Just as the early church relied on the catechetical wisdom of Cyril, Ambrose and others, the modern church looks to the collective wisdom and writings of those who attended the Second Vatican Council. One particular document, Directory for Masses with Children , guides catechists in adapting and appropriating the liturgy for children. Despite someone s love for the church or ability to discipline children appropriately, serving as a catechist entails being formed in an adult faith. Even if children already have some feeling for God and the things of God, they may also experience, in proportion to their age and personal development, the human values that are present in the eucharistic celebration. And securing catechists and training them are two distinct dilemmas.
Most parishes struggle to find suitable teachers for their parochial school and school of religion.
Ideally, the entire faith community is the primary catechist, for it is within the midst of the Sunday assembly that all Christians are formed. Realistically, however, parents and catechists prepare children to participate in the liturgy. Although adult Catholics may be more active in the liturgy than children, many parents, if not most, relegate their responsibility for liturgical catechesis to other people. Yet these people, the catechists, may not believe they are properly equipped to do extensive liturgical catechesis with children. Very few standard religion curricula have the liturgy as a primary element for the text.