This strange run-on sentence is how John begins his first epistle. There is an air of excitement and exuberance that is palpable in these verses. It even comes through in translation. The truth that is life-giving must be proclaimed and passed along.

For well over a year now, we have journeyed along the Via Fidelis, our common pilgrimage together as the local Church in South Carolina. As you may recall, the Via Fidelis is patterned after the “catechumenal process” — the instruction and formation through which one enters the Catholic Church. This process is intended to punctuate conversion within each of us as Christians.

We began, consequently, with a year devoted to a rededication — or, for some, maybe a first-time dedication — to the Gospel message of salvation in Christ, the kerygma. Over the last few months, we have begun pointing to the next phase of our journey, which arrives Feb. 18, Ash Wednesday. This second year of Via Fidelis mirrors the second phase of the catechumenal process: catechesis.

But, what is catechesis? If we look the term up in a secular dictionary, we find something vague, like “oral instruction.” And this is not a bad definition; catechesis is teaching we pass from one person to another, from one generation to another, by word of mouth. But, if we look closer at the etymology of the word “catechesis,” there is a great deal of richness to feed our prayer and reflection as we enter this year. 

The English word comes to us as a translation of the Latin catechismus, which in turn is from the Greek katēkhéō (κατηχέω). Katēkhéō is derived from kata (κατά), meaning “down” or “thoroughly” — think of the expression “from the top down” — and ēkhéō (ἠχέω), which means “sound,” “echo” or “resound.” So, what secular dictionaries render as oral instruction is perhaps better rendered as “aural” instruction, something heard and repeated.

A catechist, then, is one who instructs in the faith by hearing and repeating. Catechizing is in complete resonance with the Word of God.

The cited passage at the beginning is from the First Letter of John; it captures a sense of something that has been (seen and) heard being passed on. Here we also see the close connection between the idea of evangelization, proclamation and catechesis. We can even feel John’s original exuberance move our hearts as we simply read his message nearly 2,000 years later. 

The truth of the faith, especially the essential, life-giving message of the Gospel, resounds in our hearts. And, therefore, the sound or echo of that message should be evident in our words and seen in our actions as we give witness to others. This is often the shorthand that those in catechetical ministry use to define catechesis: an echo of the saving truth of the faith. The saving truth we pass on is Christ himself, the Word of God. The catechist, then, is one who “reverberates” (verbum in Latin means “word”) or “resounds” with the Gospel.

When we hear the word “echo,” we think of a sound that repeats more and more softly as it fades away, gets lost and eventually disappears. This is not what we mean when we use “echo” to describe catechesis. The notion of resonance is helpful here: when the truth of the faith resounds within us, our whole being is taken up with this resonance. 

Think of a musical instrument, including the human voice used musically. What makes music is the resonance of a tone as it vibrates through some material at a certain frequency. Accordingly, what makes catechesis is the resonance of the Gospel, the resonance of the Word himself, that Word spoken eternally by the Father who took on our humanity, suffered, died, rose and ascended to save us. It is this very Word that resounds in our hearts, our words, our very being.

To push the image of resonance further, those who love music and musical instruments know that resonance is a major factor in determining the quality of a musical instrument. The clarity and character of resonance that an instrument facilitates makes all the difference. The materials, the artistry of construction and the arrangement of components allow sound to move in a particular and peculiar way — and so it is with us.

A catechist is one who communicates the Word and allows the Word to move his or her whole being sonorously. There are unique factors that have contributed to the faith journey through which the Lord has “built” each catechist. Because of this, each catechist has a unique resonance and can project the sound of the Word in a particular way. 

As Christians, each of us resounds with the Word in a special way. Therefore, all are called to catechize in some manner, whether giving systematic and organized instruction as formal catechists, or in our witness to others in daily life.

We are all instruments of the Word. We help that Word resound in the hearts of others.