Towards a catechetical conversion: From preparing for the sacraments to a meeting with Jesus Christ

Abstract

For many centuries catechesis was configured as a preparatory course for the First Communion and Confirmation. It was up to it to sharpen the faith that those to be catechized brought from family and society. With secularization, the Christian faith was deculturized and catechesis - if it wants to be faithful to the Church's evangelizing project - needs to reinvent itself. It is a true catechetical conversion and not just a remodeling of the traditional paradigm, which still lives on in ecclesial communities. From a course to receive the sacraments, catechesis must pass on to a permanent process of evangelization and accompaniment of Christians; a true missionary task that requires the Church to leave itself and its place of comfort. At the heart of this catechesis is the Word of God - not a book or a text of religious oracles - but a living and effective word that is addressed to every man and woman of all time. God, who spoke to us through his Son Jesus Christ, continues to challenge our contemporaries to communion with him and it is the task of catechesis to propose and facilitate this dialogue. Through literature review, especially by experts of today, catechesis is rethought in order to see its own lights and shadows. The kickoff is the rescue of the evangelizing and missionary aspects of catechesis, which require a continuous process of transmission of the faith, capable of providing a true encounter with Christ and not only offering religious content in order to prepare for the sacraments.