Catechetical Conference

MADISON  Catechists, along with all other Catholics, need to speak openly about the rich theology, spirituality and morality of the Church but should also teach other people by emphasizing the main love story at the heart of the Gospels: God’s everlasting love for us — so absolute that he sent his only Son to die for us — and our love for him. As evangelists, we are called to share that central love story with the world and invite people into a loving relationship with God, the internationally renowned Catholic speaker and author Chris Stefanick told a large gathering of local catechists, parish ministers and staff of the Paterson Diocese on April 22.

That Saturday morning, Stefanick, who formerly worshipped in the Diocese, presented his message that the faithful need to share God’s love for us with a world that has become increasingly hostile to religion. During 2017 Diocesan Catechetical Conference at St. Paul Inside the Walls: the Diocesan Center for Evangelization at Bayley-Ellard here, which attracted more than 300 catechists, clergy, religious and laity, Stefanick give them encouragement for their ministries and strategies on how to deepen their faith and in the people they encounter in the classroom and throughout their lives.

The event also included remarks by Allan Wright, St. Paul’s academic dean, and Father Paul Manning, St. Paul’s executive director and diocesan vicar for evangelization, as well as an address by Bishop Serratelli, who spoke about the ultimate purpose of catechesis — religious conversion. Dan Ferrari, diocesan director of young adult ministry, sang worship songs and played his guitar throughout the conference, which concluded with Eucharistic Adoration in the early afternoon.

In the second of his two keynote talks, Stefanick took to the stage in St. Paul’s auditorium to speak about the love story between God and us in the context of John 3:16. It states: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

“Our faith teaches us not only, who God is but who we are — that we are worth dying for. We see the face of God looking back at us, when we look up at the stars and through our ups and downs in life. It’s a love story. God gave us a heart so that we can seek him,” said Stefanick, founder and president of Real Life Catholic, a nonprofit organization dedicated to reengaging a generation; a syndicated columnist; an author or co-author of several books; a regular on Catholic TV and radio; and a married father of six. “God calls us to imitate his love on Earth. Faith helps us see the dignity of the person in relation to God, including the poor and the homeless. We also need to talk about [hot-button moral] issues in the context of love — about having a relationship with God,” he said.

Catholicism gives people a source for objective moral truth in their decision-making in a world that increasingly rejects organized religion and moral “rules” and increasingly has embraced moral relativism — “my truth is just as valid as your truth.” Evangelization and religious formation has never been more critical in light of the fact that 25 percent of people consider themselves “nones” — without any religious affiliation. So Catholics need to be “joyful,” “lead by example” and “help people become bold Catholics for the world,” said Stefanick, now a resident of Denver, who belonged to and served as a peer minister of the youth ministry of St. Catherine of Bologna Parish, Ringwood, as he was growing up. The night before, he hosted “Reboot! Live!” multi-media faith presentation at St. Therese Parish, Succasunna.

Before Stefanick’s two keynotes, Bishop Serratelli told the audience that Church must continue to remain faithful to Christ’s charge that we “go and make disciples of all nations” — even in a society hostile to religion. He called catechesis an “ecclesial ministry” that involves “one disciple to another, handing down the faith, passing on sound moral principles and giving people the teachings of the Church in the common language of the Catholic faith over centuries.”

But today, many Catholics do not know the basics of the faith — not even an understanding of Eucharist as sacrifice and sacrament. He urged catechists to return to the practice of requiring students to memorize facts about the faith and focus on catechesis as lifelong formation for children and adults. The Bishop announced during the conference that he plans to assemble a list of 30 questions and answers about the basics of faith for distribution throughout the Diocese this summer for students to memorize.

“People need to understand faith — between what we know and understand and how we live the faith. The ultimate purpose of catechesis is conversion — moving away from evil and moving toward following Jesus. Catechesis puts young people in touch with Christ and excites their minds to seek him with the desire to unite with him, leading them to an intimate communion with Jesus in his Church,” said Bishop Serratelli, who noted that people can find a personal encounter with Jesus at Sunday Mass in the Eucharist.

Toward the conclusion of his address, Bishop Serratelli told the catechists: “Thank you for the work you do. Your work is essential for the work and survival of the Church.”

Father Manning spoke before Bishop Serratelli, offering a prayer that the Lord help transform the faith in catechists, as they teach other people the faith. He emphasized that Jesus calls catechists to “echo the Word of God, who is Jesus, faithfully.”

The audience included Stefanick’s parents, James and Mary, parishioners of St. Catherine’s, and Laura Haftek, youth ministry director at Our Lady of Consolation Parish, Wayne. She fondly remembers the featured speaker as a young man at St. Catherine’s, where she served as youth minister for many years, remarking, “Even back then, he was on fire [with love of Christ].” Another audience member was 20-year-old Sharon Vargas, a catechist for third- and fourth-graders at the Cathedral of St. John, Paterson. “As a catechist, it’s great to see young people — little kids — become strong in their faith. They are happy. That faith and love spreads to families — young people and adults,” Vargas said. “Chris reminded us that we must be people, who give the example of spreading the Gospel to the world.”