Forgiveness and Reconciliation

Fun Fact 1: Forgiveness and reconciliation are NOT THE SAME! Forgiveness is directed more at the forgiver than the one being forgiven.


Fun Fact 2: Forgiving is never easy, and not meant to be easy. When we forgive, we should not try to immediately forget the incident. It will become harder and harder to let go - it becomes embedded deep in our subconscious as we relive the incident countless times when we keep trying getting rid of the memory.


Fun Fact 3: Forgiving is not a face-to-face process. If it were, we wouldn’t be able to forgive those people who have gone on before us.


So why is forgiveness important to catechists? By forgiving, we cleanse our mind, spirit and soul of all negativity. Without forgiving, we give ourselves in to the negative emotions and feelings in us, and this changes our being. Thus, forgiveness is very important as we will be able to keep our being that God has given us and be close to him. Remember, a good and strong relationship with God leads to good and strong relationships with others. And if you didn’t know, not forgiving others is a sin. Time to go for confession.

Who are we? What do we do?

What do we do, as catechists? We are not just teachers, but we are the lesson that we want the catechumens to learn and understand. As catechists, it is very important to have a strong relationship with God, deeply rooted in prayer. This is because a strong relationship with God would allow us to have strong relationships with people all around us, like family, friends and catechumens. With a better relationship, the connection between us and the catechumens can be more easily established and ultimately, lessons will be more effective.



So, what exactly is our ROLE as a catechist? We are an echo of God’s word. This is one of the reasons why understanding scripture is so important – so that we can communicate it effectively to the catechumens. We can bring it to life in others. In other words, we have to “give birth” to Jesus in the kids. As catechists, we must strive and concentrate on doing our best, using the best of what we have, because we are not alone when we teach. God said to Peter: “Upon this rock, I will build my church.” Thus, God is with us whenever we conduct catechism classes. We should use the best of what we have to help build the church.



Another role of the catechist is that of a mentor and a facilitator. The most important quality of a catechist is LOVE! (Remember Fr Luke always talking about love? “God love you all.”) If we want others to know more about God, we must show them who He is. And since we’re created in the image and likeness of God, we should exhibit Christ-like behaviour and his unconditional love! If we don’t conduct catechism classes with love, the catechumens won’t be able to get a clear image of God. Imagine – a catechist strolls into class late, shouts at the class to “shut up” and be quiet so that he can start the lesson, and then he says God is love. Doesn’t that seem a tad hard to believe?


As mentors, we must also assist in teaching the four pillars of the faith. The most important one of these four is the Creed, which is essentially what Catholicism is about. Worship and Sacraments, Morality (the life of Jesus) and Christian prayer are the other three. Whilst we try our utmost hardest to help the catechumens understand the four pillars, we must remember to take the subject slowly (and not rush through the lessons) and also remain focused on our purpose of helping them to understand.