August 21 is the commemoration of St. Pius X, patron saint of catechists in several countries.

The great missionary work of St. Arnold Janssen would not have been possible without the collaborators he had throughout his activity. We often call them “The Founding Generation”. This term encompasses the first SVDs and the first SSpS and SSpS AP Sisters. There is also more and more talk of the lay people who, with his great help, facilitated the emergence of missionary houses in Europe in Steyl (Holland), Modling (Austria) or Nysa (then Germany, today-Poland). But less mention is made of the great collaboration of the laity there, where the SVDs and the SSpS Sisters carried out the missionary work. In the book by J. Alt “The Journey in Faith” on the life and work of Saint Arnold on the mission in China we read the following:

“At the end of 1908 this fruitful mission field of the Steyl Congregations numbered 46,151 living new Christians, 44,564 catechumens, 57 European (SVD) and 12 Chinese priests, 17 brothers, 30 Missionary Sisters, 141 churches and chapels and 962 oratories” (p. 532).

It should be noted that when the mission began in 1882 in the territory entrusted to the SVD (South Shandong) the Christian community numbered around 150 people. All this immense work would have been impossible to carry out without the collaboration of thousands of catechists.

Today the situation is not much different. For this reason, with an immense feeling of gratitude, we want to remember our dear Lay Partners by sharing their experiences. The testimonies of catechists from Argentina were collected by Fr. Saju George Aruvelil SVD.

My name is Gabriela Medina. I thank God for the vocation to the ministry of catechesis that Jesus has entrusted to me. I am in this ecclesial service for years in an SVD parish. I am very happy and grateful. I would like to share my experience, as well as what I have discovered over the years.

To be a catechist is to receive much more than that one gives.  It is an enormous blessing from God to be able to share with the children the grace of our Church in a simple but profound way.  They love to know about the life of Jesus, learn about His teachings and miracles and read the Word with admiration. The Holy Spirit works wonders through what they share. They love to pray, to ask the Lord for their families and needs, they are not ashamed to say a prayer and through it they experience the action of God Father.  I am blessed to hear them talk about the Lord Jesus as if they have known Him all their lives.

Catechesis is dialogue and sharing about what the Jesus was doing, because as time goes by the children themselves begin to see God’s work and presence in daily life. Part of this mission is to show them how wonderful it is to know and be able to count on Jesus. What the Lord sows in the hearts of children is lasting. They have the capacity and predisposition to understand with simplicity and are filled with fervour when they sing for God and Virgin Mary.  They have sensed Jesus´ presence in the Eucharist. They have an extraordinary facility to put themselves in God’s hands, to believe without seeing, to trust in His love, in His goodness. They know that He will not let them down. Thus, I want to continue learning to “be like children”, which is what Jesus calls us to. To be a catechist is to accompany them with prayer and my desire is that they open the doors of their hearts to Him, that they love Him in all humility and let Him act in their lives. To be a catechist is to taste the Kingdom of God, this is where He moves me with His closeness, where He speaks to me with greater clarity and where the joy of being christians is truly a feast.

My name is Rosa T. Gutierrez. I am serving in an SVD parish as Catechist.  The Lord called me to transmit the faith, first to children and today to parents of family catechesis.  It was a beautiful experience lived with the children, accompanying them on their preparation for the First Communion, since they are pure of heart. Beyond there are many challenges, such as the lack of commitment and accompaniment of the families in the catechesis, but we reach the aim and participate in a holy celebration. The saddest thing is to see that after receiving the Sacrament, the families do not participate in Holy Mass, they do not persevere in the faith. This is an area for our mission. In these difficult times, we must not give up our mission as catechists, but asking for the assistance of the Holy Spirit, especially, requesting for the gift of strength to move forward.

My name is Verónica Amarilla. My experience as a catechist is very rich thanks to God. I have been involved since I was 16 years old. Today I am 43 years old.  It is 27 years walking with children and three years ago with fathers, mothers, grandmothers and aunts.  Each meeting is to get closer together to the heart of Jesus. Following His teachings shows us that He is our friend and makes us meet more friends so that we are not alone on the way of life. On that way we discover new skills, we lose shame to relate to others; we understand together that other children suffer. we can laugh and cry, value the life and discover that with small gestures we make others happy. We learn to bless and be thankful for food. The Lord gives us so much in each meeting that strengthens what is said that we catechists are like bridges to bring children and families closer to the heart of God. As Carlo Acutis says, together with the Eucharist we get on the highway to get to Heaven.

My name is Kika Roaz. I serve as Catechesis coordinator   The Lord called me, I asked myself; why me and when I began to discover His Word and to love it. I could not keep silent and as an unworthy disciple, He does not call the best but to make us better, his Voice resounded in my heart, then I began my mission of being an echo of his Word of God with it and with my life, to sow the seeds of the Word. Today I thank God and I ask the Lord always to guide my actions with the certainty that as the Lord said when He sent me “it has been given to you freely and freely you must give it”. Nothing is my own merit; I conclude saying THANK YOU LORD !!!!”. I am only a useless servant that I must”. My experience tells to open the ears of your heart and trust.

My name is Marisol San Juan. My experience as a catechist was in Catechism for children for the First Communion, with children of 9 / 10 years of age. It was a beautiful experience to be able to transmit knowing God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Virgin Mary and to love them and in a way to make them present in every act of our lives. I was able to implement in each meeting reading a religious story or with a reflection or a moral one that worked as a trigger for current issues and each of the boys could share their personal experiences. They waited for the moment of the story. In one of the meetings, I invited them to act and represent the story. It was incredible how the experience turned out! A complete success. At the end of the preparation for Communion, after finishing the Holy Mass, a mother of a girl asked me where she could buy the storybooks because her daughter had told her how entertaining and useful they were! That was very comforting for me since I felt that I was able to sow a seed in the lives of those little children!!!!

My name is Mario Collins. Being able to share the Word of God as guiding parents was a very enriching experience, in which, beyond pretending to teach something, it was a mutual learning that occurs between catechists and parents-catechumens. Since faith is a very special and totally particular feeling of each one of us, I hope to have contributed at least a small part to each of the people with whom we share the Word of the Lord. I thank God for making me his instrument and being able to transmit His message.