith and it is given to others. And this is beautiful. It's not as though a certain percentage of the gift is kept back for oneself! All that is received is given! It's not a business! It's not a business venture! It is pure gift: gift received and gift transmitted. The catechist is there, at this intersection of gifts. It is the same with the nature of the kerygma: it is a gift that creates mission, that always pushes us beyond ourselves. Saint Paul said: The love of Christ compels us, but this compels us can also be translated as possesses us. In this way, love attracts you and invites you, takes you and gives you to others. In this tension, the heart of a Christian is moulded, in particular the heart of the catechist. Let us all ask ourselves: is this how my heart beats: in union with Jesus and with the encounter with another? With this systolic-diastolic movement? Does it feed into a relationship with Christ, so that I may share him with others and not keep him for myself? I want to tell you one thing: I don't understand how a catechist can remain committed without this movement. I don't understand!
And the third element - three - still in the same line: to begin again from Christ means not being afraid to go with him to the periphery. Here, I think of the story of Jonah, a really interesting character, especially for our times of change and of uncertainty. Jonah is a pious man, living a quiet and ordinary life; this meant that he had all his plans clearly made; everything was in order. He judged everyone and everything strictly according to these plans. Everything is clear, he knows what is true. He's rigid! So when the Lord calls him and tells him to go and to preach in Nineveh, the great pagan city, Jonah doesn't listen. Go there! But I have all that I need right here! He doesn't listen ... Nineveh is outside of his plans, it's on the periphery of his world. So he runs away, he goes to Spain, he runs away, he boards a ship that goes there. Go, read the book of Jonah! It's short, but it's a very informative parable, especially for us who are in the Church.
What does it teach us? It teaches us not to be afraid to go outside of our own plans in order to follow God, because God always goes outside of himself. But do you know? God is not afraid! Did you know that? He is not afraid! He is always beyond our plans! God is not afraid of the periphery. But if you go to the periphery, you will find him there. God is always faithful, he is always creative. Please, a catechist who is not creative cannot be understood. Creativity is the backbone of catechism. God is creative, he is not closed in upon himself, therefore he is never rigid. God is not rigid! He welcomes, he comes to meet us, he understands. To be faithful, to be creative, we must know how to change. Know how to change. Why must we change? In order to adapt to the circumstances in which we must proclaim the gospel. To remain with God, we have to know how to go out, we must never be afraid to go out. If a catechist allows him or herself to be controlled by fear, he or she is a coward; if a catechist remains quiet, he or she ends up a statue in a museum: and there are so many who are like that! There are so many! Please, don't be a statue in a museum! If a catechist is rigid, he or she becomes wrinkled and sterile. I ask you: does anyone among you want to be wrinkled, a statue in a museum or sterile? Does anyone want this? (Catechists answer: No!) No? Are you sure? Good! What I say now, I have already said many times, but it comes from my heart When we Christians are closed in on our little group, in on our movements, in on our parishes, in on our environments, we remain closed and something happens that occurs with everything that is closed up; when a room is closed, it begins to smell of stale moisture. If a person is closed in that room, he will get sick! When a Christian is closed in on his or her group, in on his or her parish, in on his or her movement, he or she is closed, and gets sick. If a Christian goes out into the streets, to the peripheries, the same thing might happen to him or her that might happen to anyone who goes out into the street: there might be an accident. Many times, I've seen accidents in the streets. But I always say: I prefer a thousand Churches involved in accidents to a sick Church! A Church, a catechist who has the courage to run the risk of going outside, and not a catechist who studies, knows everything, but who is always closed in: that one is sick. Sometimes, he or she is sick in the head ...
But be careful! Jesus is not saying: go, fix everything! No, he's not saying that at all! Jesus says: Go, I am with you! This is our beauty and our strength: if we go, if we go outside of ourselves to proclaim the gospel with love, with true apostolic spirit, with clarity, he walks with us, he goes ahead of us, - In Spanish, they say - he precedes (ci primerea). The Lord always goes ahead of us! By now, you have learned the meaning of this word. The bible says it, it's not my word. The bible says, the Lord says in the bible: I am like the flower of the almond tree. Why? Because it is the first flower that blooms in Spring. It is always primero. This is fundamental for us: God always precedes us! When we think about going far away, to an far-off periphery, it's natural for us to be a bit timid. In truth, God is already there: Jesus waits for us there with the heart of a brother, in its wounded flesh, in its oppressed life, in its faithless soul. Do you know that one of the peripheries that causes me pain, that is just painful - I saw it in the dioceses that I had before? It's the state of children who don't know how to make the Sign of the Cross. In Buenos Aires there are so many children who don't know how to make the Sign of the Cross. This is a periphery! You must go there! And Jesus is there, he waits for you, to help these children to make the Sign of the Cross. He always goes ahead of us.
Dear catechists, the three points are finished. Always begin again from Christ! I want to thank you for what you do, but above all because you are part of the Church, among the People of God on the journey, because you journey with the People of God. Remain with Christ - remain in Christ - seek always to be at one with him; follow him, imitate him in his loving movements, in his willingness to meet with humanity, and let us go out, let us open the door, we must be bold enough to chart new paths for the proclamation of the gospel.
May the Lord bless you and the Madonna accompany you. Thank you!
Mary is our Mother, Mary always leads us to Jesus!
Let us pray for one another, let us ask the Madonna to pray with us.
Hail Mary ...
Blessing ...
Thank you very much!
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