Catechists Equipped to Spread the 'Holy Fire' of Faith at Convocation

Approximately 300 Catechists in the Diocese of Baton Rouge spent a day being refreshed and learning how to spread the “holy fire” of knowledge and love of Christ to the people they serve in their parishes, schools, and homes at the Convocation of Catechists. The event, sponsored by the office of evangelization and catechesis of the Diocese of Baton Rouge, was held Aug. 24 at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Baton Rouge.

The event kicked off with Mass, with Bishop Michael G. Duca as main celebrant and Father Josh Johnson, pastor of Sacred Heart, as homilist.

Dr. Brian Pedraza, director of theology and the Dominus Project at Franciscans Missionaries of Our Lady University in Baton Rouge, presented two talks centered on the importance of encounter in catechesis and having the “holy fire of prayer” in their lives.


“We’ve been in the trenches together and coming here together today we may feel like it’s taking these hot coals that are lighting holy fires all over the diocese,” said Pedraza.

“But a coal has to get together with other coals sometimes, because what happens when you bring hot coals together? The flame gets hotter and hotter.”

Pedraza urged the catechists to see the goodness of God overflowing in their work.

“Brothers and sisters don’t be fooled into thinking that a catechist is just somebody that Father needed to pick who had a warm body at the moment. Don’t be fooled into thinking that a catechist has very little to do with the growth of the faith in our land,” Dr. Pedraza said. “A catechist is actually someone who has been charged with carrying the Gospel, the very life of God within doctrines, and bringing it to other human beings that they might have life. That is one of the most noble vocations you could ever have.”

Pedraza then talked about the church’s refining its view of the mission of catechesis and evangelization over the years,

The church viewed evangelization, as reflected in the General Catechetical Directory in 1971, as being done by “missionaries going out to other lands where the Gospel had not been preached.” Once people were evangelized, catechists followed up to help them grow in faith. 


In 1997, the church, in its new General Directory for Catechesis, declared that the church exists to evangelize – that “everything we do should bring the good news of our Lord.” 

In 2020, the church published the Directory of Catechesis, which emphasizes that at the center of catechesis is the living encounter with Christ, which involves the whole person with his whole mind, body, and heart.

“It’s not good enough to hand on doctrine,” said Dr. Pedraza.

He added, “Whatever your particular field is – does everything we do cultivate a culture of encounter? This is what the church wants us to think about.”

The church further emphasizes that catechesis helps people develop a communion and intimacy with Christ, according to Pedraza. He pointed out that United States Conference of Catholic Bishops published the “Handbook on the Catechetical Process,” which focuses on the cognitive and encountering elements of catechesis. It is available at usccb.org/resources.

Dr. Pedraza’s presentations resonated with attendees.

“Dr. Pedraza said as catechists in the church we must actually be the cause of an encounter with Christ by embodying the living God within us,” said Deacon Kirk Duplantis, Formation Director at Our Lady of Mercy Church in Baton Rouge. “We must capture the hearts of our students by everything we do and say, in our culture and everything of who we are. He called it a culture of encounter. Wow."

“Secondly that holy fire that should be burning in each and every one of us. The holy fire must be in our prayer life, our sacramental life to where those we teach see Christ in every one of our sacraments. For example, how we teach our students about first Communion, that Jesus is actually present in the Eucharist, so practical,” said Deacon Duplantis.

He added, “Dr. Pedraza said you cannot give what you don't have. We must encounter the Lord first with a holy fire; which we must question ourselves: How is our prayer life?”

Pedraza also mentioned the power of Kerygma, a word taken for granted at times, Deacon Duplantis noted.

“That Kerygma, that proclamation that, simply put, God created us for him, we turned away, he sent his son to die for us so that we can experience him in the sacraments of the Church,” Deacon Duplantis said. “Dr. Pedraza quoted Pope Francis: ‘Kerygma is the seed of every doctrine.’”


Deacon Duplantis plans to enhance the ways he can help others encounter Christ with the “fire of the Holy Spirit.”  

“If my parishioners don't see this holy fire in me, how will they know to bring it into their hearts? Second, be practical about faith and how you teach it, it does not have to be complicated, it is all about the Kerygma,” said Deacon Duplantis.

Catherine Parker, theology teacher at St. Joseph’s Academy in Baton Rouge, said the presentations “fanned the holy flame of faith” within her.

“Dr. Pedraza's presentation focused on recentering everything we do in and outside of the classroom back on our relationship with our beloved Lord Jesus,” said Parker. “If we want to be effective catechists, we must first sit with the Bridegroom in prayer so that he may burn off any impurities and reignite our fire. Moving forward, I'm excited to bring the stillness of prayer to my own classroom and share with my students the good news that we can truly rely on the Lord for our strength.”

The event concluded with Eucharistic adoration and Bishop Duca blessing the catechists, who went forth renewed in mind and spirit. 

“I thoroughly enjoyed the entire event. I’m sure you’ve heard of the saying, ‘You can’t pour from an empty cup.’ This annual Convocation of Catechists certainly filled my cup,” said Kaycee Widmer, youth minister at St. Joseph Church at Ponchatoula. “The homily given by Father Josh Johnson during the Mass was extremely beautiful and incredibly moving. The talks given by Dr. Pedraza empowered me to dive deeper into my faith and to make furthering my religious education a bigger priority in my life.

“I met with other catechists from the diocese, and through the stories of their ministries, strengthened my desire to walk with the youth of St. Joseph’s. I even made a few new friends in our diocese.”