Catechesis Revisited

In a direct and entertaining style, Liam Kelly sets out the history of the catechesis - of the resounding or re-echoing of God's word, literally meant. He charts the changing attitudes, rituals, educational methods and beliefs around the subject.

Something happens at the eucharistic table. When Jesus' story meets Jesus' presence, Jesus happens there, and the hungry are fed. Christians' beliefs--that they believe and what they believe--are formed by Jesus happening. This book explores the theology inscribed on communities through their encounter with Jesus at the table. It begins with the theology of radical grace embodied in the invitation of everyone, baptized or not, to the table, and it addresses from this vantage the whole of the Christian life: the truth of Jesus, the work of the Spirit, the significance of baptism, and the integrity and mission of the church.

Virtually all churches aim to invest meaningfully in the faith development of the younger generations who have been entrusted into their care. Some churches have a longstanding track record of faithfulness in living out this commitment. Some lose sight of this priority over time and allow their intentionality to fade. This book makes a distinctive contribution to our understanding of children's, youth, and young adult ministries by appropriating Erik Erikson's concept of generativity ("the interest in establishing and guiding the next generation") as a way of exploring congregational life. Eleven accomplished authors representing five different countries provide diverse theological and cultural perspectives on key aspects of what it means for churches to invest intentionally in the faith development of the members of emerging generations. Their chapters challenge us to think about the intergenerational dynamics of our churches, the crucial partnership between church and parents, and what it means to involve young people meaningfully in the life of the church. The intriguing topics explored by this group of authors--and the diverse contexts from which they write--promise to broaden and enrich our thinking about caring for children, youth, and young adults as a vital responsibility shared by the entire congregation.

Christianity regards teaching as one of the most foundational and critically sustaining ministries of the Church. As a result, Christian education remains one of the largest and oldest continuously functioning educational systems in the world, comprising both formal day schools and higher education institutions as well as informal church study groups and parachurch ministries in more than 140 countries. In The Encyclopedia of Christian Education, contributors explore the many facets of Christian education in terms of its impact on curriculum, literacy, teacher training, outcomes, and professional standards. This encyclopedia is the first reference work devoted exclusively to chronicling the unique history of Christian education across the globe, illustrating how Christian educators pioneered such educational institutions and reforms as universal literacy, home schooling, Sunday schools, women’s education, graded schools, compulsory education of the deaf and blind, and kindergarten. With an editorial advisory board of more than 30 distinguished scholars and five consulting editors, TheEncyclopedia of Christian Education contains more than 1,200 entries by 400 contributors from 75 countries. These volumes covers a vast range of topics from Christian education: History spanning from the church’s founding through the Middle Ages to the modern day Denominational and institutional profiles Intellectual traditions in Christian education Biblical and theological frameworks, curricula, missions, adolescent and higher education, theological training, and Christian pedagogy Biographies of distinguished Christian educators This work is ideal for scholars of both the history of Christianity and education, as well as researchers and students of contemporary Christianity and modern religious education.

The "pedagogy of God" lies at the heart of the restoration currently advancing in the area of religious education and catechesis. According to the General Directory for Catechesis, the primary difficulty facing catechesis today is that catechists do not yet have a full understanding of "the conception of catechesis as a school of faith, an initiation and apprenticeship in the entire Christian life."

An evaluation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church from a North American perspective by distinguished theologians, educators, and liturgists.

The number of Catholic communities with no priest available to celebrate Sunday Eucharist has increased steadily over 60 years. For many, other forms of Sunday celebration are the statistical norm. This dramatic development coincides with Vatican II's insistence on liturgical catechesis: for the baptised the main source of their Christian spirit comes from active participation in the liturgy, especially the Sunday Eucharist. Celebrating the liturgy in all its symbolic fullness leads to inner participation in the mystery. A more profound appropriation of this living relationship with Christ comes about through well-celebrated rites and reflection on personal experience of the rites. Yet, liturgical catechesis is largely ignored or dismissed because it is not understood. Liturgical celebrations frequently lack the vitality capable of leading people into the depth of the sacred mysteries they celebrate. Sunday celebrations in the absence of a priest are no exception. This book presents a systematic treatment of the modern church's teaching on liturgical catechesis. It proposes ten general principles of liturgical catechesis. These principles are used to explore and criticize the "Directory for Sunday Celebrations in the Absence of a Priest" (1988), as well as the rituals prepared from the "Directory" by the USA, and Canada. Even when there can be no Sunday Mass in parishes, hospitals and nursing homes, navy ships and jails, liturgical prayer is to be a privileged place of evangelisation, catechesis, spirituality and discipleship in Christ.

As the Emmaus story unfolds it moves from catechesis to Eucharist to mission. It is a promising paradigm for the process of reweaving the present array of parish ministries into an integrated pastoral practice. Gilbert Ostdiek, OFM, invites those engaged in ministry and those preparing for it to think of their own ministry as part of a larger pastoral tapestry. He also extends the Emmaus paradigm to pastoral leaders who have the responsibility to integrate and coordinate the practice of ministry at parish and diocesan levels. Reweaving the Ministries invites all who are involved in ministry to become ever more fully, in St. Paul’s description, co-workers with one another and co-workers with God in the care of God’s people.