Saint Michael College
Cantilan, Surigao del Sur
CHRISTIAN FORMATION
BASIC ORIENTATION SEMINAR FOR CATECHISTS
DATE: July 1, 2017 (Saturday)
TIME: 7:30 A.M. to 12:00 Noon
VENUE: SMC Multipurpose Room
PARTICIPANTS: Volunteer Student Catechists
I. DESCRIPTION & RATIONALE:
Christ sighed, “The harvest is rich but the laborers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest
to send laborers to his harvest” (Mt. 9:37). The sigh is echoed by the Church today. From
Vatican II up till the present the clarion call insistently remains: SEND LABORERS TO THE
HARVEST. For so many decades now the Catholic Church in the Philippines continues to face
the serious problem of surmounting the critical shortage of properly trained catechists.
We must admit the sad fact that the majority of Filipino Catholics are poorly catechized.
Some have not been catechized at all. Others are being secularized by so many influential factors
such as materialism, capitalism, and power struggle.
Due to the accelerating rate of population growth, almost half of our population are
children and youth, a vast majority of whom are enrolled in the public schools. The
constitutional provision which allows religious instruction in the public schools and is presently
being implemented has ushered in better opportunities for catechesis of elementary children and
high school youth.
Saint Pope John Paul II gave special attention to young people. In his visits to the
Philippines he expressed his love for and faith in them. He counts on their energy and
enthusiasm. He urged the youth to discover the right ways to fulfill Christ’s mission. When he
came in 1981, he called them “missionaries.” Repeatedly he challenged the youth to carry out the
work of evangelization. “To all of you, dear young people, the Church entrusts you with an
exalting apostolic task: to be the agents of the New Evangelization.”
The Catholic school, where young people converge, is a genuine and proper instrument
of the Church in its evangelization, authentic apostolate, and of pastoral action (cf. Religious
Dimension, no. 44). It helps Christian men and women to become mature in their faith. By this
very identity the Catholic school is a seat of human resources for evangelization. The students
who are evangelized will in turn become evangelizers who can make up a tremendous task force
for catechizing their fellow students in the public schools (EvangeliiNuntiandi, no. 24).
The Catholic Bishops, aware of the potentiality of Catholic high schools and colleges
have stated that: “Every Catholic college and high school should have, where not as yet exists, an
office for catechetical instruction giving the students an opportunity to teach religion in the
public schools. In this context the training of volunteer catechists becomes a crucial need.
Saint Michael College
Cantilan, Surigao del Sur
CHRISTIAN FORMATION
Therefore we urge… Catholic schools should give special attention to the training of Catechists”
(CBCP 1990).
Thus, the greatest, pressing need created by this catechetical re-awakening is renewed
and intensified catechetical formation program in the Catholic schools in order to raise, not only
the quality of catechetical work, but the quantity of its workers as well.
“Poor catechesis…is often more harmful than no catechesis at all” (Roche, 1987).
II. OBJECTIVES OF THE TRAINING:
1. Know the nature, goals, and sources of catechesis, become familiar with the “new” in the
renewed methodology, and acquire the skills to use it confidently;
2. Understand more deeply the Sacraments of the Eucharist and Reconciliation, and the
basic truths and moral consequences that surround them;
3. Learn to apply certain teaching techniques as means of communicating the Message in a
lively and intelligible way;
4. Grow in their own life of faith, including a conscious awareness of their personal
relationship with God and Christ in Spirit-inspired prayer, and their need to be nourished
by the Sacraments of the Church;
5. Accept the challenge to help build a community that is permeated with the Spirit and love
of Christ, and
6. Appreciate their specific vocation as catechists and recognize its importance in the life of
the Filipino Catholic Church.
III. PROGRAM FLOW:
7:30 A.M. – 8:00 A.M. Registration / Checking of Attendance
8:00 A.M. – 8:15 A.M. Opening Prayer
8:15 A.M. – 8:20 A.M. Welcome and Orientation
8:20 A.M. – 9:05 A.M. Input 1 – What is Catechesis?
9:05 A.M. – 9:50 A.M. Input 2 – Who is a Catechist?
9:50 A.M. – 10:20 A.M. Health Break
10:20 A.M. – 11:05 A.M. Input 3 – How to Do Catechesis
11:05 A.M. – 11:45 A.M. Open Forum and Planning
11:45 A.M. – 11:50 A.M. Closing Remarks
11:50 A.M. Angelus
