All baptised Catholics are called to be catechists, Brisbane’s Deacon Peter Pellicaan told participants at the recent Evangelise: A Synodal Way conference held in Sydney.

Speaking to evangelisation leaders from Australian dioceses, communities and organisations, Deacon Pellicaan said the mission of handing on the faith was much simpler than often thought.

“Whenever someone says ‘catechist’, there’s lots of assumptions about that word,” he explained.

“But if you’re baptised, you have a role to play in catechesis. All of us are called to hand on the faith.”

Deacon Pellicaan, who is the executive director of Evangelisation Brisbane, said the role of the catechist, as outlined in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (n.6), includes several key components:

  • The initial proclamation of the Gospel or missionary preaching to arouse faith
  • Examination of the reasons for belief
  • Experience of Christian living
  • Celebration of the Sacraments
  • Integration into the ecclesial community
  • Apostolic and missionary witness

Peter PellicaanThe latter components, which involve the local Church community, can be particularly challenging for the catechist, Deacon Pellicaan said.

“You might be a great witness and you might be able to share your faith powerfully, but do you have a community of believers that you can bring people into?” he asked.

“The local church is a crucial agent in evangelisation and we have to honestly look at whether or not what’s happening in our parishes is nourishing to those who come, and if it’s not, we’ve got work to do.”

Deacon Pellicaan said parishes and communities can encourage individuals to share their faith with others by simplifying the process and reminding Catholics that they don’t need to be an expert to catechise others.

“One of the biggest problems that we have in our communities is that we disempower rather than empower people for mission,” he said. “We put up so many hurdles – you’ve got to do this, and this, and this, and even then we’re not sure if you’re ready to be a catechist.

“If we want more catechists, we’ve got to start recognising that the most effective catechists are often ones that are not even finished their own journey into the Church.”

Highlighting this point, Deacon Pellicaan referred to English comedian and actor Russell Brand, who he said had been catechising his 4.2 million followers on Instagram by sharing his thoughts and asking deep questions about faith and God.

“If you’ve had an encounter with Jesus, you are ready to share that with someone else,” he said. “The catechist only needs to be one page ahead of the person they are catechising.”

Deacon Pellicaan said there was no need for individuals to be afraid of sharing their faith, nor to spend time discerning whether or not they are called to do so.

“We don’t need to discern the things that God has already told us to do,” he said. “So when Jesus says ‘Go and make disciples of all nations’, we don’t have to discern that again, we just crack on with it.

“Who are the friends you have in your life who you could share your faith with? Just make it simple. Accompany. Invite people for coffee. Ask them questions. If stuff’s going on in their lives, offer prayer.

“If you engage the people in your life who don’t have faith, they’re usually open to it, they’re rarely offended by it, and they actually welcome a conversation about religion, that’s been my experience.”

In concluding his presentation, Deacon Pellicaan said, “our faith is caught, not taught,” and referenced CS Lewis, who described faith in Christ as the “good infection”.

“We all saw the spread of COVID in 2020, and we can see the spread of Christianity in the same way if we can get the masks off our face, start sharing the good infection, the reason for the hope that we have within us,” Deacon Pellicaan said.

Deacon Peter Pellicaan’s presentation, titled ‘Proclaiming the kerygma to all - the ministry of the catechist’, can be viewed on Evangelise Plus, where the other presentation from Evangelise: A Synodal Way are also available to watch.

 

Image: Evangelisation Brisbane

Words: Matthew Biddle