CHAPTER III

Loci and means of catechesis

The Christian community is a home for catechesis (²⁴²)

253. The Christian community is the historical realization of the gift of "communion" (koinonia), (²⁴³) which is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. "Communion" expresses the profound nucleus between the universal Church and the particular Churches which make up the Christian community. It is realized and made visible in the rich variety of immediate Christian communities in which Christians are born into the faith, educated in it and live it: the family; parish; Catholic schools; Christian associations and movements; basic ecclesial communities. These are the loci of catechesis, the community places where initiatory catechesis and continuing education in the faith are realized. (²⁴⁴)

254. The Christian community is the origin, locus and goal of catechesis. Proclamation of the Gospel always begins with the Christian community and invites man to conversion and the following of Christ. It is the same community that welcomes those who wish to know the Lord better and permeate themselves with a new life. The Christian community accompanies catechumens and those being catechized, and with maternal solicitude makes them participate in her own experience of the faith and incorporates them into herself. (²⁴⁵)

Catechesis is always the same. However the loci (²⁴⁶) of catechesis distinguish it, each in its own way. Hence it is important to know the role of each of these.