The Essence of Catechism

Fifth day of Sunday School. I was not able to attend last week's meeting because of my Melaka trip. I miss the kids.

Today's activity was about inspiring others by writing to them a prayer. After the discussion, we distributed some cards for the kids to write a prayer on. The prayers were meant for the Primary 3 kids who are about to embark on their First Holy Communion. The cards were folded in half; they were supposed to design it and write a prayer inside. On the outside of the card was the name of a Primary 3 kid. Each card bore one name. So we started distributing them.

We have about 25 kids in the class; the number of Primary 3 students is double (we were given names from three classes). We needed everything written on; we did not want to disappoint the Primary 3 kids who would receive blank cards. Initially, we gave the girls two each, the boys one. But those boys who finished early, we gave another one as well. I was distributing the second piece to the boys at the back of the class when I encountered this kid. I asked him, "How many have you written?". "Two", he said. I repeated, "Two?" He said, "Two". So I said ok. I moved on and talked to his classmate who was sitting beside him. I gave this classmate his second card when this particular boy dragged his chair closer to his classmate and said to me, "Actually, I only did one..."

Catechism is about knowing our faith. It is about realizing God's omnipotence, and His immense love. But catechism is also about transformation. The kid wanted to escape from doing the second card, but somehow, there was something in him that made him retract. I asked him how come he said two then, gave him another one, and thanked him. I thanked him for his honesty, and for proving what catechism is really about.

I attended the Teaching as a Profession Seminar yesterday at Orchard Hotel, a project by the Ministry of Education as a way of inviting prospects into the teaching life. They showed a short movie about what teachers teach. One teacher said, "I teach everything". My catechism class may not be as rigorous as the classroom setting, but the harvest is the same. Teaching is about transformation, whether it is carrying out their dreams, harnessing their gifts, or just plainly motivating them to be the best God's kids they could ever be.

I read some of the prayers, one was very artistic, some were funny. The one that inspired me the most was the one prayer written by the most talkative in the class. After a lot of persuading, I finally made him jot down something. I knew he could think up a thought, but whatever he penned down there was more than I had envisioned. He congratulated the kid for finally receiving the Holy Communion (he spelt it as Congratz!), asked God for guidance for the kid, and may He always bless him. We were touched. Here is a kid who could not stop talking, but when he is quiet and focused on whatever he is doing, he gives his best. He is capable of doing anything. They are capable of doing anything. Anyone who is God's precious child is able to do just about anything. ^^