Jesus’ warning that he was sending his disciples among the wolves proved very true for Yangon catechist, David Saw Htun Nyo, 72, who sometimes had to flee wild animals during his work in remote areas of Myanmar.

The life of a catechist is a consecrated life, says Htun Nyo, who chairs the catechists’ committee of Yangon Archdiocese, after he renewed his vows along with 98 of his colleagues at a special ceremony at Sts. Peter and Paul Church, Yangon on Aug. 22.

“After sitting for the matriculation examination, I asked my father to allow me to join the catechist school,” he told ucanews.com, looking back on his 50 years of service to the Church.

“But he was angry and my mother also shed tears because they wanted me to be a government officer,” he remembered.

“I read the Gospel every day. I prayed. Then I received the inspiration that I needed to listen to God’s calling.

“In 1960, I took my belongings and left without my parents’ consent to work as a catechist,” he explained.

But the life can be very hard, Htun Nyo said, remembering his first visit to a village as a catechist.

An old housewife came up and offered a meal to the seminarian accompanying him – but not to Htun Nyo.

“As it was my first apostolic work, I felt really sad and wanted to quit,” he recalled.

“Sometimes we still have to ask for food,” he added.

“In the early days transportation was also very difficult. I traveled to remote areas where the priests could not go.

“Sometimes, we even had to teach catechism to children while they were looking after their cattle,” he explained.

When he first began, Htun Nyo received a monthly stipend of 30 kyats (around US 3 cents). Today, catechists receive 10,000 kyats (US $10) per month.

After serving for many years in the western part of the Archdiocese, Htun Nyo was called back in 1984 to Yangon where he has since served as a trainer for catechists.

He has now written a book of guidelines for catechists, which has been approved by Archbishop Charles Bo of Yangon Archdiocese, and will be distributed in the near future.

He says that a catechist must strengthen his spirituality by reciting the daily rosary, reading the Gospel and visiting the Blessed Sacrament.

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