{"id":1808,"date":"2011-05-20T10:22:35","date_gmt":"2011-05-20T16:22:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/?p=1808"},"modified":"2011-08-21T21:05:40","modified_gmt":"2011-08-22T03:05:40","slug":"the-one-habit-guaranteed-to-improve-your-catechesis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/2011\/05\/20\/the-one-habit-guaranteed-to-improve-your-catechesis\/","title":{"rendered":"The One Habit Guaranteed to Improve Your Catechesis"},"content":{"rendered":"

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We all want to be better catechists, right?<\/p>\n

Even if it’s just so we don’t look stupid in front of our students! \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

What if I told you there was one habit you\u00a0could start today that would radically improve your catechesis?\u00a0Would you do it?<\/p>\n

That habit is prayer!<\/p>\n

Your soul is like a rechargeable battery<\/h2>\n

Prayer is the soul of your catechetical ministry.<\/strong> It animates your teaching and gives it life. The life of God.
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Lack of regular prayer is the fastest way to burn out.<\/strong> You have to fill yourself up\u00a0with God before you can give him to others.<\/p>\n

Think of your soul as a rechargeable battery and the energy is God’s grace. When you catechize or do any kind of ministry, you use up that charge. It’s like you give away that grace to your students or whoever you serve.<\/p>\n

Prayer is how you charge your spiritual battery. <\/strong>If you work in catechetical ministry and never charge up, your battery will go dead. You won’t have anything left to give and you’ll burn out.<\/p>\n

That doesn’t serve anyone–not your students or God and least of all yourself.<\/p>\n

Prayer Habits<\/h2>\n

I want to call your attention to an great\u00a0new blog by my friend Jared Dees called Prayer Habits<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This is how Jared describes his site:<\/p>\n

Prayer habits are various actions that have become a part of our lifestyle that lead us closer to God.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This website is about practicing small habits to become better at prayer. All too often prayer and spirituality are placed so far up on a pedestal that we feel unworthy or unqualified to pray. We think our prayers aren\u2019t good enough or that we\u2019re not praying right. This is why it is so important to start with small changes to our daily lives to become men and women of prayer.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I think it’s important to set up a habit of prayer.<\/strong> It’s easy to get too busy to pray. Believe me, I know. Juggling work, family and other commitments along\u00a0with your volunteer work as a catechist can be overwhelming.<\/p>\n

That’s why it needs to be part of your routine, part of who you are. Jared says:<\/p>\n

We have busy schedules that lead us away from prayer. We forget to pray. We pray, but we\u2019re distracted. Or maybe we avoid praying all together.<\/p>\n

This is where habits come in. Habits are things we do without thought. They are a part of us. They are intentional at first but become a part of our nature over time.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Catechetical Takeaway<\/h2>\n

As disciples of Christ, we take on disciplines–habits that train us for godliness. Prayer is one of the fundamental disciplines for spiritual growth. It’s the necessary foundation.<\/p>\n

St. Bernard said, “If you are wise, you will be reservoirs and not channels…the reservoir is first filled, and then,\u00a0without emptying itself, pours out it’s overflow, which is ever renewed, over the fields which it waters.”<\/p>\n

Fill up your reservoir\u00a0with a habit of prayer. Don’t go dry pouring yourself out to your students. They need you, the Church needs you to stay teaching for a long time.<\/p>\n

It’s your turn! <\/strong><\/p>\n