News and Events
CATECHISM - TOOL OF PROCLAIMERS
OF THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS
HNS Bulletin, VOLVIII, ISSUE 3, July - October 2009

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Mt 28:19-20). This is the command of our Lord Jesus Christ before He went back to the Father. In our last National Convention we were urged to do the same: to teach and to live what Jesus has commanded us. By obeying this command we proclaim the Holy Name of Jesus. But the task is not an easy one and we must prepare ourselves.

As Archbishop Hector Aguer of La Plata in Argentina said “do not be contented with the teachings you receive in the Sunday homily but to look to the Catechism as well for your formation in the faith and to discover the reasons for your Christian hope”. The archbishop said Sunday homilies, when adequately prepared by the priest, convey to the faithful the fundamental contents of Christianity. Nevertheless, even in the best of cases, there is still something that must be completed later and in a personal way by each Christian. “We cannot be content simply with what we receive in the Sunday homily,” he added.

In a sense the Archbishop pointed out that the Catechism of the Catholic Church is in his words “a splendid instrument for our instruction in the truths of the faith,” since in this document “we find a synthesis of what the Church transmits in the name of Christ”. It not only educates us in the sacraments, prayer, the liturgy and the commandments but also “in particular issues of utmost relevance for today.”

As proclaimers of the Holy Name of Jesus, the Catechism, in particular the Catechism for Filipino Catholics and the Holy Bible should be present in our homes, to help us in dealing with the day-to-day issues of our lives and the lives of others and also in responding to doubts we have heard and those posed to us by our children and friends.