VENCES: ‘Maria the Catechist’ shows the true spirit of catechism
September 10, 2024
With upcoming USCCB invitation to celebrate Catechetical Sunday on Sept. 15, when I reflect on Pope Francis’ words to catechists, inviting them to “be” catechists rather than merely “do” the catechetical work, my mother immediately comes to mind.
After discovering that she had been called by God to that ministry from the moment her soul was created, she gave herself to it completely, and she found the fullness of life. You might think that I am exaggerating, but I assure you that I am not. My mother discovered her call to be a catechist when she took me and my brother to catechism classes, as they were called in Mexico City at the time.
By the end of that year, she had answered God’s call and had begun a journey that had lasted 42 years so far. She gave herself whole heartedly to her newly discovered vocation to the point that she became known as “Maria the Catechist” in the neighborhood. She became known by the ministry she exercised, and it truly became a part of her identity.
She loved “her kids” and constantly looked for ideas to teach them and even little gifts for them. Whenever she spoke excitedly about “her kids,” she did not mean me and my brother. She became the most loving and lovable person in the neighborhood. Every year, a few of her catechism students ask her to become their “madrina” (First Communion sponsor, which in Mexico is like a second mother).
Whenever we walked to the market, to the church, or took the bus near our home, she was always greeted with a kiss and a hug by everyone who ever was her catechism student and their parents. It always took a while to get anywhere with her.
One late night, my parents, brother and I were walking home from the bus station. We were met by two growling and menacing street dogs that made my father pick up rocks and me hide behind my mother. As they approached us, showing their teeth, they suddenly stopped growling and instead wagged their tails as they approached “Maria the Catechist” to greet her. I still remember my father’s exasperation: “I can’t believe that even the street dogs know you!”
More than a few times, I came home from school to find “Cirus,” one of the young homeless men with mental health struggles who roamed the neighborhood, sitting at the dinner table eating, recently showered, and wearing my brother’s clothes. He used to call my mother “Mom,” which was a source of infinite embarrassment for me at the time because, if we had the same mom, that made me “his brother.” My friends did not miss the opportunity to tease me about it.
The root word, “catechesis,” is from a Greek word meaning “to echo or resound.” Catechesis is the act of resounding or bringing the Church’s teachings to the world. I truly believe that “Maria the Catechist” — my mom — is a living example of “being” a catechist.”
This ministry of teaching in the name of the Church has a profound dignity, which is why catechists are formally commissioned by the Church. It is only fitting that we set aside a day to highlight this ministry, to honor those who have answered the Lord’s call to be catechists and to inspire many others to do so.
Miguel A. Vences is an associate director with the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis.
(Photo by James Ramos/Herald)