Last year, the Diocesan Council identified “catechesis” as the priority of the Vicariate. A priority means that something takes place over other things, in resources, time, energy, planning... It means that we will have to give our time, our energy, our prayer, our reflection to this over other things.
It was decided to invite Ms. Prisca Hadebe to help us implement our priority. Her passion for catechesis and a lifetime experience made her the ideal choice.
In November last year Ms. Prisca came to the Vicariate for a meeting with the Bishop, some of the priests and one of the Sisters. It was the first step in order to share the history of catechesis in the Vicariate, the present situation and how to develop our own vision for the future.
The next step was gathering all the priests of the Vicariate at Ubombo. The seminarians presently working in the different Missions were invited too.
Ms. Prisca opened the meeting with a prayer. She chose Jesus' command after the resurrection: “Go, make disciples...” and then presented the program for the morning. We would have three moments:
The present situation: who is involved in the catechetical ministry? Which programs are being followed? What is the present priest's role? Which are the challenges we are facing?
The Directory of Catechesis: nature of catechesis, object, duties, catechesis according to age, place and means, ministers of catechesis...
Future: where do we go from here?
The present situation took a long time. Priests presented a long list of joys and challenges. They all thank God for the number of catechists who week after week serve their own community helping the children, the youth and the adults to grow in faith. At the same time they acknowledge the need to prepare them better, find suitable material, improve the communication between the catechists and the priests... Most of all, it became clear that each priest must be involved in the catechetical journey.
The next step? The priests asked Ms. Prisca to come again to the Vicariate and meet all the catechetical coordinators: those coordinating at Vicariate level and those doing it at Mission level. Priests and sisters will be present to listen to them. Without wasting time, we planned it for the first Saturday of March at Mtubatuba
More to come!
