2025 Catechesis Supplement

Catechesis reminds Catholics of the reasons for their hope in Christ

Beginnings are naturally times of hope, and the beginning of a new faith formation year around Catechetical Sunday is no different. As disciples of Christ, leaning into hope is indeed a trademark for us.

The theme for Catechetical Sunday on Sept. 21 in this Jubilee Year of Hope picks this up by telling us: “Always be ready to give an explanation … for a reason for your hope” (1 Pt 3:15).

When we use the word “catechesis,” we very often mean religious education. But catechesis is not just teaching facts and doctrine. It is meant to help us who have encountered Christ and have chosen to follow him to get to know better this person, this God, whom we are following so that we can firmly hope in what he promised us.

Therefore, catechesis needs to do two things. First, it needs to tell us what Christ promised us, to remind us why we made a good decision to follow him and why God is trustworthy. Second, it needs to get us ready to tell others who are not yet following Christ (or have just started) what our hope is and the reason why we keep following the Lord.

It is noteworthy that 1 Peter 3:15 is a quote from a passage on Christian suffering. We all know that the problem of pain and suffering is one of the greatest hurdles on our faith journey. For some, it is so big that they never really get started on their way.

Unfortunately, after the fall of Adam and Eve, pain and suffering are just a fact of life that we cannot avoid completely. And yet, as followers of Christ we have hope. We believe in Christ’s promise that we are not stuck in suffering, that our suffering has meaning and our lives still have purpose. He helps us to get through the hard times and assures us that the pain will not win because, by his suffering, he conquered sin and death and opened the door to heaven where there will be no more tears.

If we believe that, it is because Christ already showed up for us. If we are already disciples, then we have made at some point a decision to believe and to follow Christ because we perceived him to be truly present in our lives. Maybe something happened that could only have been divine intervention. Maybe we read a Scripture passage and felt like God was speaking directly to us. Maybe another person made us seen, known and loved in a way that convinced us that God himself sees, knows and loves us.

And if we have been disciples for a while, there is most likely more than one of these moments. They do not have to be big and dramatic; many are little but powerful reminders of God’s goodness and presence. Because of these reminders we remain firmly rooted in our hope, even during suffering. What is your story?

We are all called by our baptism to go and make disciples. Pope St. Paul VI wrote: “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he listens to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.” You become a witness by sharing your stories. Help our catechists serving in parishes across central and southern Indiana to make disciples by sharing your stories freely!

If you want to share your story with me, please e-mail me at ueble@archindy.org. And if you really feel like you have no story to share, may I suggest contacting your parish and joining a faith formation program or small discipleship group? Sometimes we just need to be reminded of the reason for our hope.

Thank you to all our catechists in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis for your service and for your hope.
 

(Ute Eble is the director of catechesis in the archdiocesan Secretariat for Evangelizing Catechesis. She can be reached at ueble@archindy.org.) †