I prefer a Church that has an accident than a sick Church: Pope to Catechists

Vatican City, 28 September 2013: “The first thing, for a disciple, is to be with the Master: to listen to and learn from Him.” "This is always the case, and it is a way that lasts a lifetime!", said Pope Francis on Friday evening in the Vatican while talking with about 2000 participants of the International Conference on Catechesis, organized for the Year of Faith, which is meeting under the theme “Catechist: A Witness of Faith”.
Be "familiar" with Christ, imitate him going beyond oneself to reach out to others and not be afraid to go with Jesus into the peripheries of human existence. This is what it takes to be a good catechist, Pope Francis pointed out to catechists from 50 countries.
"I too am a catechist," said the Pope, as he mentioned three "elements" for "being" a catechist, "one of the finest educational adventures," with which "the Church is built!"
"Being" a catechist, he stressed, "not 'doing' catechism, since 'being' encapsulates life. We go towards the encounter with Christ with words and life, bearing witness. 'Being' a catechist requires love, ever greater love for Christ, love for his holy people. And this love, necessarily, begins with Christ."
The pope went on to say "I like to remember that Saint Francis said, 'Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words,' before the witness of life." Putting aside his written text, he told catechists not to be "closed" in their environments, but to "go out" despite the danger of accidents on the road. In fact, " I prefer a Church that has an accident than a Church that is sick."
For him, starting afresh from Christ means "to be familiar with Him." Indeed, "The first thing, for a disciple, is to be with the Master: to listen to and learn from Him. This is always the case, and it is a way that lasts a lifetime! For me, as an example , it is very important to be in front of the Tabernacle. It is like being in the presence of the Lord, letting Him look at you. This warms the heart, keeps the fire of friendship alive, makes you feel that He is really looking at you, that He is close to you and loves you."
The second element is "starting afresh from Christ" which "means imitating him in going beyond oneself to reach out to others. [. . .] The more you become united with Jesus, [the more] He becomes the centre of your life, and makes you go beyond yourself. With him, you open up to others and are no longer the centre of yourself. This is love's real energy; this is the movement of God himself. God is the centre, but he is always the gift of self, relationship, life that is communicated . . . This is how we become as well, if we remain united to Christ.
The third element is also "starting afresh from Christ", which means "not being afraid to go with him in the peripheries, [. . .] not being afraid of leaving our mind-sets to follow God, because God always goes beyond. God is not afraid of the peripheries. God is always faithful; he is creative; he is not closed, and for this reason, he is never rigid. He welcomes us, comes to us, [and] understands us.
Source: AsiaNews