Again thank you to all our benefactors whose support allows us to continue to form and support Chinese lay evangelists.
I want to share with you one part of our formation programs, developing the ability to lead a complete Catechumen class. Before the catechumen class begins there is the hard work of finding catechumen candidates through different forms of "one brings one" recruitment programs, street evangelism, and advertising. Along with the catechumen class is the important service of pastoral concern for each catechumen. After Baptism we try to arrange a good community experience for the first year.
In order to enliven and make interesting the classes, especially in the pre-catechumen period, the students learn how to lead songs of praise and worship and to organize activities to arouse in and make more easily understood the theme of the day (for example, God as Creator or one the Sacraments). Using multi-media they should present the theme in a way that is logically clear, establishes emotional rapport, is interesting and leads toward Faith and arouses spiritual reflections and desires. The students also need to learn how to facilitate small group discussions that help the catechumens share questions and insights about the Faith and begin to build a community with fellow catechumens. They must also gradually teach the catechumens how to pray and prepare week-end retreats for the catechumens.
Finally, the students need to understand the process of conversion to help the catechumen make a final conversion to Jesus Christ. While theoretical knowledge is necessary, these practical abilities and the proper attitude of dependence on Jesus can only be developed with concrete practice: hence, from the first year, all our students help to run catechumen classes. By the time they graduate, most students have a basic, practical understanding of how to run a catechumen course; and more important, through experiences of both failure and success, they learn that they must continually pray and work according to God's will if there is to be any good fruit.
No comments:
Post a Comment