Echoes of Christ: A Revisit on Catechesis in Relation to Current Challenges in Religious Education

In this present age of educating the young people on the Christian faith, it is essential to know and rediscover if the catechists or religious educators still fulfil their mission moved by the Holy Spirit to teach the minds and touch the hearts of the learners in order for them to resemble Jesus not only in His words but also in works. For the goal of catechesis and religious education is not only to inculcate doctrinal truths of the Church and become authoritarian in teaching but to make all people have an encounter with Jesus in the classroom setting and instruction and as result, would have an intimate relationship with the Lord. This research study tries to trace back the importance and goals of catechesis and religious education from the point of view of the Church in Her teachings and compare it to the present or current challenges in teaching the faith. The researcher will use document analysis as its method in collecting, verifying and analyzing evidences or information from the existing Church teachings and put side by side with the recent studies on Religious Education. At the end, this study proposes ways in order to make catechesis more meaningful and effective to the learners and also, for the catechists and religious educators to be nourished always and revitalized in the propagation of the faith.

Keywords –Catechesis, Catechists, Christian Faith, Integral Evangelization, Religious Education