“Catechists: Pilgrims of Hope, nourished by the Word and the Eucharist”
On behalf of the Bishops of the AEC, it is with a grateful heart that I, Bishop John Persaud, greet you Catechists of the AEC in these closing moments of the Jubilee Year. In sync with the Jubilee Year of Hope we have chosen for this Catechetical month 2025 the theme “Catechists: Pilgrims of Hope, nourished by the Word and the Eucharist”. The suggested Bible passage to guide our reflection on this theme is Luke 24:13-35 – the “Road to Emmaus”. This theme offers wonderful opportunities for reflection on our role as Catechists.
Both our theme, which is rooted in the Jubilee theme, and Luke’s account of the disciples on the road to Emmaus, remind us that disciples of Jesus are pilgrims. A pilgrim is one who is on a journey, but no ordinary journey, it has a determined focus, and it is a journey of discovery that brings us to a different physical, psychological, mental, social and spiritual space. A marked difference for us as disciples of Jesus who are pilgrims is that we never walk alone. Our pilgrimage is one that is undertaken with others. We never walk alone because Jesus, our Master, is always walking with us. We see this happening with the disciples as they were walking on the road to Emmaus, they made a journey of discovery. A pilgrimage is also a journey of reconciliation that brings about wholeness and so leads to holiness. A useful exercise for every disciple on pilgrimage is to take a serious look at his/her life and make a note of where you are in all the various dimensions of your life. For example, look at your life as a Catechist and make a note of where you are in your ministry as a catechist. You may discover that you have become a person of routine, doing things just because you have to, or you may have become a person that spends less time in prayer, or that social outreach is lacking. Sometimes the demands of life do this to us and so it is important to set aside periods of serious reflection. I invite you to make this month of September 2025 that period of reflection.
I invite and challenge you, Catechists, to let this Catechetical month be a means of recapturing what pilgrimage offers and develop this dimension of our discipleship as a constitutive dimension of our life in Christ. Let it take you places where you can discover new dimensions of your life in new light. Jesus is a companion who helps you make wonderful discoveries and makes life exciting. Note how he journeyed with the two disciples and brought them from disillusionment and despair to clarity and light: from moving deeper into darkness to a return to Jerusalem and the community.
As our theme states, we are not just pilgrims but pilgrims of HOPE. Hope is probably the most misunderstood and abused virtue in Christian consciousness. Very often it is practiced as the last resort virtue: after we have tried everything else then we turn to hope. BUT that is not Christian Hope. Christian hope is born of a relationship of trust and love that allows one to know God as a faithful God who never abandons his people. Thus, during trials, difficulties and challenges disciples never despair but live hope that all is well for all is in God. People of hope are people of Faith and though they may not have the answers, see the light and goodness in all things. This kind of hope is not based on self-reliance but in the infinite goodness of our Triune God.
Our theme this year offers two dimensions through which we can grow in our discipleship as ‘Catechists: Pilgrims of Hope’. The Eucharist and the Word of God are both sources of nourishment and means of deepening our relationship with God that allow us to be authentic cultivators of the seeds of the Gospel. As often as we approach the table of the Word of God and the table of the Eucharist, we experience refreshment and nourishment through the abundant grace of God to be transformed and become missionary disciples in the vineyard of the Lord.
“The Word of God is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” (Ps. 119:105), and it instructs our lives. The Word of God, an expression of God’s creative action, which from the dawn of creation brought life into being, became flesh in Jesus of Nazareth. Pope Benedict XVI writes in Verbum Domini # 72
With the Synod Fathers I express my heartfelt hope for the flowering of ‘a new season of greater love for Sacred Scripture on the part of every member of the People of God, so that their prayerful and faith-filled reading of the Bible will, with time, deepen their personal relationship with Jesus.
And again, the biblical dimension of catechesis is underlined in Verbum Domini # 74
An important aspect of the Church’s pastoral work which, if used wisely, can help in rediscovering the centrality of God’s word is catechesis, which in its various forms and levels must constantly accompany the journey of the People of God. Luke’s description (cf. Lk 24:13-35) of the disciples who meet Jesus on the road to Emmaus represents, in some sense, the model of a catechesis centered on “the explanation of the Scriptures”, an explanation which Christ alone can give (cf. Lk 24:27-28), as he shows that they are fulfilled in his person. The hope which triumphs over every failure was thus reborn, and made those disciples convinced and credible witnesses of the Risen Lord.
Each day, I urge you catechists to develop the discipline of prayer that integrates Sacred Scripture. This may take the form of Lectio Divina or imaginative contemplation or simply allow the Word of God to resonate inside of you and make a home in your heart.
The Church teaches that the EUCHARIST is the source and summit of the Christian life. It is the beginning and foundation from which Christian life and mission emerge. At the table of the Eucharist the faithful are invited to become one with Jesus in his offering on the cross. Their participation in the Eucharist allows them to experience an encounter with the living Lord that heals, transforms, and empowers them to be the body of the Lord in the world. Frequent participation in the Eucharist allows the catechist to be nourished by the Body and Blood of Christ, and to become the Body of Christ, broken and shared, for others. This is the greatest place of grace and so we must commit ourselves to being present.
The Eucharistic celebration is a communal worship that transcends our individual relationship with God, it molds us into the Eucharist itself, making us the body of Christ in the world. We are then sent to love and serve the world. In the Eucharistic celebration we become companions and pilgrims on the journey to heaven. We must not fool ourselves that any of us can attain heaven without others. We need others to companion us as we make this lifelong journey. Remember we are pilgrims on this earth destined for heaven. That is the hope we hold dear to us as Christians.
As we celebrate catechetical Month 2025 and reflect on our lives as Catechists let us re-commit ourselves to be nourished by the Word of God and the Eucharist. Through these, we would become pilgrims of hope, equipped to be hope to all we encounter. By allowing the Word and Eucharist to nourish us we would become a Eucharistic people living as the Body of Christ.
My dear Catechists, on behalf of the Bishops of the AEC, I thank you once again for your service to the Church of our region and though we face many challenges, you stand committed to form the People of God. Your service is of paramount importance to the sustenance of our Church, and I pray God’s blessings upon each one of you and your family.
May God bless and keep you.
May he let his face shine upon you and be gracious to you.
May he lift up his countenance and give you, his peace.
