Education
bishop's letter to catechists
CATECHETICAL SUNDAY 2009
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). This Gospel verse presents the great mystery of the Incarnation: God the Son, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, became man in order to redeem us from sin and to communicate to us a share in His own divine life and glory. This message is what the Church proclaims daily in her liturgy and in her teaching.
This message also lies at the heart of this year’s celebration of Catechetical Sunday, which takes place on September 20, 2009, and whose theme is “Catechesis and the Proclamation of the Word.” As parishes throughout our diocese bless and commission volunteer catechists on Catechetical Sunday, all of us are given an opportunity to reflect upon the fact that, by virtue of our Baptism, we are called to hand on the faith and to be a witness to the Gospel.
On Catechetical Sunday, we give thanks for the generosity of our more than 4,000 catechists who, by word and example and under the direction of their pastors, proclaim God’s living Word, Jesus Christ, to over 39,000 children and youth in our parish religious education programs. We give thanks, too, for the ministry of priests, deacons, and men and women living the consecrated life who have committed themselves to hand on the treasure of our Catholic faith to others.
We give thanks for the dedication of parents, the first teachers of their children in the ways of faith. United in the bond of communion with the Lord and with His Church, all who catechize aid others to learn about and to encounter the Word of God so that they may be filled with the “grace and truth” that God’s Word brings to us.
With you, my sisters and brothers, I am grateful for the service of our catechists who proclaim the Word of God. I pray that all of us will come to an ever deeper knowledge and love of that saving Word which, as the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us, is “living and effective” (Hebrews 4:11). May we find in God’s Word a sure guide and foundation for our lives, and may the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, bless you all!
Faithfully in Christ,
Most Reverend Paul S. Loverde
Bishop of Arlington
September 2009