Maynooth College Reflects on Catechesis in the Life of the Church Ed. Jeremy Corley, Andrew Meszaros, and John-Paul Sheridan | Messenger Publications

Maynooth College Reflects on Catechesis in the Life of the Church

Edited by Jeremy Corley, Andrew Meszaros, and John-Paul Sheridan

But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed?

And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard?

And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? (ROM 10:14)

The centrality of bringing the Good News to the people of the day is at the heart of the Church’s mission. It was for this reason that Pope Francis instituted the ministry of catechist (Antiquum Ministerium, 2021), which in turn served as the inspiration for this anthology. The challenge, of course, is to speak in a way that can be heard and to  present models, practices and structures that have meaning and relevance in a contemporary world. This, according to Bishop Michael Duignan, who wrote the forward to this book, is the ‘ever old but always new art of Christian catechesis’.

Maynooth College Reflects on Catechesis in the Life of the Church, edited by Jeremy Corley, Andrew Meszaros, and John-Paul Sheridan, is an anthology of diverse reflections on some of the current challenges for catechesis, divided into four sections. The first part, The Catechetical Task considers wider aspects of catechesis, including insights from the psychology of human development, the mission of the catechist, and the major resources at hand for the catechist. The theme of part two is Bringing Catechesis Alive and has both theoretical and practical chapters on animating the gospel message to touch hearts and spark imagination. Part three, The Good News in Catechesis discusses the Church’s social teaching, theological anthropology, as well as contemporary lessons for catechists from St Augustine. Finally part four, Spirituality of Catechesis focuses on prayer and the scriptures as nourishment for the catechetical task.

Dedicated to reflecting on how all the faithful can more effectively participate in the catechetical endeavour, this volume is an ideal resource for both commissioned catechists and parish volunteers, as well as teachers, priests, parents transmitting the faith to children or those seeking to witness to the faith in the workplace.

About the editors

Jeremy Corley, Andrew Meszaros, and John-Paul Sheridan are faculty members at Maynooth Pontifical University.

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