Always (DCHerald Issue November 9-15, 2008)

The Priest as a Catechist

by
Erwin Joey E. Cabilan

One of the problems that some of our catechists are greatly disappointed is that their priests
(particularly parish priests) do not consider integral-faith formation as a pastoral priority. I thought this
is only true at the parish and the archdiocesan levels. When I attended national meetings among
Catechetical ministers, it’s the same problem that most of my colleagues echo. Indeed, I never felt that
I was lost!

Every time I am reminded of this dilemma, I never lose hope that one day, sooner or later, our
priests who are not catechetically-oriented will come to realize that their role is not only to administer
the sacraments, build infrastructure projects, run the parish like a corporate manager, deal his the
parishioners like a politician, etc. An integral part of their identity is their role as a catechist; that they
are educators in the faith.

From the very moment I had my catechetical awakening, I can never forget those priests whose
passion for catechesis is interwoven in their very person. In them, I see that there is no dichotomy
from being a priest to that of being a catechist! I would like to name the following: Fr. Patrice L.
Picard, p.m.é., Fr. Roger Begin, p.m.é., Fr. Agustin G. Paunon, Bishop Jimmy Afable, D.D., Fr.
Ronald I. Lunas, Fr. André Fossion, s.j. and the Marist Fathers.

Fr. Picard established the John XXIII Catechetical Center way back 1969! He is my
confidante. One time, when I expressed to him one of my disappointments, he said, “If there are
stumbling blocks in your ministry, thank God, because you are on a right track.” For him, where there
is the cross, there is Jesus.

Fr. Begin was my professor in Catechetics during my college days. He demonstrated a sense of
dedication in letting us understand what the Church believes, lives and loves.

Fr. Paunon was my director at JCC. I will never forget what he said to us: “A professional
catechist is never a mediocre.” All that he wanted was our effort to bring out the best in us for the
common good and the glory of God. I learn from him what it means to be creative and innovative in
order that the Gospel Message can penetrate into the lives of others.

Bp. Afable is the current chairman of the Mindanao Region Catechetical Ministry. With him, I
learn new frontiers where Catechetical ministry can flourish. He believes that Catechesis should be
integrated in all aspects of human society and in all ministries of the Church.

Fr. Lunas is well-known and well-loved. I got to know him as our Catechetics professor in
1997. Listening to Fr. Bong is like listening to Jesus. My students at JCC are fond of echoing those
important points in their class. Well, I did the same thing when I was under his tutelage.

Fr. Fossion, s.j., the former president of Lumen Vitae and the president of European
Commission for Catechesis, was my thesis mentor. His welcoming spirit made me confident in
sharing to him my catechetical insights and experiences which he was so interested. His generosity is
a mark of a true son of Ignatius: a man for others.

The Marist Fathers are les prètes sans frontieres. The apostolate of the Marist Family at the
Davao Mental Hospital is a catechetical experience. Together with them, meeting Christ among the
last, the least and the lost is a journey of faith, hope and love.

Why am I writing something about these men? Because for me, they enflesh what it means to
be a catechist as a priest. The New National Catechetical Directory for the Philippines (2007) 454
outlines some functions that can enhance the catechetical vocation and mission of a priest namely:

1. to foster a sense of common responsibility for catechesis;

 2. to care for the basic orientation of catechesis in the parish;
3. to promote vocations and recruits competent personnel for the ministry;
4. to personally support and encourage the on-going formation program of all the faithful;
5. to help in the periodic evaluation and;
6. to show in deed as much as in word the “catechetical experience” of witnessing to life-in-Christ
through his homilies, his talks, home visitation and sacramental ministry.

A priest is a human person. He has his strengths and limits. As a community, it is our
responsibility to journey with him so that he can learn more from us as we learn more from him. In
this way, our vocation and mission as catechists is not just to be taken “individually” but as a
“community”. With us, let them be catechists!