Echoing Christ
September 21, 2025
“Never act out of rivalry or conceit; rather, let all parties think humbly of others as superior to themselves, each of you looking to others’ interests rather than your own. Your attitude must be that of Christ.”
– Philippians 2:3-5
In the United States, today is Catechetical Sunday, and we will commission our parish catechists at the weekend Masses. Next weekend, the Vatican will continue to observe this Jubilee Year of Hope by celebrating the Jubilee of Catechists. As I mentioned in the bulletin a few weeks ago, the word catechist comes from the Greek word katēkhein which means “to echo down.” The role of the catechist is not to teach their own message, but to “echo” our Catholic faith as it has been given to us in the Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. A good catechist is like a midwife, bringing to healthy fruition the eternal life given in baptism.
The ministry of catechist is a specific and ancient role in church ministry. In 2021, Pope Francis officially established the lay ministry of catechist as a stable and vital ministry throughout the Catholic Church. We are very thankful for all those in our parish who “echo” the Gospel of Jesus to those of all ages preparing for baptism and the other sacraments, those in our faith formation programs for children and youth, and those who organize and lead adult faith formation opportunities.
Pope Francis addressed catechists at the close of the Year of Faith in 2013. He said, “Be careful, I have not said to do the work of a catechist, but rather to be one, because it involves all your life. It means guiding towards the encounter with Jesus with words and with life, with your witness.” In this sense, all the baptized, each of us in our own way, are called to be catechists with our words (see 1 Peter 3:15), but most of all through our lives (see Matthew 7:21).
So let each one of us reflect on this Catechetical Sunday:
Do my words and life “echo” the obedience of Jesus?
The obedience of faith is not primarily about doing whatever “the boss” says to do, but rather to keep our ears and hearts open to listening to truth of God (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 144). Listening is an act of love. Jesus always prayed before the major decision points of his life and ministry, especially the Psalms, which I imagine he learned to pray from his mother Mary, St. Joseph, and the leaders of his synagogue in his youth. Prayer is not about “saying our prayers” but about truly listening to the Word of God, letting it shape our attitudes and the choices we make. Our new BeFriender Ministry is a training in having an obedient, listening heart. Whether or not God may be calling you to serve as a BeFriender, I highly recommend to everyone the BeFriender training that we will offer this winter. This training has helped me to become a better listener as a husband, father, minister, co-worker and work supervisor, and neighbor.
Do my words and life “echo” the compassion of Jesus?
So many people feel lonely and isolated. Social media and the “interconnectivity” of the internet promise to expand our social networks, however human beings are both body and spirit. We need to gather together and be with each other to be a truly human community. This happens first and foremost at the Eucharist (Mass) each weekend, but other human gatherings such as our upcoming Evening with Elvis and PolishFest also fulfill this need. Our witness to the compassion of Jesus shines forth most brilliantly through our acts of charity, service, and justice-seeking. When we take time out of our busy lives to alleviate someone’s suffering and isolation, when we share the financial given to us as God’s gifts to meet their basic needs, we become living icons of Jesus, the eternal Son of God who chose to enter into our suffering in order to bring healing and love (see Philippians 2:6-8). Once again, our new BeFriender Ministry exists to be the compassion of Christ in our society so wounded by isolation and loneliness.
Do my words and life “echo” the peace of Jesus?
Our society and nation are so polarized at this time. We are all looking at our own electronic devices, watching our own version of the news from our favorite news outlets, listening to our own podcasts, being given intellectual reinforcement from social media algorithms designed to stoke the fear and outrage that keeps us “doom-scrolling.” Over the past ten years or so, I have noticed that it has become more difficult to have conversation with family and friends on a wide variety of subjects without the threat of “cancellation.” As we pray in the Mass, we believe that Jesus “came to reconcile us to one another and to the Father” for “though the human race is divided by dissension and discord . . . [by his Spirit] enemies may speak to each other again, adversaries may join hands, and peoples seek to meet together.” The news over the last month has been filled with stories of violence and conflict. We are called as baptismal catechists to become “echoes” of God’s peace and reconciliation, bringing healing to hurting hearts, so that Jesus’ prayer the night before he died that “all will be one, as you Father are in me, and I in you; I pray that they may be one in us” (John 17:21) can become a reality in our society, nation, and world.
My prayer for each of us and for our parish this Catechetical Sunday is that we no longer view the ministry of catechist as something only a few of us in the parish do, but as a response in faith, hope, and love to our baptism. May we each in our own way, in our own situations, become an “echo” of Christ’s healing and peace through our words, our invitations to God and community, and the way we treat each and every person created in the image of the God who is Love.