A childhood memory about a mysterious “magic eye” helped Cardinal Robert W. McElroy illustrate a lesson about God’s love and mercy during his keynote address to more than 700 catechists at the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington’s annual Catechetical Day on Oct. 17 at DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Maryland.
The cardinal said that he and his sister, Mary, had a habit of sucking their thumbs as young children. Hoping to break the habit, their mother consulted a doctor, who recommended taping a tongue depressor to each child’s thumb, drawing an eye on it and coating it with a bitter-tasting substance.
The children were told that the eye could see whenever they tried to put their thumbs in their mouths. Although they devised ways to avoid the unpleasant taste, they obeyed their mother’s instructions to leave the tongue depressors in place.
Cardinal McElroy compared that childhood experience to the image some people have of God as an ever-watchful eye waiting to catch them doing something wrong. He urged catechists to dispel that image and help those they teach understand God’s love, compassion and mercy.
Catechists representing 63 parishes across the archdiocese attended the gathering, which featured a keynote address and Mass celebrated by Cardinal McElroy, followed by afternoon workshops offered in English and Spanish.
Sara Blauvelt, the archdiocese’s secretary for catechesis, welcomed participants and thanked them for answering the call to share the Catholic faith. She expressed hope that the day would provide encouragement and inspiration as they continued their ministry in their parishes.
Throughout his address, Cardinal McElroy emphasized the responsibility catechists have to communicate God’s love through their teaching, their example and their interactions with the families they serve.
Reflecting on the Holy Trinity, he described creation and the human family as gifts of God the Father. Families, he said, provide a place where people first encounter love and develop the relationships that help shape their lives.
The cardinal, who had recently returned from a gathering on marriage and family life in Rome, spoke about the challenges facing families across cultures. He pointed to the growing influence of artificial intelligence, social media and digital technology, which can draw family members away from personal interaction and weaken relationships within the home.
He encouraged catechists to recognize the difficulties families face and approach them with understanding and compassion, creating a welcoming environment for people whose family circumstances or experiences of faith may differ from their own.
Drawing on Pope Francis’s repeated invitation to welcome “todos, todos, todos” — everyone, everyone, everyone — Cardinal McElroy emphasized the inclusive nature of God’s love.
“Everyone is welcome. Everyone is cared for,” he said. “God draws no boundaries.”
The cardinal also encouraged catechists to help people recognize that God’s mercy is especially present during times of personal failure.
Referring to a reflection by Pope Benedict XVI, he asked why Jesus chose Peter to lead the Church when the Apostle John had remained faithful at the foot of the cross.
Peter, he noted, had denied Jesus and experienced failure, yet was entrusted with leadership of the Church.
The cardinal explained that Peter’s experience of failure and forgiveness offered hope to Christians struggling with their own shortcomings.
“When we fail in this life, God is walking with us more closely, not less closely,” he said.
Cardinal McElroy also invited those gathered to close their eyes and recall someone who had exemplified a particular virtue, such as compassion, integrity or forgiveness.
After allowing a moment for reflection, he asked how many had thought of a parent. He then asked how many had remembered a teacher.
Teachers, he noted, were the second most frequently identified group, illustrating the lasting influence they can have on those entrusted to their care.
He encouraged catechists to develop the virtues they are best able to demonstrate, recognizing that everyone has strengths and areas in which they struggle.
“We are not called to be perfect. We are called to do the best that we can to live out those virtues,” he said.
For Ayrah Bermuda, a catechist at Mother Seton Parish in Germantown, Maryland, the cardinal’s message reinforced the importance of getting to know the young people and families she serves.
Bermuda, who is in her third year teaching Confirmation preparation to eighth grade students, said catechists must be witnesses to their faith, pointing others toward God through their words and actions.
She emphasized the importance of understanding the different circumstances families face, particularly those experiencing difficulties, and accompanying them in their faith journeys without judgment.
Bermuda said teaching the faith has also strengthened her own understanding of Catholicism. Working with young people and preparing to teach them has led her to revisit aspects of the faith she thought she knew and discover how much more she has to learn.
Other catechists attending the gathering described how their parishes work to accommodate families seeking sacramental preparation for their children.
Rosa Pineada of St. Martin of Tours Parish in Gaithersburg, Maryland, said her parish takes an individualized approach when families seek sacraments for children who have not received them at the customary ages.
“We treat every family the same and focus on what works best for the family,” she said.
Martha Chacon, who has served as a catechist for 20 years at Our Lady Help of Christians Parish in Waldorf, Maryland, described a similar approach. She said her parish works with parents to determine how sacramental preparation can best accommodate their families’ needs.
Following the keynote address, Cardinal McElroy celebrated Mass for the catechists, emphasizing the joy of sharing the Gospel and the Christian hope of eternal life.
“One of the great things about being a catechist is that, as Pope Francis pointed out, we get to show the joy of the Gospel,” he said in his homily.
Reflecting on the day’s Scripture readings, the cardinal reminded those gathered that Christians already possess citizenship in heaven, a reality he said should shape their understanding of life on earth.
“We are not citizens of the earth primarily. We are first citizens of heaven,” he said.
He described heaven as the fulfillment of the love and relationships that give human life meaning, including the hope of being reunited with loved ones who have died. Drawing on the teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas, Cardinal McElroy reflected on the transformation Christians will experience in the presence of God, when sinfulness and selfishness are removed and only love remains.
Following Mass and lunch, participants attended workshops covering a range of topics related to religious education and missionary discipleship. Sessions addressed preparing young people for Confirmation, strengthening faith formation within families, incorporating literature and liturgy into religious education, accompanying adults entering the Catholic Church, welcoming peoplewith disabilities, caring for creation, and understanding technology and artificial intelligence from a biblical perspective.
In concluding his keynote address earlier in the day, Cardinal McElroy offered encouragement to catechists who may sometimes wonder whether their efforts are making a difference.
He reflected on the Gospel parable of the sower, explaining that in biblical times, a person who scattered seeds often worked across multiple fields and might never see the eventual harvest.
“So the sower almost never saw the harvest,” he said.
The cardinal compared that experience to the ministry of catechists, who may spend years planting the seeds of faith without knowing how those lessons will shape the lives of their students.
He acknowledged that some efforts may appear unsuccessful and that even priests sometimes struggle to know whether their preaching has reached those listening.
The fruits of their work, he said, may become apparent only years later.
“Do not be discouraged,” he told the catechists, reminding them that God’s grace is at work through their words, their actions and their witness to the faith.
