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Catechist Formation Program Overview Introduction to the Program
What makes this program unique?
The founding of the Dominican Order in the 13th century came on the heels of a growing society where there existed much confusion and misinformation about Christianity. St. Dominic and his followers, both priests and sisters, lived a life of holiness first, and the preaching and teaching became the fruits offered back to God for the salvation of souls.
The first unique aspect of this program is the Dominican element. Focused on prayer, holiness, and witness, the catechist is called to first live a holy life and then, to go and teach. Taught mostly by the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia and being a product of Aquinas College in Nashville, the program holds high standards, but is intended for the person with no theological training. People at all levels can gain something from this program since presents the truths of the faith in a prayerful environment. Secondly, the structure of the curriculum is designed to show the unity and integrity of the faith in all of its different dimensions and it is built upon the 4 dimensions of the Dominican Life. Thirdly, the formation is done in person and as a community. This personal element is important for the complete formation of the catechist as a person, a teacher and part of a community. Online components are important to supplement, but the personal interaction is essential. Finally, the program is offered in at the diocesan level. This helps relieve the cost of catechetical formation from the parish since it is provided and served in partnership with the diocese.
This charism of clarifying the truth in love is what is needed today in a society where many, even cradle Catholics, are confused about or do not know the Catholic Faith. The only solution to confusion is clarity. Clarity and conviction in faith comes from prayer and study lived in a community and leads to missionary activity. These 4 aspects of prayer, study, community, and mission are the 4 pillars which make up the Dominican life and this catechist formation program. 1. Prayer—In St. Dominic’s view, preaching and teaching were fruits of contemplation and prayer. This aspect is emphasized throughout our program and is witnessed to by our sisters and presenters. 2. Study—The curriculum of our foundational study is based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church and is arranged in a way to highlight the unity of Faith. Lex credenda, lex orandi, lex vivendi! What we believe, we pray in the liturgy, we live in the moral life, and pray in the Catholic tradition. Each session is designed bring in elements from each of the 4 pillars of the Catechism which share a common theme and complement each other. This allows people to enter the process at any time. 2
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FAQs
Distinctly Dominican
What do you provide ?
Teaching
Catechetical Day Presentations
Online support videos and formation for each course to be used by DRE to support in-person teaching.
Cost is negotiated with diocese based on size and needs. Cost can include teaching in-person courses, access to promotional materials, course materials, and travel for Aquinas College Sisters and Trainers.
What is the cost of the Continuing Education and Training? Continuing Education/Training cost is based on number of hours/days of training, materials, and traveling.
Who teaches the courses? All courses are taught by the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia and the Director of the Catechist Formation Program. All presenters have advanced theological degrees and years of experiences in catechesis at many different levels.
For those with a solid foundation. continuing education and training is key to the development of catechists as person who are called to participate in the mission of the Church and the local bishop to evangelize and draw people into the mystery of Christ and the life of the Church. 3. Community—This communal aspect is one that cannot be neglected and needs to be emphasized even more today. With the advancement of technology, it is important to have personal contact and build those relationships which build up the body of Christ. This is why the program can only be accomplished through in-person training and only supplemented with video and online resources. 4. Missionary Activity—The call for the New Evangelization requires us to become not only holy saints, but saints with answers to life’s questions. Whether a child, adolescent, or adult asks, we should be able to “give a reason for the hope that is in us.” (1 Pet 3:15).
Who is this program for? This program was designed with the parish catechist, the school teacher, and the occasional catechist in mind. Catechesis happens at many levels and to a variety of ages and circumstances. This foundational program seeks to provide a solid foundation to be built upon with continued study and prayer.
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Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium 120
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Courses are usually held on Saturdays for 6 hours.
—*Can be abbreviated to 2 years
Year 3—Course 5 and 6
For this reason, the Aquinas College Catechist Formation Program stresses the importance of foundational and continuing formation of those who teach the faith to all of God’s people. This formation is done on both human and spiritual levels. We seek to provide an education in the faith for catechetical mission
Year 2—Course 3 and 4
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Year 1—Orientation, Course 1 and 2
“No methodology, no matter how well tested, can dispense with the person of the catechist in every phase of the catechetical process. The charism given to him by the Spirit, a solid spirituality and transparent witness of life, constitutes the soul of every method. Only his own human and Christian qualities guarantee a good use of texts and other work instruments.” General Directory for Catechesis
The program takes place over three years*:
The catechetical mission of the Church seeks bring people into communion and orient them to the Liturgy and in particular, the Eucharist where they experience union with Christ in a most real way. The person of the catechist is essential in this process.
Orientation is a half-day covering catechesis in the heart and mind of the Church, handing on the faith with the Church’s methodology, and an overview of the program.
In order to participate with the whole Church in the work of the New Evangelization, “missionary disciples” must be able to speak about their faith with clarity and charity. This is accomplished through study and prayer.
Accompanying videos will be made available to compliment the in-person courses. This allows for greater depth and knowledge to be reached about a particular topic. Print resources and further aids are also available for download and use.
Every Christian is a missionary to the extent that he or she has encountered the love of God in Christ Jesus: we no longer say that we are “disciples” and “missionaries”, but rather that we are always “missionary disciples”. If we are not convinced, let us look at those first disciples, who, immediately after encountering the gaze of Jesus, went forth to proclaim him joyfully: “We have found the Messiah!” (Jn 1:41) -
Catechetical Days are held to address specific topics to enrich the program. These topics can be chosen by the bishop of diocesan DRE to help promote the catechetical vision of the diocese.
Catechesis and the New Evangelization
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tions and 9
Principles of Catechesis Popular DevoCommandments 6
Catechesis
cal
Prayer 8, and 10
An Anthropologi-
A Life of
As part of the Office of Catechetics at Aquinas College, the Catechist Formation Program seeks to form catechists at the foundational level for those new catechists and help the continuing catechists grow in maturity and faith.
Marriage Mary Course 6
Healing
This is accomplished in two distinct ways.
Hell Course 5
The Sacraments of Death, Judgment, Heaven, and
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Commandments 7,
Catechesis
An Ecclesial
The Our Father Commandments 4-
Holy Orders
3 Mystery
The Church Course 4
Catechesis
A Liturgical
The Liturgy Commandments 1The Incarnation and the Paschal
The Eucharist Course 3
Tradition
Catechesis ture, and Sacred
Justification
A Biblical Sacred Scrip-
Law, Grace, and Confirmation The Trinity Course 2
Virtue, Sin, Moral
Revelation,
Catechesis
A Faithful
Man’s Desire for God, Faith and Reason Faith, Dogma, The Magisterium Course 1
Human Dignity and the Moral Act Introduction to the Sacraments, Original Sin, and Baptism
Methods Prayer Morality Sacraments Creed
Foundational Courses Curriculum
What We Offer
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First, we offer the Foundational Courses which is 40 hours of inperson training. The curriculum of which can be found on page 6 and 7. Included with the 36 hours of training in theology and catechetics, there is a 4-hour orientation which sets the stage of the mission of the catechist in the life of the Church, the diocese, and the parish. There is an online option as well that mirrors this. Second, we offer continuing education and training for those dioceses who already have foundational courses already in place. This continuing education and training is not a set curriculum, but is customized for each particular diocese to meet the needs of the people and promote the vision of the bishop for his dioceses. Topics and courses include basic and advanced catechetics, methods, evangelization, and theological topics such as the Church, the Sacraments, Christology, etc. The goal of the continuing education and training is to provide a deepening experience of faith development for those veteran catechists, teachers, and volunteers. These presentations can be part of a catechetical day, retreat day/weekend, or clergy study-days. "Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they 5