With great hope I entrust this Guide to the Bishops, Priests and to the Catechists themselves, inviting them to scrutinise it carefully and to carry out its directives. In particular, I ask Catechetical Centres and Schools for catechists, to refer to this document for their formation and teaching programmes, whilst for content they already have in their hands the Catechism of the Catholic Church, published after the Plenary Assembly.
Before this Guide could see light, the Holy Father John Paul II had approved the Catechism of the Catholic Church ordering its publication. The extraordinary importance, for the Church as well as for every man of good will, of this rich and synthetic "exposition of the faith of the Church and of catholic doctrine, verified and enlightened by the Sacred Scripture, by the apostolic Tradition and by the Magisterium" is well known. Even though this is a document of different aim and content, it becomes immediately evident that the new catechism could offer some special enlightenment at different points of the Guide and, above all, that it could be a sure and authentic point of reference for the formation and for the activities of the catechists. In the final edition of the text, therefore, care has been taken to point out, particularly in the notes, the principal connections with the themes exposed in the catechism.
9. Missionary zeal. In view of their baptism and special vocation, catechists who live in daily contact with large numbers of non-Christians, as is the case in mission territories, cannot but feel moved by Christ's words: "Other sheep I have that are not of this fold, and these too I must lead" (Jn 10:16); "go out to the whole world and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mk 16:15). To be able to affirm, like Peter and John before the Sanhedrin, "we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard" (Acts 4:20), and to realize with Paul the ideal of apostolic ministry: "the love of Christ overwhelms us" (2Cor 5:14), catechists should have a strong missionary spirit - a spirit that will be all the more effective if they are seen to be convinced of what they say and are enthusiastic and courageous, without ever being ashamed of the gospel (cf. Rom 1:16). While the wise ones according to this world seek immediate gratification, the catechist will glory only in Christ, who gives strength (cf. Col 1:29), and will wish to know and preach only "Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God" (1Cor 1:24). As the Catechism of the Catholic Church rightly affirms, from "the loving knowledge of Christ springs out the irresistible desire to announce, to 'evangelize' and to lead others to the 'yes' of the faith in Jesus Christ. At the same time, one also feels the need to know this faith ever better".
10. Devotion to Mary. Through her own special vocation, Mary saw the Son of God "grow in wisdom, in age and in grace" (Lk 2:52). She was the teacher who "trained Him in human knowledge of the Scriptures and of God's loving plan for his people, and in adoration of the Father". She was also "the first of his disciples". As St. Augustine boldly affirmed, to be his disciple was more important for Mary than to be his mother. One can say with reason and joy that Mary is a "living catechism", "mother and model of catechists".
Catechists, with their task of communicating the faith, should be open to this kind of dialogue and be trained to take part in it. They should be taught to realize its value and put it into practice in accordance with the guidelines of the Magisterium, especially those of Redemptoris Missio, of the subsequent document Dialogue and Proclamation, which was drawn up jointly by the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue and the CEP, and of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. These guidelines include:
- Listening to the Spirit, who blows where He wills (cf. Jn 3:8); respecting his work in souls; and striving for inner purification, without which dialogue cannot bear fruit.
