Catechesis for 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal says the homily should be “an exposition of some aspect of the readings from Sacred Scripture or of another text from the Ordinary or from the Proper of the Mass and should take into account both the mystery being celebrated and the particular needs of the listeners” (65, emphasis added).

The same can be said of your extended catechesis. You can base your process on a liturgical text other than the readings, taking the needs of the catechumens into account. If you intend to base your catechesis on this prayer, be sure to alert the presider to use it on Sunday.

Alternative opening prayer

God our Father,
open our eyes to see your hand at work
in the splendor of creation,
in the beauty of human life.
Touched by your hand our world is holy.
Help us to cherish the gifts that surround us,
to share your blessings with our and sisters,
and to experience the joy of life your presence.

The way of faith

• In the liturgy of the church, God the Father is blessed and adored as the source of all the blessings of creation and salvation… (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1110)
• The goods of creation are destined for the entire human race. The right to private property does not abolish the universal destination of goods. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2452)
• “On Sundays and other holy days of obligation the faithful are bound. . . to abstain from those labors and business concerns which impede the worship to be rendered to God, the joy which is proper to the Lord’s Day, or the proper relaxation of mind and body. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2193)

To see how you might use one of these three points in your catechesis, see “How to lead a 90-minute catechetical session.”

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See also these related articles:

• Teaching secrets from the ancient church
• The Four Essential Doctrines the Liturgy Teaches

Tags: Opening prayer