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So, I volunteered to help with the Confirmation class by leading a small group discussion after the main talk every week.

Suddenly, I'm referred to as a catechist! Yikes! No training. Little prep before each class. And I'm a catechist?

A couple of months ago I looked at the Baltimore Catechism again. You know, there's not a darn thing wrong with it. Especially for the public school kids I am dealing with. They are just wildly guessing at what their faith is supposed to be. 95% of them seem to have nothing at home.

Well, at least I did get the chance to correct our parish DRE on what the "source and summit" of the Catholic Faith is. Golly, if you're going to cite Vatican II as authoritative, it helps to actually read the documents to see what they have to say.

"So, I volunteered to help with the Confirmation class by leading a small group discussion after the main talk every week. Suddenly, I'm referred to as a catechist! Yikes! No training. Little prep before each class. And I'm a catechist?
A couple of months ago I looked at the Baltimore Catechism again. You know, there's not a darn thing wrong with it. Especially for the public school kids I am dealing with. They are just wildly guessing at what their faith is supposed to be. 95% of them seem to have nothing at home.

Well, at least I did get the chance to correct our parish DRE on what the "source and summit" of the Catholic Faith is. Golly, if you're going to cite Vatican II as authoritative, it helps to actually read the documents to see what they have to say."

I would be inclined to think that anyone who undertakes to shed light on "Why Catholics Do That" would be considered a catechist. It merely means one who teaches the Faith. You don't need credentials to be a catechist, thank God.

As many of you who are reading this thread will know from my past posts, RAMPANT ignorance among the laity in the post-Vatican II American Church is a particular thorn in my side.

But I always say the same thing: If your parish doesn't have an ADULT Catechism class, start one. A few phone calls and a place to meet is all you need. Bring your copies of the CCC, and start reading.

Adult Catholics of the last generation are as ignorant of Church teaching as their children. Informed Catholics will be able to KNOW when something isn't right in their parish (which explains why so many pastors and bishops hesitate to encourage Catechism study for adults these days...).

A couple of months ago I looked at the Baltimore Catechism again. You know, there's not a darn thing wrong with it.

Absolutely right! I attended a Gregorian Chant symposium and one of the talks was about the role of memory in learning chant. The speaker mentioned that at elementary school ages, children are "wired" (he used different terminology) for rote memorization. They can memorize stuff much better at that age than adults can. Not to mention that they are not ready for deep analytical or philosphical explanations.

So, have them memorize the Baltimore (or a good Q&A format) Catechism in elementary school. The questions and answers will be firmly planted in their minds. And then, as they get older, they can learn the fuller explanations for each concept. One deosn't learn calculus in elementary school, but if one memorizes the addition and multiplication tables at that time, then the learning of higher level mathematics is much easier.