“As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” (1 Pt 4:10)
Without a doubt, our work as religious educators is a calling from God. “The call to the ministry of catechist is a vocation, an interior call, the voice of the Holy Spirit” (National Directory for Catechesis, 228). Today, we look to the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives to identify specifically why we have been called to evangelization and catechesis.
After you finish today’s exercise, you may find yourself wanting more. That is good. This is only day one. Now that you’ve pinpointed the reason or reasons you have felt called to be a religious educator, we can begin to hone in on and develop that call further.
The list you make today will be different from the list you make a year from now. It will be different from a list you might have made years earlier as a religious educator. When I taught high school students, I personally felt that chastity and the theology of the body were the most important things for me to teach. As a third grade catechists, helping students develop a Eucharistic spirituality seems most important.
Your Big Why List
Use the following questions to help you create your Big Why List in a journal or separate sheet of paper. Or download the Day 1 Worksheet.
- If I had to choose just one lesson about God that my students needed to hear the most, what would it be?
- What is one belief my students struggle with the most?
- What is one spiritual practice my students could benefit from the most?
- If I could help my students make one change in their life, what would it be?
- What aspect of the faith are kids missing the most in their lives?
- What are the biggest problems adult Catholics experience in the Church?