A few years ago when I first became the Director of Religious Education for a Catholic parish I encountered the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. Though I had no formal training in the Catechesis and as yet no clear idea how such a program worked I knew that the method being described to me was a more authentic way of handing on the faith to our youngest children (grades K and 1) than than the traditional model being used by our program. But, I had several problems:
- I wasn't trained
- I didn't have any trained Catechists
- I didn't have a dedicated space
- I didn't have any materials
But, being convinced that the Catechesis would better for the young children than anything else I had found, I didn't let these problems deter me. I started off on the long, arduous, and extremely rewarding adventure of being the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd to our parish program. It is an adventure which is still in it's infancy, but which has already seen great fruit. I pray that as the program grows it will bear much more.
This blog is intended to chronicle my journey. I have received much help over the last couple of years from others and hope that I may offer the same assistance to those who may decide to embark on the same adventure.
May God bless our efforts to prepare an environment where "the mystery of the child meets the mystery of God."
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