On May 10, 2021, Pope Francis gave the Apostolic Letter about instituting the ministry of the catechist. In two places, the letter throws light on the topic of the vocation of the catechist.

6. In their daily life, interwoven with family and social relationships, the laity come to realize that they “are given this special vocation: to make the Church present and fruitful in those places and circumstances where it is only through them that she can become the salt of the earth” (ibid., 33). We do well to remember, however, that in addition to this apostolate, “the laity can be called in different ways to more immediate cooperation in the apostolate of the hierarchy, like those men and women who helped the apostle Paul in the Gospel, working hard in the Lord” (ibid.).

8. This ministry (of the catechist) has a definite vocational aspect, as evidenced by the Rite of Institution, and consequently calls for due discernment on the part of the Bishop. It is in fact a stable form of service rendered to the local Church in accordance with pastoral needs identified by the local Ordinary, yet one carried out as a work of the laity, as demanded by the very nature of the ministry. It is fitting that those called to the instituted ministry of Catechist be men and women of deep faith and human maturity, active participants in the life of the Christian community, capable of welcoming others, being generous and living a life of fraternal communion.

Those two paragraphs are mostly about the conduct and behavior of the catechist. In other parts of the letter, the Pope describes what constitutes suitable formation of catechists. However, those parts are secondary to those that preach a certain way of life to catechists.

I recall how Saint Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, according to the wisdom of the Church, describes in blunt terms the dispositions required to be a catechist:

Whoever is called “to teach Christ” must first seek “the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus”; he must suffer “the loss of all things. . .” in order to “gain Christ and be found in him”, and “to know him and the power of his resurrection, and (to) share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that if possible (he) may attain the resurrection from the dead. 

Catechism, 428

The Apostle declares that the catechist must be a baptized and true believer before all else.

Teachers need subject matter expertise. Jesus is the subject matter for catechists; they can develop subject matter expertise if they participate in the ‘sense of the faith’ (also called the ‘sensus fidei’) received at baptism. When they participate in the sense of the faith, catechists understand Jesus, can speak about him, and recognize authentic teaching about him.

Subjects of the sensus fidei are men and women who are, first and foremost, living a faithful Christian life. There are various places that one can start considering the topic of the ‘vocation of the catechist,’ but all the roads end at the same place: the catechist leading a Christian life.

The catechist who truly wants to teach Jesus Christ and to reveal  that he is the revelation of God’s plan of loving goodness, who wants to explain the meaning of Jesus’ words and deeds, and who wants to put people in touch with Jesus in the sacraments, should consider these six dispositions that the International Theological Commission formulated as it deliberated how one participates in the sensus fidei:

• Participation in the life of the Church
• Listening to the word of God
• Openness to reason
• Adherence to the magisterium
• Holiness
• Seeking the edification of the Church