S Shared Christian Praxis And Cavalletti's Catechesis Of The Good Shepherd

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Blessed with the task of educating the faithful, catechists are challenged to invite others into a relationship with Christ. Over time, theologians have developed varying pedagogies meant to direct the catechist in his or her ministry, though it is important that these methods be in conformity to the Divine Pedagogy. Groome’s Shared Christian Praxis and Cavalletti’s Catechesis of the Good Shepherd draw upon the Pedagogy of God through the role of the catechist and through the means by which one obtains knowledge.
According to Groome’s pedagogy, the role of the catechist is exceedingly active and directive; shared Christian Praxis requires a significant amount of time, energy and effort from the catechist. Especially in reference to Groome’s
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If the catechist according to Groome is a sort of “emcee” for the task of religious educator, the catechist to Cavalletti is a mediator. Catechesis of the Good Shepherd profoundly exhorts that the goal of catechesis is an encounter with God, not the mastery of curriculum-centered material, and that the catechist should be self-effacing. Therefore, Cavalletti asserts with respect to a child’s relationship with the Good Shepherd: “the catechist’s task is to create specific conditions so that this relationship may be established, but to withdraw as soon as contact occurs. We should take the greatest care not to intervene between God and the child with our encumbering person” (Cavalletti 52). In this way, Cavalletti’s method deeply respects the mystery of a child’s relationship with God and does not try to control or direct it, as one might argue is the case with Shared Christian Praxis. It is fair then to claim that Cavalletti’s model conforms to the Divine Pedagogy, which states that catechesis “is a pedagogy which serves and is included in the ‘dialogue of salvation’ between God and the person…with regard to God it underlines divine initiative…with regard to man it highlights the dignity of the gift received and the demand to grow continually therein” (GDC 143). The mediating position of the catechist watches as a relationship of love is born between God and the child who is …show more content…
In this regard, Groome’s Shared Christian Praxis method is immensely focused on dialogue and utilizing the personal experiences of an individual to understand God in light of the Christian Story. Conversation and critical reflection about one’s present action, when applied to the Christian Story, should change the way one does something. Groome argues that “dialogue is especially necessary in a religious education context… it is a conversation with our own biographies, with our own stories and visions…By such human dialogue the world can be named and common consciousness created for its transformation” (Groome 189). By reflecting upon one’s life and story, the Christ who is revealed in Christian Tradition can be concretized and better understood. The General Directory for Catechesis, in speaking about the Divine Pedagogy of God as Teacher writes, “He causes the person to grow progressively and patiently toward the maturity of a free son…God transforms events in the life of his people into lessons of wisdom, adapting himself to the diverse ages and life situations” (GDC 139). Groome’s method therefore conforms to this pedagogy by nature of its orderly revelation of the Truth and the space it gives for personal adaption of the

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