The real trick to catechesis is not presenting the information but having it penetrate a student’s heart.
That’s also the most difficult part.
How do you get your students to not only comprehend the message but internalize it and have grow within them?
I think I found the answer a few weeks ago at Franciscan University during the St. John Bosco Conference.
Catechetical Friendship
In 2001, I was a graduate student at Franciscan. My professor Barbara Morgan traveled to France to meet catechists from Notre Dame de Vie, a secular institute whose members are dedicated to the contemplative life and catechesis.
The meeting was set up by Cardinal Schonborn (yes, the editor of the Catechism Cardinal Schonborn!). He wanted to set up a “catechetical friendship” between Franciscan, Notre Dame de Vie, and Maryvale Institute in England. He felt these institutions all had a similar approach. “The Holy Spirit has fallen on these three places in a special way for catechesis,” he told Barbara.
Of course, who needs a great reason to take a free trip to the south of France in the summer! Any reason would work for me! 🙂
Barbara came back raving about their methods and, maybe more importantly, their successes in catechizing children. She talked about how the whole session had a contemplative atmosphere, and after the lesson, the kids remained there for silent prayer!!
There’s been an official friendship between our two institutions (and Maryvale) ever since.
The Word of God leads the way
This year, some major players from Notre Dame de Vie gave a keynote at the Bosco Conference. During the week I had some great conversations with them and watched several demonstrations of their method. I was blown away.
Imagine a lesson that’s part guided meditation on Scripture and part catechetical formation.
For the practitioners at Notre Dame de Vie, the Word of God leads the way! They start with a passage from Scripture and lead the students through it with questions about the details of the story. They draw the students into the narrative and draw out the doctrinal meaning that’s inherent in the story.
The effect is quite profound. They also use these cardboard silhouettes (there’s an example at the top of the page) to help tell the story. With the visuals and the questions, you are sort of immersed in the biblical narrative and the lesson is very engaging.
Spiritual preparations for the lesson
One of the most fascinating aspects was their preparation for the lessons. The catechists engage in a sort of group lectio divina that is meditative, typological, and doctrinal.
First they explore the meaning of the actual text by listening to what the Holy Spirit is telling them.
Then, they look at the Old Testament connections to get a salvation history, big picture understanding.
Last, they find what the Catechism says about this passage. This helps to read the passage within the mind of the Church and get the doctrinal connections. They said you can’t really be sure you know what the passage means until you know what the Church says about it. That is extremely cool!
Catechetical takeaway
I’m convinced this method of biblical catechesis is an essential element to penetrating your student’s hearts with your teaching.
There’s power in Scripture. It’s not just a book but it’s living and active. The Holy Spirit works through the Bible. God himself says his Word does not return to him void once it goes out but accomplishes what he intends (Isaiah 55:11).
This is a great way of bringing the mystery of Christ into all your teaching and making important Old Testament connections. Plus, it uses story, which is the best way to engage your students.
Obviously, you can’t understand everything I’m talking about because you haven’t seen it. I don’t know everything about it yet either but I want to learn more. And, I’ll be writing about it more as I learn.
The folks at Notre Dame de Vie are in the process of developing materials for their method called Come Follow Me. They should be available in English around January. I’ll definitely follow up when I learn more.
How are you using the Bible in your teaching? How does it work for you?
Sounds interesting. What age groups is this for? Do all ages use the paper cutouts? It reminds me a bit of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, which also uses figures related to Scripture. Of course this only uses a few of the many tools for Catholic exegesis, but it does have a beautiful simplicity.
It is a lot like Catechesis of the Good Shepherd except it’s got more meat. I love CGS but it’s too light doctrinally for me.
Actually, these folks are well versed in Sophia Cavaletti and her ideas. They’ve incorporated a lot of that into their methods.
With the program their authoring right now, the ages are from 7-11. They do work with kids of all ages but they haven’t written materials for those yet. I’m not sure if they use the cutouts for the older kids. That’s a good question.
Yes, I do love the simplicity and the focus of their biblical efforts.
Thanks for commenting Jo!
This sounds just like my class except I draw on the board instead of using the cardboard silhouettes.
Actually, you know what? You’re right! You do that exact thing don’t you?
I wish I could see you do a class. I bet it’s really good!
This is just what I needed! Last year, I just felt like I wasn’t “reaching” my pre-confirmation students. I’m definitely going to come back to this post as a referral for this year!
Awesome Amanda! Glad it helped. Hopefully I’ll be writing a lot more about this. I’m sure Christian certainly will too.