The Spirituality of the Catechist

While finishing a postgraduate specialization in catechetics, I had the delight of getting to know a number of young, up-and-coming catechists who would boast of possessing one or another spirituality. ‘Sister, I just love Saint Dominic!’ one would brag. ‘Therese is my girl!’ beamed another. ‘I’m a die-hard Ignatian,’ declared a third. And always there were plenty of those carefree souls who follow the Poverello from Assisi! As I spent more and more time with these eager young people, I found myself trying to show them that, while each of the various spiritualities in the Church has its own particular ‘flavor,’ as future catechists they would need first to develop a taste for the particular ‘spirituality of the catechist.’ Unlike the ‘Dominican’ or the ‘Franciscan,’ the ‘catechist’ has no founder as such from whom to draw a specific charism. Instead, the spirituality of the catechist ‘springs from (his) vocation and mission.’ [i]