In July 2008, Fr. Cash addressed a group of 300 catechetical leaders at the St. John Bosco Conference in Steubenville, Ohio. This article is based upon that talk.
My brothers and sisters, if we are going to transform the world; if we are going to set this world on fire with the love of God; if we are going to claim the world for Christ, then the spiritual heart of our ministry needs to be that we know and deeply experience the Lord Jesus Christ’s profound love for us!
One of Pope John Paul II’s constant refrains in his Apostolic Exhortation, Ecclesia in America, is that we must have a personal encounter with the Risen Jesus, like Paul, if we are to make possible conversion in our modern atheistic culture, which has become dead to faith in God. Pope John Paul was not saying anything new. Pope Paul VI said in Evangelization in the Modern World that what the Church and the world needs now is witnesses—the Greek being martyria—witnesses who know the love of Christ. This is an imperative for catechists.
This article is from The Sower and may be copied for catechetical purposes only. It may not be reprinted in another published work without the permission of Maryvale Institute. Contact [email protected]