It might come as a surprise to some of you who know me that I teach CCE. Believe me you can’t be more surprised than I am when I realize this will be my third year as a catechist. In all honesty, the first two years I was the “assistant,” helping the teacher and taking over when she was absent. But this year I’m “co-teaching,” and I’m a little surprised how much I’m looking forward to it.

My first year I assisted an enthusiastic first-year teacher, who brought great ideas from her day job as a public school elementary teacher. We worked really well together and had a real energy in the class. Last year I assisted a teacher who was completely opposite; quiet and with a lot more reading. I became frustrated, until it hit me one morning that God put us together for a reason. There must be something I have learn from working with her. After that revelation, I approached our time together Sunday mornings with a new perspective.

Wednesday night was our Catechist in-service meeting. After Mass, we moved into the parish hall to receive our supplies and meet our co-teachers. In his welcome, Father Bob thanked us for letting ourselves be used as teachers. He asked us to share our Catholic tradition and beliefs with our classes, but most of all to share our living faith – that burning passion and joy that comes from the Holy Spirit alive in all of us. We were reminded that our job is to plant the seed that will allow our students to grow in their faith.

There are still moments where I feel as though I’m not really good enough to be teaching our Faith to the children. There is so much I don’t know that often I think I’m the one learning the material the week before we teach it. Still, words can’t express how much I look forward to being in class again with the same students I’ve had for the past two years.

I hope all of you who serve as Catechists are excited about the new school year and new students. As I continue to post about my CCE journey, please share with me your ideas and activities to reach our fifth graders.