Is there still a place for the person of the catechist, the vocation of catechist in today’s digital world of on-demand video programs and small group discussion questions?
I ask this question, what is the role of the person of the catechist? from a place of humility, and from feeling as if I have one foot on each “side” of a potential answer.
A Brief Why of an In-Person Catechist*
*aka teacher/instructor/leader/whatever — I consider the function not title to be more important
I was fortunate to have the opportunity within my parish to work for Barbara Morgan, who founded the Catechetical Program at Franciscan University of Steubenville and expounded upon the role of the catechist so eloquantly in The Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Craft of Catechesis (2008) and then shared a practical method of practice in Echoing the Mystery: Unlocking the Deposit of Faith in Catechesis (2018). Barbara Morgan drew deeply from the riches of our Church’s teaching, living out Pope John Paul II’s Catechesi Tradendae (1979) in our modern, American context–in both word and deed. And, she is and was correct. The personal vocation of catechist must exist because, as she explained in one of her Catechist Training sessions in the Diocese of Lansing, to be a catechist means that, “You are the mouthpiece, the hands, the feet, the reliable witness–but God is the teacher, Jesus is the teacher, the Holy Spirit moves people.”
The witness of history, Scripture, and Church teaching also shows us this essentiality of person-to-person transmission of the faith, echoing, the faith, as St. Luke describes it at the start of his Gospel (which reveals a Biblical example of the root word of catechesis). Pope Paul VI proposed a question in 1975, that may be even more relevant in our digital age, asking:
In the long run, is there any other way of handing on the Gospel than by transmitting to another person one’s personal experience of faith? It must not happen that the pressing need to proclaim the Good News to the multitudes should cause us to forget this form of proclamation whereby an individual’s personal conscience is reached and touched by an entirely unique word that he receives from someone else (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 46).
Pope Paul VI asked this question withing the context of his assertion, “the verbal proclamation of a message, is indeed always indispensable” in the process of evangelization (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 42). Now, one could say that in our day and age, the verbal proclaimation is quite strong–just look at the number of videos available on-demand that feature gifted Catholic evangelists making a verbal proclamation of the Good News of Salvation and the catechesis to grow as a follower of Jesus (terminology note: catechesis is part of the overarching movement of evangelization). Yet, writing from the 1970s, Pope Paul VI goes on to reflect that:
The fatigue produced these days by so much empty talk and the relevance of many other forms of communication must not however diminish the permanent power of the word, or cause a loss of confidence in it (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 42).
Years later, the General Directory for Catechesis reminded us, “No method, no matter how well tested, can dispense with the person of the catehist in every phase of the catechetical process” (para. 156).
A Brief Why on Our Present Reality of Widespread Use of On-Demand Videos as Adult Faith Formation
What I observe today is that we do feel a genuine, “pressing need” to proclaim the Good News to the “multitudes,“ our world around us that is in such great need of spiritual widom and relationship with God and others. And just as Paul and other early missionaries used the “new” technology of the Roman Empire’s extensive road and postal system to share the Good News, we too utilize the “new” technology of our age–the instantaneous availability of digital teachers and evangelists–to share the Good News. This is the “on the other hand” to meditating on the richness of the Church’s teachings on the vocation of the catechist and the many lessons I learned from Barbara Morgan.
We correctly realize that a video can be shared rapidly and with minimal expense/resources, certainly faster than discerning one’s vocation as a catechist and cultivating the spirituality and recognition of spiritual gifts and development of wordly skills/talents so as to be that wonderful, effective in-person witness, who proclaims and echoes the teachings of our Lord Jesus to real people, in a real context, right in front of them.
The widespread use of on-demand videos for evangelization and catechesis has the gain of speed, scalability, and portability. And there is much fruit! I personally use and watch many of these. Because we love God and want to share God’s love with others, we have that pressing need to gravitate toward the most rapid methods. We’re also drawn to them because we see in the wisdom of Pope Paul VI’s words the “relevance” of these forms of communication to our culture, to the people we serve. If other messages exist in videos, then we should be proclaiming the Gospel and inviting people to relationship with Jesus in His Church there too!
In Sum: Catechist & Video
Those are the two realities that we live with, ideally in a healthy and well-meditated tension, whereby we constantly reflect on what is gained and diminished as we dedicate resources to both realities and ideally integrate both realities fruitfully.
Spurring Our Thinking
An intriguing example (dare I say “case study” if I had more research on it!) for me is the Alpha Course. I have particiated, served as a table host, and a core team member in a parish leveraging the tool of Alpha as part of our pre-evangelistic and evangelistic efforts corporately. I experienced this in the era of Alpha-on-video. But, I’m also aware there was a time when Alpha was centered in the witness of a local speaker/catechist/evangelist/presenter. From the way back world of the internet, here’s what those scripts and guides looked like (for one of my favorite Alpha episodes, “How Does God Guide Us?”). [Please note my apologies for not properly citing this, I saved it a decade[s?] ago and cannot find a live link anymore]. It’s an example of a setting where once there was an in-person catechist, but now, there is a video. What has been lost and what has been gained in that transformation in format?
Another example that comes to mind is the difference in children’s/youth faith formation and adult faith formation in parish life in the United States. Anecodtally, in my part of the world, I observe that in adult faith formation, video-based content is extremely common. On the other hand, in children/youth faith formation, most parishes still discern and form people to be catechists, an in-person witness to echo the faith–something seemingly different than a facilitator or coordinator who turns on an adult faith formation video and then leads discussion with the questions that often accompany such content. I wonder why we hold on to the in-person faith formation model for children, yet seemingly do not consider the catechist for adults to be as essential? Or, why do we think videos are the preferred model for adult on-going faith formation, but not as much for children?
Finally, the difference between the commonly used term “facilitator” and teacher/catechist/instructor is worth pondering. Many small group and Bible Study leader guides emphasize the importance of being a facilitator, rather than a teacher. And there’s wisdom in the sentiment being communicated. However, a false dichotomy between teacher (“bad”) and facilitator (“good”) seems to neglect the beauty of the Church’s vision of catechist as witness. Pope Paul VI eliminates a false dichotomy or mutual exclusivity between the characteristics of a “facilitator” vs. “teacher,” explaining:
Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 41).
A true catechist is thus not opposed to nor functioning in a way that’s mutually exclusive of the wonderful virtues of an excellent facilitator. A teacher/catechist is listened to because he/she is a true witness, often exemplified in the characteristics of a facilitator who brings others to encounter Jesus, just as he/she has. As we read adult faith formation facilitator guides, we should ask: What is lost when the idea of “teacher” is downplayed, as if it is a negative in the experience of adult faith formation?
When a “facilitator” is someone who spurs discussion based on a video, is not the person on the screen the “teacher”? (Thus we haven’t eliminated the function of catechist, it’s merely been transferred from a live, in-person friend, to an impersonal face on a screen). What difference does this make?
Returning to my personal reflection and curiousity,
Is there still a place for the person of the catechist, the vocation of catechist in today’s digital world of on-demand video programs and small group discussion questions?
I believe the answer is “yes.” Videos can be powerful tools, but the true shephering of one with the vocation and formation as a catechist is too prominent in Church teaching to be ignored or quickly dismissed. In my own life, apart from Church teachings, what I notice is that an in-person catechist is an accessible witness. And this matters. What I mean is, while I can enjoy and be enriched by watching some of the greatest lay evangelists and catechists of our time on video, I do not intuitively see them, and see myself. They are “experts,” a “sage on the stage”–I’m not meant to see them and think, “that can be me, giving my witness and echoing the faith to others.” To some degree, it can even be beyond neutral and reinforce an idea that “missionary discipleship” is for the spiritual elite, the extra-smart, extra-holy types–rather than being the call of every baptized follower of Jesus.
In contrast, when adults experience a local catechist (teacher/instructor/speaker/leader) who is proclaiming and explaining God’s plan for our salvation, it is incarnational. That person is likely not famous, but someone similar to them who has followed that pathway of on-going formation, into a stage of mature discipleship and passing the faith on to others. Without saying a word, this experience “teaches” all of the participants that disicipleship is not passive, we’re not merely consumers of adult faith formation content. Instead, we are to grow in the faith so as to go and make disciples of others. In this moment we live into that baptismal call to missionary discipleship or being “sent” (apostolic).
I’m also compelled to reflect on Pope Paul VI’s mention of “fatigue produced these days by so much empty talk.” Even if the “talk” isn’t empty (say it’s amazing Biblical and catechetical truth being proclaimed!) there’s still just. so. much. of it. Anyone who has gone searching through collections of Catholic videos (add in podcasts, etc.) for faith formation can quickly be overwhelmed. It’s a vast sea for sure! In modern media, we can track things like views/impressions of specific content and even small non-passive respones, i.e. “a like on Facebook.” The quantifiable nature of this “tracking” can feel good. It can give us a quick and easy way to quantify how many people we are “reaching.” But are we? As media has expandend exponentially, the impact of individual pieces of content declines. The “sea” is so crowded and busy, people begin to tune out (even as they maintain the practice of scrolling through a social media feed). It’s the “fatigue” Pope Paul VI warned of. We ought to be rigorous in our own analysis of the impact we think evangelization and catechesis via digital media is having, and look for confirmation and fruit from a variety of sources.
Are videos a powerful tool in the hands of a master catechist? Someone who practices catechesis as a craft that involves their whole person? Absolutely. But always a tool, not the main entree. A tool should not replace the craft and vocation, even if that tool might seem to be a faster and more efficient way to accomplish the “craft” without the messiness of fostering vocation. For example, video might be selectively intersperced with the catechist’s own proclamation, explanation, and application of doctrines that illuminate God for us, revealed through the Sacred Scriptures. is a craft which involves the whole person. Doing this harmoniously with a healthy tension is a critical question for catechesis in the 21st century. It’s a queestion we shouldn’t “answer” but continuously interrogate with our hearts and minds.
Where am I personally as I continually re-ask this question? In our Catholic Biblical School Ministry, people who heard about our in-person groups/classes (which are led by those with the vocation and formation of a catechist here in Michigan) asked for ways to do this from anywhere. Thus, in 2019 we started offering an online version, a way to journey through every book of the Bible with an eye toward forming disciples from a fully-Catholic perspective. However, we kept options for live, weekly video-chat with one’s teacher and small group discussion (in-person or virtual) with others on the same path.
Knowing that we’d rather a person have an in-person presence and not just a video version of adult faith formation, we started using the online class to help people become faciltiators of Satellite Groups that meet together. Most of all, we desire to share our curriculum, formation of leaders, and more with those discerning or living out that call to provide in-person adult faith formation. We’re taking the approach of sharing freely and allowing others to discern how God is calling them to go and make disciples…teaching (Matthew 28:19-20).
Catholic Biblical School Ministry 