Essay | The Spirit Moves Among Us: A Word of Gratitude for Our Faith Formation Family
On the morning of Pentecost, a rushing wind filled the room where the disciples had gathered, and tongues of fire rested upon each of them. The Holy Spirit did not arrive as an idea or a doctrine. It arrived as a presence—warm, personal, and impossible to ignore. Pentecost is often called the birthday of the Church, the moment when a frightened group of believers became a bold, Spirit-filled community sent out into the world with a mission: go, and share what you have received.
This Sunday, as we celebrate that great outpouring, we are reminded that it has never stopped. The same Spirit that breathed courage into the apostles continues to move in our parish; through our community, our sacraments, and with particular grace, through the dedicated men and women who serve as our Faith Formation teachers.
“You were known and loved by God even before you were born.”
Look at what our catechists carry into their classrooms each week. One teacher centers everything on this truth: that God is a loving God who does not abandon us at the door of the church. Faith, she reminds her students, is not something that happens only on Sundays. Divinity is woven into every ordinary moment; every meal, every friendship, every struggle. That is the gift of wisdom, helping young people see the sacred hidden in plain sight.
Another teacher gives the gift of knowledge, opening wide the doors of our rich tradition. Catholicism, she teaches, is not a single narrow path but a vast cathedral with countless rooms—Ignatian reflection, the Rosary, the beauty of confession, and so many more ways to draw close to God. She wants her students to know they are explorers, not simply listeners.
“God is beyond gender. God is love. Do not fear God.”
The gift of counsel lives in the teacher who tells his students simply: you are safe here. There is room for every question. God will always forgive you. In a culture that so often makes young people feel they must be perfect to be worthy; this catechist proclaims the radical mercy at the heart of the Gospel—that nothing separates us from the love of God.
And then there is the teacher whose whole message is the Eucharist. Receiving the body and blood of Christ, she says, is the greatest gift we have ever been given, not a reward for the righteous, but nourishment for the journey. In her teaching lives the gift of piety, a deep and reverent love for the sacramental life of the Church that she hopes will sustain her students long after they have left her classroom.
“True joy comes from acting like Jesus did: being kind, treating each person with dignity, and looking out for those society often ignores.”
Perhaps the most urgent message our teachers bring is also the simplest: be kind. True joy comes not from achievement or approval, but from living as Jesus lived by turning toward the forgotten, honoring the dignity of every person, championing those whom the world too often passes by. This is the gift of fortitude, the courage to love when it costs something.
On Pentecost, the disciples went out. They did not keep the Spirit to themselves. Our Faith Formation teachers do the same, week after week, in classrooms that may not look like upper rooms, but where the fire lands just the same.
To every catechist who has told a child: God is listening when you pray. You are a loved creation. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life – thank you. You are not merely teaching about the Spirit. You are, in the truest sense, its instrument.
Our parish is profoundly grateful to all the catechists who give so generously through our Interparish Religious Education Program. Students do not only learn from what our teachers say. They learn from who they are.
May the fire of Pentecost continue to burn in all of us—in our IREP community, in our homes, and in everything we do.
With deep gratitude for all who guide our young people in faith—this year and always.
– Kate Noonan, Director of Religious Education