A TRIFECTA OF GRACE

Today marks the end of a trifecta of amazing grace. Entering my first Catechism class as a new catechist there were butterflies in my tummy and I remember being thankful that the children were between the ages of nine and ten and therefore not too intimidating. In time, during that year, I slowly grew in confidence and my senior co-catechist helped in nudging me gently to growth. I loved every class and I enjoyed the children even more. Sadly, though, I was never able to remember their names, which is a shame. It is hard to remember 36 or so names when you see your children only once a week unless you make a serious effort to do so.

The second year was less intimidating. A year's experience under the belt does make a difference if only a smidgen. Again, I must credit my friend and co catechist for guiding me. Yet again, I sadly confess that I did not make a serious attempt to learn the names of the children. I could only recall the names of a few, the clever ones, the naughty once, the smart-alecks, and the quiet ones but those that fell in between got lost in the cracks of my memory. At the end of this year, I resolved that I would make a greater effort to remember the names of each of the little ones assigned to our class in the following year.

When year three commenced I had grown in confidence and was no longer anxious. The catechist's course and reading the recommended study material served me well. Our Catechetical Director had emphatically emphasized the importance of preparing a Lesson Plan and I discovered he was right. I diligently prepared a Lesson Plan for each lesson I taught.

It is a gift, a privilege, a grace and indeed a sacred and serious responsibility to prepare young children to receive the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Eucharist. We cannot, we dare not, take it lightly and we can be certain that we will have to render a strict account of how well we did our part to prepare His little ones for these most exquisite gifts after the Sacrament of Baptism. This is a most sobering thought indeed. 

Today was the last day of Catechism classes for this year. Our children received First Holy Communion around the end of the month of April and we closed the year with certificates and prizes for those who had fared well in the Bible Quiz. We played games, had spot prizes, gave away gifts and chocolates much to the delight of the children and they shared their snacks with each other. There was much fun, laughter and prayers of thanksgiving, which was a fitting way to close the year as the holidays commence and another wonderful year ends today.

Did I learn the names of the 32 children in our class? I most certainly did. I thought I was being brilliantly original when I got the brainwave of taking group photographs of the children and using them to match names to faces until I could remember each one, only to discover in the catechists' model class training, that this memory aid is one among many used to remember names.