Giving Thanks for Our Catechists

Christians are called to give thanks for the many blessings God has given us in our lives. As the psalmist proclaims, "Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures forever." (Psalm 136) And while the end of the catechetical year is still a couple months away for most parishes, now is a good time to start thinking about how you will recognize and thank your catechists for their ministry.

Recognizing and thanking catechists is a valuable way to demonstrate to your parishioners the great gift of time and service our catechists give each year. It's also a good way to retain catechists and makes recruiting new ones easier.

Here are a few ways you can recognize catechists (and other volunteers) in your parish:

• Verbally thank each catechist at the end of the last session;
• Hold an end-of-the-year thank you dinner;
• Send each catechist a hand-written thank you note with a holy card;
• Recognize catechists at Mass, perhaps with a special blessing (the Book of Blessings includes such a ritual that may be used at Mass);
• Include a note in the bulletin thanking catechists for their service;
• Feature a story about one of your best catechists on your parish website or bulletin;
• Ask catechists how you can better support them in their ministry;
• Spend a Holy Hour praying for your catechists.

Why We Sacrifice
for Lent

When I give up peanut butter, the peanut butter doesn’t change. When I give cash or canned foods to a local shelter, those goods are not destroyed. But for these to be real sacrifices, something must be broken and transformed—and that something must be me. Lenten practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving break little cracks in the brittle illusion of our own self-sufficiency. They invite us to acknowledge our own brokenness, susceptible as we all are to the corrupting effects of sin. And they invite God’s grace to transform us and make us holy. “The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise” (Psalm 51:17).

Read the more at the McGrath Institute Blog...

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Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana
Office of Catechesis
2300 S 9th Street
Lafayette, Indiana 47909
www.dol-in.org/catechesis

The ministries of the Office of Catechesis of the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana are made possible by generous donations to the Fruitful Harvest campaign.