A treasured learning opportunity

 

 

When I was first entrusted with the responsibility to coordinate one of the catechumen classes in our parish church, I gladly accepted the challenge as I saw it as another call from God. Besides, having been a Sunday school teacher for more than twenty years, I was confident of my work ability. However, my experience over the past few months has made me realize that the work of a Catechist, which involves unprecedented problems and uncertainties, has been a treasured learning opportunity for me. 

For one thing, to meet the various needs of the catechumen, it is essential to select materials related to the course outline set by the previous instructor. This ought not to be too much of a problem as there are bountiful resources available online, from the Bible and from Catechism Books. However, as the lesson is meant to enable the learners to achieve a gradual understanding of the Catholic Church, imparting too much knowledge would only scare them off. On the other hand, the learners may not be easily satisfied if the lesson fails to clarify certain doubts they may have about the core beliefs of Christianity. I am obliged, therefore, to look closely at the material in order to identify what adaptations are possible. 

The presentation of the lesson matters a lot, too. I keep reminding myself to avoid being too reliant on formal teaching strategies. Instead, I usually support my teaching with my own personal experiences. I share with them, for example, how my life has been blessed since my baptism. Besides, instead of adopting a teacher-centred approach, I make constant attempts to get the learners to interact with the lesson content, inviting questions and suggestions about the concepts discussed. The learners sometimes come up with interesting ideas leading to enthusiastic discussions among themselves. When this happens, I must try to guide them along to prevent their susceptibility to misinformation. It is also important to get them inspired by the lesson in a way that they can apply their learning to their daily lives. A learner, for example, once shared about a kind-hearted woman who reminded him about meekness, one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, a previously discussed topic. How encouraging it was to see his face lighting up with joy when he told his story!

 Most importantly, I have learned to be humble. I see myself as their co-learner rather than their instructor delivering everything as I do not have all the answers they need. In fact, their thirst for knowledge and curiosity about the Christian faith keeps me striving in pursuit of spiritual enrichment myself. 

All in all, I am thankful to God for having blessed me with this treasured learning opportunity and am determined to dedicate myself to helping the catechumen grow in knowledge, giving them more of a desire for God, for His Word, and for God to transform their hearts.

寧靜中與主相遇 …… 望廈主日學導師靈修後記

 寧靜中與主相遇 …… 望廈主日學導師靈修後記

望廈聖方濟各堂主日學導師於 7月1日和2日舉行每年一次的避靜靈修活動。

我們一行十一人，在抵達上水聖保祿樂靜院之後，隨即在神師夏子明神父帶領下，開始第一次主題分享。夏神父首先引述有關厄瑪烏門徒的章節 (路24:13-35) ，介紹聖依納爵式聖言誦讀祈禱，引導我們想像自己走進厄瑪烏門徒的故事，和耶稣交談，並在聖經章節中的某處停下來，祈求天主聖神打開我們的心扉，讓我們察覺自己內心的感受。他也預備了幾個問題，讓我們各自默想有關的聖經章節。

當天晚上，我們參與明供聖體，在靜默中與主相遇。夏神父引導我們以一個簡單的心形圖像思考自己的美善和缺失，然後把放在心形圖像內美善的一面獻給天主，而摒棄不完美的地方。

在另一個主題分享中，夏神父引述聖詠第139篇提醒我們，耶穌是我們的同行者，我們是耶穌的工具，在日常生活中作耶穌的門徒，繼續耶穌的使命。他也和我們思考有關 “鹽與光” 的聖經章節 (瑪5:13-16)，提醒我們作為主日學導師的使命：我們應該像燭光一樣，將自己的善德顯現出來，並燃燒自己，照亮別人。也要像鹽一樣，奉獻自己的時間和努力，以愛為別人服務，使別人的生命變得更美好。另一方面，我們也應該好好運用天主賜給我們的才能，為世界帶來改變。

在總結分享中，大家都表示這次避靜靈修是一個很有啟發性的經驗，讓我們反思如何在主日學教學方面作出改善，並引入新的元素，更有效地把學生引領到天主面前。

靈修活動以主日感恩祭結束，離開修院時大家都心存感恩，並思量如何在返回日常生活中，把靈修中的體驗實踐出來 。