One common kind of catechesis is focused on breaking open Sacred Scripture. We all need the Word of God, so the importance of that kind of catechesis cannot be overstated.

Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up a mountain during the Transfiguration. He starts praying, and suddenly, his clothes shine dazzlingly. They see in the light Elijah and Moses talking to Jesus! It. Is. Awesome.

During the Feast of the Transfiguration, the prophet Daniel proclaims why his clothes turned white, and no catechist can equal or surpasses his words:

Thrones were set up and the Ancient One took his throne. His clothing was bright as snow, and the hair on his head as white as wool; his throne was flames of fire, with wheels of burning fire. A surging stream of fire flowed out from where he sat; Thousands upon thousands were ministering to him, and myriads upon myriads attended him. One like a Son of man coming, on the clouds of heaven; When he reached the Ancient One and was presented before him, The one like a Son of man received dominion, glory, and kingship; all peoples, nations, and languages serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away, his kingship shall not be destroyed.

Dan 7:9-10, 10-13

The Spirit has taught the Church that the Sacred Scriptures explain themselves. She organizes the Liturgy of the Word accordingly. On Sundays during Ordinary Time, the first reading is chosen in light of the Gospel reading (see General Introduction to the Lectionary, 106). The two readings correspond to each other. The Gospel reading fulfills the Old Testament reading. The Church also gives specific headings to the readings to further show that the New fulfills the Old. On the Sundays of Ordinary Time, there is no correspondence between the second and Gospel readings.

Too few catechists, in my experience, know those things.

For example, I heard a catechist preach on a Gospel reading during Ordinary Time. He read the entire passage. Then he spoke for several minutes about that day’s second reading in the light of the Gospel passage. He spoke for several seconds about the first reading and its connection to the Gospel reading.

The catechist spent only 5% of his time discussing the first reading. He didn’t read even one entire verse from it. He spent many times that amount talking about the second reading, although it did not correspond to the Gospel reading.

The catechist aimed to pass along the faith contained in the Gospel reading. However, he ignored what the Church gave to achieve that task. He did pass along valuable insights and some real wisdom. To an extent, however, his ideas replaced the wisdom of the Scriptures and the Church.