Nancy D’souza speaks about the YOUCAT at her workshop at the University of Calgary on August 17, 2013. (Photo: Paddy Magdua)
On October 11, 2012, then-Pope Benedict XVI instituted the Year of Faith through to November 24, 2013 which, in its many aims, promotes the New Evangelisation. While these 409 days are largely devoted to our own mission as Catholics and as CFC-Youths–to be and bring Christ wherever we are–in the form of missionary proclamation, we cannot forget our duty to be well equipped when we proclaim the Gospel. Just as Christ went with His missionary disciples in Spirit (Matthew 28:19-20), He goes with us in Tradition and the living Magisterium: for us youth He is manifested especially in the Youth Catechism or YOUCAT, as it’s popular known.
The YOUCAT workshop on the afternoon of August 17 was a firm reminder that we are well equipped by God. A distillation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (a compilation of principles in the Catholic faith introduced by Blessed John Paul II in 1992), the YOUCAT stands as a primary measure when we are uncertain about what we believe. Arranged in question-and-answer format, with sections mirroring the original Catechism, it is geared towards youth although its reach extends to adults. It is not only an instruction manual of how to live a Catholic life but also a means of evangelisation in itself; just as our favourite stories act as gateways to fictional worlds, the YOUCAT is a gateway to a fullness of life in Christ.
Our speaker for the session stressed interpersonal relationships not only between us and those whom we encounter but also between us and Christ. If our faith extends beyond our feelings about God and into knowledge of Him, then our catechesis and evangelism should do the same.
I remember when I received my YOUCAT last fall at a Mass celebrated by the Archbishop of Vancouver J. Michael Miller. The Mass’ main audience was post-secondary youth. Each one of us received a YOUCAT without cost or condition. I know that there was at least one youth there stirred into inquiring deeper into his or her faith. This personal gesture led to a greater personal relationship with those I spoke to about the YOUCAT but also with Christ.
The anchor verse for CFC-Youth’s Youth Communications program reaffirms the necessity to know Him as we face the uncertainties of a growing secular influence but also the hopefulness of bringing others to Christ:
But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim Him? (Romans 10:14, NRSV)
To proclaim Christ to the best of our ability necessitates an intimate personal relationship with Him as our God but also as the Man who we share. If we send out generation after generation armed with not only their Bibles but their Catechisms, be they the YOUCAT or otherwise, I believe that the missionary outreach we achieve (through God) will be firmly rooted in deep relationships: in others but, foremost, in Christ.
John Ray Catingub, CFC-Youth Pacific Region
