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More on
the F.I.R.E. certification program
PRAISED BE JESUS
CHRIST!
(Now and Forever)
The Second Vatican Council declared that each and every one of us is
called to holiness. The challenge to all Catholics is to strive to grow
daily in our knowledge and love of God.
As you have recently read in this column, the new F.I.R.E certification
program provides systematic and comprehensive formation for those called
to proclaim and share the Good News with others as catechists. The word
catechesis comes from a Greek word that means “to echo.” The role of
parish catechists is to echo the faith and the tradition of the Catholic
Church to those whom they catechize. In order to nourish the faith
community, catechists must investigate and respond to opportunities for
personal growth. They need a solid appreciation of the content and the
process of catechesis.
The goal of all catechesis should be mature discipleship — that is,
forming adults to be disciples of Jesus Christ. Catechesis is part of
the mission of all our parishes. Catholics, by baptism, are called to
make disciples, to evangelize. Catechesis is the growth, development and
nourishment of the faith that equips us to do that. For parishes to be
truly viable, they must have adequate and vibrant catechetical programs
staffed by well-formed catechists. Key word: well-formed.
Our Local Church has long required formation of those individuals called
to the ministry of catechesis. In 1990, I issued a policy that stated
that catechists would be expected to participate in opportunities for
ongoing faith formation and religious studies. In 1997, the first
edition of a document titled “Called to Share a Living, Conscious, and
Active Faith” was issued. Those guidelines were to be implemented in all
parishes and schools of our Local Church. Unfortunately, while some have
taken this seriously, others have not.
The first edition of “Called to Share a Living, Conscious, and Active
Faith” was issued in response to the 1997 Catechism of the Catholic
Church, the 1983 revised Code of Canon Law and continued efforts to
implement the National Catechetical Directory (“Sharing the Light of
Faith”). Our program was designed to be flexible and practical. The
intent was to produce well-trained catechists who would provide quality
catechesis in our parishes.
After 10 years, much has taken place in the area of catechesis in the
Universal Church as well as in our Local Church. While the Catechism of
the Catholic Church has proved to be a foundational document for
catechesis, a General Directory for Catechesis was issued to provide
direction for handing on our faith, and a National Directory for
Catechesis focused on a methodology for catechesis. National
certification standards for pastoral ministers also were approved to
offer guidelines for the formation of individuals in parish ministry,
and the document “Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord” was published
as a resource to guide the development of lay ecclesial ministry. Few
parishioners, I suspect, are familiar with these documents. Perhaps
parish leadership has never heard of them either, but they should be
both acquainted with them and should have given them priority. I say
that because over the years, it has become increasingly obvious that
fewer and fewer seem to know what is meant by “the mind of the Church”
and mistakenly look upon the teachings of the Church as just one opinion
among many from which they are free to choose.
Given these developments, it is time to promulgate the second edition of
“Called to Share a Living, Conscious, and Active Faith.” This new plan
of study is titled “Fan the Flame: Inspiration through Religious
Enrichment” (F.I.R.E.).
The F.I.R.E. program will allow catechists and other adults to be well
trained in the faith. It provides continuing formation so that they will
acquire proper knowledge of the Church’s teaching and learn the theory
and practice proper to the role that they fulfill as catechists.
St. Cyril of Jerusalem, who the Church has called the Doctor of
Catechesis, said: “The Spirit comes to enlighten the mind first of the
one who receives him and then through him, the minds of others as well.”
In short, catechists cannot “echo” what they themselves have not studied
and appropriated.
In issuing the F.I.R.E. plan of study, which I expect to be implemented
in all parishes and schools in our Local Church, I am asking those who
serve as catechists to seek the level of certification appropriate for
their particular role in their parish, and for parents who wish the best
for their children to insist that the catechist in their parish be
F.I.R.E. certified.
As for some technicalities, the Master Catechist Certification provides
the highest level of catechist certification. It reveals one of the
hidden gems of F.I.R.E. and that gem is that it interfaces with
Ecclesial Lay Ministry (ELM) certification, the foundational formation
program for all laity serving in ecclesial leadership roles in their
parishes. As should be known from previous articles, ELM prepares laity
for ecclesial ministry by offering spiritual, human, pastoral and
intellectual formation. ELM certification is expected of all lay parish
leaders, including directors/coordinators of religious education,
pastoral associates, music directors/coordinators, liturgy
directors/coordinators, youth ministers, RCIA directors/coordinators,
adult formation directors/coordinators, spiritual life coordinators,
social concerns coordinators and campus ministers. It is also strongly
urged for our Catholic school principals and those who teach religion in
our Catholic schools. Parish business administrators also are urged to
seek ELM certification.
A close examination of F.I.R.E.’s Master Certification track reveals
that the 30 hours required in both pastoral and leadership formation,
along with 10 hours of human formation, comprise all of the 14 pastoral
skills workshops that are mandatory for the ELM. Likewise, the remaining
20 hours of human formation along with 12 hours of spiritual formation
required for Master Catechist Certification have the potential for
completing most of the ELM requirements for spiritual formation. If one
of the spirituality workshops taken is the “Catholic Spiritual Gifts
Workshop,” then the only remaining spiritual formation requisite for ELM
certification is participating in an overnight retreat. Still, there is
more certification connectivity. The 10 intellectual course options
offered in the Master Catechist Formation track (3 must be audited) are
the intellectual courses needed for ELM certification. The
recommendation would be to take the three required courses for credit,
since ELM certification mandates course credit for intellectual
formation.
What then is to be discerned from this closer look at the F.I.R.E.
catechist certification program? Fundamentally, it will be found that
those who have completed the master track for catechist certification
are well on their way to lay ecclesial ministry certification. So, for
all laity and especially catechists in our Local Church, there is now a
wonderful opportunity to participate in a substantial and complete
catechist formation program that will enhance skills, spirituality and
knowledge, and open the door to personal ongoing formation. My challenge
is that when the opportunity arises to participate in a catechist
formation workshop, folks will take the plunge to see if it whets the
desire to immerse themselves in information that produces growth as a
person configured and conformed to Christ. |
