Rola katechety w wychowaniu do modlitwy

Abstract

Though a prayer is a grace, God's gift, and its source does not depend on man, yet it can grow through man. After such an introduction the paper brings up the problem of the role of a catechist in the upbringing of young people to enable them to pray, and it solves the problem in its four successive parts. A catechist as a teacher does not replace parents which first should bring up their children to prayer, but getting to know God's doctrine, principles of psychology and didactics of prayer, he introduces us into its theory and practice. A catechist is an educator whose task is to bring up to prayer with love and joy. He plays the role of a teacher on behalf of the Church and Christ and in communion with the Holy Ghost who gives His gifts necessary for prayer. A catechist, a witness to prayer, bases himself on-the Truth, acts in virtue of his own personal moral and religious qualities, boosts confidence and thus imitates Christ's testimony who prayed in any form and at different times. The power of testimony emerges from the unity with Jesus Christ and the personal level of a catechist's prayer. Words and deeds have to be complementary here. In order to fulfill this role well, a catechist has to care about a good permanent formation. He must appreciate some necessary characteristics concerning his personal and religious maturity and integrate values ascribed to different types of a catechist. Introducing into life by way of a prayer is a remarkable goal in catechetic work and the role of a catechist is prominent here.