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Catechesis According To NCDP
Catechesis According To NCDP
Catechesis According To NCDP
“To integrate” means “to bring the parts together to make a unified whole”
Why Integrate?
The aim is to “close the gap” between how the faith is taught and
communicated and the way the faith is actually lived in daily life.
Systematic:
must be able to build up one another and to nourish each other’s faith.
Over-all Topic
Example:
GRADE FIVE
Sacraments
Level
Identify the age group of the learners and their profile: socio-economic,
educational, spiritual, etc.
Example:
Subject Matter
Select a particular aspect of the over-all topic as subject matter for the day
and decide on the focus, whether Worship, Doctrine, or Morals.
Example:
Sacred Scripture (SS) and Church Teaching (CT) such as Vatican II, NCDP,
CFC, CCC, etc.
Choose carefully the SS texts and other supporting texts from CT. CFC cites
a good deal of these passages. Gospel stories are excellent choices.
Example:
Sacred Scripture:
Church Teaching:
Choose life situations that are relevant to the learners. Decide on the
appropriate teaching technique to be used, such as: story-telling, question-
answer dialogue, debate, news analysis, radiocast, dramatization, song
analysis, slide or film viewing, etc. Teaching techniques are means to assist
in communicating the Christian message: they should not take too much of
the time in teaching.
Example:
Human Experience:
Pupils love their parents and care a lot for their respective families. They
need to know their role in building a true Christian family and how they
contribute to the strengthening of the love relationship of their parents.
Means:
Example:
Worship: In the Sacrament of Marriage, God blesses the love of a man and
a woman and empowers them to build a Christian family.
Doctrine: God created human persons out of His love. He created them in
His image and likeness.
Objectives
The objectives serve to guide in preparing the lesson and in evaluating the
outcome. Formulate them in relation to the faith affirmations.
Example:
Worship: Pray sincerely for their parents that they may live and love as
faithful husband and wife and for their family to be true witness of
Christ’s love;
Opening Prayer
Example:
Introduction:
Context:
This is the main body of the lesson implementation – the MAIN TASK of the
catechist. Prepare this painstakingly. The dimension in focus is thoroughly explained
by interrelating the SS, CT and HE (source integration).
Example:
Sacred Scripture:
Church Teaching:
C. Integration
Bring in the other two dimensions by interrelating them with the focus.
Create a smooth link from the dimension in focus to the other two dimensions.
Conscious effort must be made to interrelate the Morals with Doctrine, and
Morals with Worship, since Morals is the weakness of Filipino Catholics.
Example:
Integration:
The learners find out, realize, and understand how the Christian Message
confront / affirm people in similar situations:
o whether their own and other people’s actions correspond to Christ’s ways
or not
o what they can change
The learners affirm by:
o act of faith (silence)
o living the faith by….
o turning to God in prayer.
Example:
Take Note: Before you end the session present a synthesis or summary of the lesson.
E. Conclusion
Assignment – practical, realistic, relevant, short enough to give time for the other
subjects of the learners.
Closing Prayer
REMEMBER:
GROUND PLAN
LESSON DEVELOPMENT
Opening Prayer
Lord, we come to You today. We ask You to bless the marriage of our father and mother. Help us
to become good, loving and responsible members of our family. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
A. Introduction:
Processing: Ask volunteers to describe briefly what each family member does to build a happy
home. Lead the pupils to recognize and appreciate the members of their family. Each member of
the family plays a significant role at home.
C. Exposition
Sacred Scripture:
Example:
We are discussing about the relationship of husband and wife. Why? You love your parents and
care a lot for your family. You need to know that the Christian marriage of your parents is an image
and a sharing in the love between Christ and His Church. What may be happening in your home is
not what is described in the reading. But knowing the ideal Christian marriage helps us work
together and persevere in building a happy home. Young as you are, you can surely contribute in
building a Christian family.
Church Teaching:
Read and explain carefully the exposition based on the Church Teaching. (It is suggested that the
catechist should prepare materials containing the texts of Sacred Scripture or Church Teaching,
e.g. on manila papers or cartolina.) Present and explain the Sacrament of Marriage.
Activity: In your family, how do you cooperate with each other so that Christ’s love is experienced
by all members?
o can be done in groups, or
o prepare strips of cartolina each containing a way of cooperating with one another in the
family. Post these on the board. Let the students fall in line parallel to their chosen
answer/s, or
o let the learners enumerate their answers on their own paper / notebook.
Integrate HE with SS and CT.
Example:
The marriage between your father and mother is the foundation of the Christian family to which you
belong. Like Jesus, every family member can help build a family of love and mutual care for one
another. As a family, we can bear witness to Christ’s love. (Make necessary adaptations.)
D. Integration:
Present the following questions to the learners and guide them in answering:
o Worship: How does the Sacrament of Marriage become a channel of God’s grace for the
family?
In the Sacrament of Marriage, God blesses the love of a man and a woman and
empowers them to build a Christian family.
God created human persons out of His love. He created them in His image and
likeness.
Through the Sacrament of Marriage, every Christian family is empowered to witness to Christ’s love. By
serving others, we are able to witness to His love. How can you serve the members of your family?
Closing Prayer
Adapted from:
Arriola, Ma. Angelica D. Growing in Jesus Christ 5. Manila: Rex Book Store, 2008.
Being a Catechist means:
responding to the call to be “witnesses to the Gospel,” “fellow
workers for the truth in the Lord;” a mediator between the
catechized and the mystery of God (GDC 156)
teaching the Faith through the pillars of the Christian
Message (Creed – Commandments – Liturgy – Prayer)
(GDC 240)
fulfilling this prophetic and missionary vocation, in
communion with, and under the guidance of the pastors of
the Church;
animating “a profound familiarity with Christ and the
Father, in the Spirit” through instruction, good moral witness
and especially by sharing the joy, love and enthusiasm that
comes from this ever-deepening relationship with Christ in
prayer, (GDC 235)
thus manifesting that fidelity to God and to man which is
indicative of authentic commitment to the Church, in loving
service of the community. (GDC 156)
STORY-TELLING
o Go over the story. Memorize the sequence. Clarify what is necessary for
the children to know and understand. Make changes when necessary to fit
the present situation. Use simple words appropriate to the children’s
understanding.
o Relate the story to the class as vividly and as colorfully without losing the
main elements. Tell the story as if you saw the event happen, heard
everything said, and felt the emotional reactions of the characters.
o The voice must be natural, informal, and loud enough to be heard by all in
the class. Repeat key ideas.
o After telling the story, check how much you have come across by asking
few questions and soliciting responses. Then bring out the morals.
QUESTION-AND-ANSWER TECHNIQUE
CHALK-TALKS
PICTORIAL TECHNIQUE
o What words may fail to transmit, pictures will fill in.
o Pictures must be large enough for everyone in the class to see.
o They must be well-chosen to provoke interest in the lesson on hand and
stir imagination.
o They may be shown while a story is related, or presented for the children
to interpret.
MEMORIZATION
Esmero, Sr. Alma, SPC. A Program Manual for Forming College Volunteer Catechists.
Antipolo: Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres, 1997.
WHAT TO DO EACH WEEK BEFORE CLASS BEGINS
The Holy Spirit is our interior teacher and our constant guide as we pass on the
faith to others. It is the Holy Spirit who uses us, our words, our actions, our joy,
our love for God to inspire those we teach.
Preparation is 70% is the success of your lesson. If you take the time and
prepare you are in a position to have a very successful class. Don’t forget to
review your lesson before you walk into your classroom. That way, you’ll be
ready to execute from the start with no wasted time (especially since the average
religious education class is only between 1 hour and 1.5 hours.)
Be ready before arriving at class with the materials you will need to carry out your
lesson. That way, you won’t need to go after something in the middle of class or
you won’t need to take any time in front of your students doing last minute prep
work.
Pray for the Holy Spirit to speak to the hearts of your students.
We should not only pray that the Holy Spirit works through us but also that the
Holy Spirit speaks to the hearts of our students. It is the Holy Spirit who is
drawing them closer to Himself. We must beg God for His help so that they will
be touched, so that they will encounter Christ more fully through each lesson we
cover.
SIX CHARACTERISTICS OF A SUCCESSFUL CATECHIST
By Debbie Stollery
What’s the secret to becoming a successful catechist or teacher? Make room for the
Holy Spirit! Here are six ways to do that.
Pray
Pray that you will be animated by the gifts of the Spirit. Pray for your fellow learners,
that they will experience Christ.
Prepare
Know your diocesan requirements. Review what your textbook’s teacher manual offers.
Gather all the materials offered by your principal or director of religious education.
Check out textbook publisher websites. Remember the goal of all catechesis is an
intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.
Know how your learners learn best: how much verbal, how much artistic, how much
physical movement, how much technology? How should you pray together to invite a
relationship between your learners and Christ?
Now return to your materials, and, trusting the Spirit’s guidance, select those offerings
of activity, prayer, story, teaching, dialogue, art, and music that will hand on Christ and
the church. Prepare your plan.
Organize
Organize your meeting space, your materials, and your technology. Create a prayer
space that echoes the symbols of the liturgy. Gather CDs and DVDs or videos. Gather
the supplies needed for an activity, and arrange them for easy use.
Reflect
Consider what you learned during this period of preparation. What is new information?
What filled you with hope, possibility, and energy? What makes you anxious? What do
you need to do to allay that anxiety? How has the Lord spoken to you during this
preparation?
Practice
Do a dry run of the activity. Walk through the prayer, especially if you are using
movement and sacred objects. Practice aloud any reading you will be doing. Then
practice again. Focus on those things you are anxious about. Use a family member or
friend to be your practice audience.
Pray
Pray again. Sit quietly with the Lord and all that you have planned. Pray for the Spirit’s
gifts to be abundant, for your learning community to be open, and for you to be an
instrument of the presence of Christ. These people are entrusted to your care, and they
are God’s beloved. Pause in gratitude for the wonder of that gift. Ask for God’s spirit to
work through you. May you have great success!
7 HABITS OF EFFECTIVE CATECHISTS
Do you like to develop skills and habits that foster good experiences for students in your
classroom? I stumbled on a website that quoted from Joe Paprocki, Author of The Catechist’s
Toolbox, who came up with 7 habits for highly effective catechists. These 7 great habits should
be developed and maintained by every catechist.
1. Ongoing Formation – they never stop learning about and growing in their faith.
2. Planning and Preparation – they prepare their lessons thoroughly and prayerfully.
3. Creating a Learning Environment – they create a learning space that is conducive to faith
formation.
4. Using Engaging Activities – they know how to make their learners active, not passive.
6. Leading Prayer – they not only include prayer in their lessons but create a climate of prayer
that pervades their lessons.
7. Positive Presence – they utilize skills that command attention and encourage participation.
TOP 10 REASONS YOU SHOULD BECOME A CATECHIST
One frequent complaint I hear from readers about the state of our Church today is that too few
Catholics know their faith (of course, living it is a separate matter). The temptation is to spend so
much time assigning blame that we neglect our duty to do something about it.
One important way we can help pass on knowledge of the faith and love for Christ is by being a
catechist in our parish.
Last year, regular writer Woodeene Koenig-Bricker prepared a list of 10 reasons to consider
becoming a catechist. Here they are:
If your own faith education ended years ago, the resources and materials you are exposed to as a
catechist will surely refresh and expand your own knowledge.
The world needs the message of the Gospel and the way to true happiness; as a catechist, you
offer a hungry world that sustenance.
As a catechist, you will discover that prayer, liturgy and your own relationship with God will
become more vibrant and meaningful.
6. You become an active part of the most active part of your parish.
When you join the catechists in your parish, you enter into a community that will support you on
your faith journey, pray for and with you and encourage you in your Catholic way of life.
As a catechist, you get to model behaviors young people might not learn anywhere else.
Being a catechist is a way of being a good steward by giving a bit of your most precious resource
— your time.
3. You show your own family that you value religious education.
Taking time out of your life to teach the faith shows your own children, grandchildren, siblings
and family members that you put a high priority on religious education.
2. It’s fun.
Kids remind adults to live and laugh in the moment and get enthused about things like holy days
and stories of saints.
At the end of his earthly ministry, Jesus said: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations.”
WHAT TO DO EACH WEEK BEFORE CLASS BEGINS
1. Pray for the Holy Spirit to guide you… The Holy Spirit is our interior teacher and our constant
guide as we pass on the faith to others. It is the Holy Spirit who uses us, our words, our actions,
our joy, our love for God to inspire those we teach.
2. Prepare and Review your lesson – Preparation is 70% is the success of your lesson. If you
take the time and prepare you are in a position to have a very successful class. Don’t forget to
review your lesson before you walk into your classroom. That way, you’ll be ready to execute
from the start with no wasted time (especially since the average religious education class is only
between 1 hour and 1.5 hours.)
3. Have materials ready – Be ready before arriving at class with the materials you will need to
carry out your lesson. That way, you won’t need to go after something in the middle of class or
you won’t need to take any time in front of your students doing last minute prep work.
4. Pray for the Holy Spirit to speak to the hearts of your students – We should not only pray that
the Holy Spirit works through us but also that the Holy Spirit speaks to the hearts of our
students. It is the Holy Spirit who is drawing them closer to Himself. We must beg God for His
help so that they will be touched, so that they will encounter Christ more fully through each
lesson we cover.
EIGHT BEATITUDES FOR CATECHISTS
Blessed are the catechists who listen to their students, especially the one with repeated questions,
for they possess The Ears of CHRIST.
Blessed are the catechists who see the needs of their students, especially the ones unrecognized
by others for they possess The Eyes of CHRIST.
Blessed are the catechists who speak kindly to their students, especially the ones without
positive motivation, for they possess The Mouth of CHRIST.
Blessed are the catechists who gently touch their students, especially the ones who feel the
stings of home violence, for they possess The Hands of CHRIST.
Blessed are the catechists who think prayerfully of their students, especially those who don’t
know God, for they possess The Mind of CHRIST.
Blessed are the catechists who show love to their students, especially the ones with unlovable
traits, for they possess The Heart of CHRIST.
Blessed are the catechists who walk patiently with their students, especially the ones lacking
spiritual guidance for they possess The Feet of CHRIST.
Blessed are the catechists who persevere in their faith sharing ministry, especially when their
efforts seem in vain, for they possess The Healing Presence of CHRIST and theirs is the
KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.
TOP 10 SKILLS TO DEVELOP AS A CATECHIST
Every catechist desires to grow in his/her ability to be a good communicator and witness of the
Faith. Here are 10 skills that will contribute to anyone seeking to pass on the faith and engage the
students you are ministering to.
1. Planning Good Lessons – taking the time to plan your lesson is one of the best gauges
of weather your lesson will be successful or not.
2. Leading Prayer Experiences – Helping lead children in pray is a sure way of getting them
not only to hear and know “about” God but also to encounter Him.
4. Involving Children – The more you involve your students the more engaged they will be and
the more they will enjoy their Religious Education experience. Lecturing or reading from the
text alone will not draw the students into the truths and message that you as a catechist are trying
to communicate. At the heart of our message is a person – Christ.
5. Establishing Discipline – Either you discipline the kids or they discipline you. In today’s class
environment students that distract draw their classmates attention away from the lesson and onto
the themselves. Classroom time is very valuable and there is no time for students who seek to
distract you (the catechist) or the other students from the precious little time you have with your
students each week.
6. Using A Variety of Teaching Methods – one week break your students into small
groups, another week have them work individually, and another week ask for volunteers, etc…
Also, use different ways or means to communicate your message (art, video, music, illustrations
to name a few).
7. Asking Questions Properly- if you ask questions that require yes or no answers that is all
you will get. Ask questions that will draw more out of your students and that will draw the
students deeper into the subject at had. Sometimes the very questions that are asked actually
distract from the main points you want to make because students begin to share various
experiences that don’t help focus on the lesson.
8. Leading Good Discussions – depending on the age discussion has the potential to really
help students not only think and absorb what they are learning about but also to draw more out of
them because they desire to share. It is not that they don’t have something to share. It could be
that they are not receiving the right questions that will draw them out and allow them to share.
9. Offering Children Positive Feedback – St. Paul said “Encourage one another while it is
still today” (Heb. 3:13). Students desire to be encouraged in their lives. It is no different when it
comes to their faith. The only requirement is that you are authentic in your encouragement.
10. Working Well with the Text – The textbook is only a tool. It is not the crux of your
lesson. You as the catechist are the primary communicator, not the textbook. You are the
primary witness and messenger of the Good News, not the textbook or the video you show, or
the activity you have your students participate in but you are the one who brings it together so
that the students are able to grow in their knowledge of the faith and their relationship with
God. Yes the textbook can be a good guide for what you are going to cover but it should never
be the sole thing you depend on to teach your students (I only recommend very small doses of
reading out of the textbook).