Catechesis for 20th 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.

First opening prayer

Let us pray
[that the love of God
may raise us beyond what we see
to the unseen glory of his kingdom]

God our Father,
may we love you in all things and above all things
and reach the joy you prepared
for us beyond all our imagining.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

The way of faith

• The first commandment summons us to believe in God, to hope in God, and to love God above all else. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2134)
• Adoring, praying to, and offering God the worship that belongs to him, are acts of the virtue of religion which fall under obedience to the first commandment. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2135)
• We are made to live in communion with God in whom we find happiness. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 45)

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

---

See also these related articles:

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

Tags: Opening prayer