Franciscan at Home

On the Spot aims to highlight some fo the complex positions, questions and comments experienced by catechist, teachers and parents. It tries to outline the knowledge necessary to be fatithful to Chruch teaching and which will best help those we teach who call us to account for the hope that is in us (cf. 1 Peter 3:15). This time we consider the challenges of using the Catechism of the Catholic Church and make suggestions on how to use the first part of the Catechism with greater confidence.

“The whole concern of doctrine and its teaching must be directed to the love that never ends… the love of our Lord must always be made accessible so that anyone can see that all the works of perfect Christian virtue spring from love and have not other objective than to arrive at love.” CCC 25

Using the Catechism (all 2865 paragraphs!!) to teach can seem so daunting a task as to be impossible. To a busy teacher, catechist or parent, becoming familiar with the content, layout and organization of the Catechism may appear such a huge and time-consuming task that it is never even attempted. Teaching thus becomes, or remains, reliant on published schemes of work or personal knowledge and understanding, either of which may vary in quality.

This article suggests some points of entry to using the first part of the Catechism which may be of help in moving towards a greater confidence on the part of the one teaching and a greater accessibility to ‘the love that never ends’ on the part of the learner.

“The person who becomes a disciple of Christ has the right to receive the word of faith not in mutilated, falsified or diminished form but whole and entire in all its rigour and vigour.” (CT 30) Therefore to ensure that the person being catechised does receive the whole and entire word of faith, the formation of the catechist must equally be as complete. A well formed catechist will pass on the faith with confidence, knowing that what he or she is handing on is the pearl of great price, the Lord Jesus Himself.

This article sets out the eight key areas in which catechists need formation.

An Enchiridion of texts for the New Evangelisation has been prepared by the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization. Here we present the introduction to this invaluable collection by Archbishop Rino Fisichella (Vatican City, 29th June 2012).

When, on the 9th June 1979, at the sanctuary of Mogila in Nowa Huta, Blessed John Paul II used the expression “new evangelization” for the first time, he may not have foreseen the great movement that would be set in motion. Before the Cross that signified the first blossoming of Christianity in those lands, his heart whispered these words to him. He said that from that Cross that “on the threshold of a new millennium”, in “new times” and in “new conditions of life”, a “new evangelization” must begin. In the twenty-seven years of his pontificate that intuition progressed slowly but inexorably. With this perspective, under the same prophetic impetus, Benedict XVI instituted the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization on September 21st, 2010. At the beginning of his Apostolic Letter, Ubicumque et semper, he wrote: “… the Church … ever since she received the gift of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (cf. Acts 2:14), has never tired of making known to the whole world the beauty of the Gospel as she preaches Jesus Christ, true God and true man, the same “yesterday and today and forever” (Heb 13:8), who, by his death and Resurrection, brought us salvation and fulfilled the promise made of old. Hence the mission of evangelization, a continuation of the work desired by the Lord Jesus, is necessary for the Church: it cannot be overlooked; it is an expression of her very nature … Making my own the concerns of my venerable Predecessors, I consider it opportune to offer appropriate responses so that the entire Church, allowing herself to be regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit, may present herself to the contemporary world with a missionary impulse in order to promote the new evangelization.” Changed cultural, social and ecclesial conditions always demand a new way of preaching the Gospel so that those touched by the Word of God are enabled to change their lives and begin the journey of faith following in the footsteps of those who have become disciples of the Lord.

George Weigel’s second volume of John Paul II’s biography is entitled: The End and the Beginning. In the book’s penultimate chapter he reviews Karol Wojtyla’s life through ‘the prism of the three theological virtues’.1 By divine symmetry, John Paul II’s General Audience reflections commences where his predecessor, John Paul I, concluded his teaching, on the first three ‘lamps’ of Sanctification’ as John XXXIII called them: Faith, Hope and Charity.

Weigel speaks of the threads of John Paul II’s life as being woven into a tapestry of ‘ongoing’ intellectual, moral, psychological and emotional conversion. Through each of these deepening engagements with the presence of Christ in his life, he grew in the triple grace of baptism previously noted because of a profound commitment to giving the gift of himself to God and neighbour.

Why do we need to develop the virtues?

Arguably, the cornerstone of the moral life is the theological and the cardinal virtues. Each of us can recognize that our human nature is wounded due to the effects of Original Sin because we experience every day that it is very difficult to maintain a moral balance in our lives. We know that we must combat, above all, the selfishness and pride which hinders the perfect love for God and our neighbour to which we are called. Living virtuous lives helps us to live in true peace and joy, because we ‘not only perform good acts but give the best of ourselves’ (CCC 1803). Therefore, we should all want to pursue this goal. However, developing the virtues is not something that we simply accomplish through our own will power. ‘Christ’s gift of salvation offers us the grace necessary to persevere in the pursuit of the virtues’ (CCC 1811). At the core of all virtue is love and actions are needed to express this love.

The theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity are infused along with sanctifying grace into the soul of the person at Baptism. These virtues are supernatural, meaning that they are above our nature. These virtues form the foundation of the Christian life because they bestow on us the capacity to live in a relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This relationship consists in acting as God’s children by believing in Him and everything that He has revealed to us; hoping in His promises because we can trust Jesus, who says, ‘He Who made the promise is trustworthy’ (Heb.9:23); and loving our neighbor because of our love for Christ.

With beautiful simplicity, Holy Mother Church reminds us that this miraculous birth we are about to celebrate stands as the fulcrum point of all history. Our Blessed Lady is about to give birth. In every Catholic Church, the faithful (and not so faithful) parishioners and those without a parish are drawn to the Christmas Crib. Why? Modernism and moral relativism have chipped away at the faith of many. Scandal and apathy have hardened many hearts. Life, at its beginning and end, is no longer protected or cared for. The family is attacked in its very definition and spousal love is no longer fruitful or faithful in many homes. Why do they still come, seeking shepherds and angels and looking with longing at the man and woman and their baby?

This Christmas Story speaks of all that this world finds laughable—chastity, virginity, miracles, commitments and promises fulfilled. Perhaps we are still drawn to Bethlehem, the “House of Bread” because we believe that Mary’s son was also God. We still want what He had already given his Mother, the gift of his very life that is sanctifying grace, before he was even born. In Mary, we begin to see the truth of the great exchange we experience in the Eucharist, through the Incarnation, Jesus receives his humanity from his mother’s flesh, while as her redeemer, He makes her a partaker in the divine life. We see eternity, the beginning and the end.

We begin the Church year in advent both remembering the long preparation for Christ’s first advent in the Old Covenant and preparing ourselves for his second advent. Sometimes we assume that everyone understands the necessity of the Incarnation. I think we assume too much.

The parish community is where theory stops and practice begins! In the parish the education of children and adults is often accomplished through volunteer catechists. Most have good intentions, some have little or no catechetical formation, and much of what they think they know is not true. In the United States the Bishops have tried to address texts that give insufficient attention to the Trinity, are not centered on Christ or who downplay his divinity, ignore the magisterium, God’s initiative, the doctrine of grace, the sacraments, sin and the moral life. However, for the parish catechist, even the best texts are chosen for them by someone else, and they are given little preparation. Relying on bits and pieces of childhood memories or practices are insufficient to serve the catechetical task at hand.

Almost twenty years ago it was into this confusion that the Catechism of the Catholic Church was developed and promulgated. Not since the issuing of the Roman Catechism of the Council of Trent four hundred years earlier had the magisterium provided one source to serve as the sure norm to deliver the deposit of the faith. Ironically, after the Second Vatican Council it seemed to many parish catechists that what they had been taught as children was no longer true. In reality the Council desired to rearticulate for modern man the same truths of Divine Revelation entrusted to the Church by Jesus. The new Catechism of the Catholic Church became part of the embodiment of the real “spirit of Vatican II”: collegiality, biblical renewal, ressourcement and boldness in the presentation of the faith.

Death, judgement, heaven and hell are not things many of us consider with any frequency. But they should in fact be very close to our minds and hearts, for hidden within each of these realities is the Person of Christ.

Eschatology is sometimes referred to as “the last things”. It is a fine nickname, as far as it goes, but it can be quite misleading. For starters, these ‘last’ things are not supposed to come last at all. Instead, the reality of our own death and judgment should inform the way we live in the present moment. In other words, we should live our lives with the end in mind. Our teleology (our end, or our final purpose) supplies a certain orientation for how we are to live right now. “Although the end is last in the order of execution, yet it is first in the order of the agent’s intention”[i]. The last thing, then, becomes first.

Yet this knowledge of our ultimate end will not suffice. In our fallen humanity, we need grace in order to live according to what we know. And here, too, the term ‘last’ is lacking. For God has not left us alone and unguided in our attempts to make the last things first. In reality, we have been offered a foretaste of heaven on this side of eternity. This we find in the liturgy of Christ’s Church.

Here Lorraine Buckley reflects on a theme that may be far from our minds at Christmas but is nevertheless a reality the Church brings forward for our contemplation in the liturgy of Christ’s birth.

It may seem odd to reflect on the last things at Christmas time, but this is what the Church’s liturgy invites us to do. The Post-Modern philosophy that pervades the current cultural climate in the West rejects all types of universal meta-narratives, fragmenting our world-view and outlook. The seasons of Advent and Christmas offer particular opportunities to help break out of this cultural trend. During Advent we have been preparing ourselves to celebrate the first coming of Christ in Bethlehem and renewing our desire for Christ’s second coming. Christmas is a time when Mother Church invites her children through the liturgy to step back from our day-to-day concerns to take a wider view: one which spans the whole history of salvation from the beginning of time to the eschaton. The Masses for the Nativity are a rich liturgical source for supplementing catechesis on death, judgment, heaven and hell.
The Gospel for Mass during the Day of the Solemnity of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ[i] reminds us that “in the beginning was the Word: the Word was with God and the Word was God”[ii] and then recounts creation, the Incarnation, and the purpose of the Incarnation in bringing light to the world so that all could become children of God who would see His glory. This short little scripture passage encapsulates the whole history of creation and salvation.

Christmas is a time when we take the opportunity to go home and spend time with family. We can all relate to the experience of joy when we return home. We go back to the places where we grew up as a child or maybe our families come to us. Either way, the experience of “going home for Christmas” can be a foretaste of Heaven!

For many of us, Christmas and “going home” rest hand in hand. We gather as a family to celebrate the greatest Gift ever given to the world. The Gift of Jesus not only opened the gates of heaven, but His life, death and resurrection brought about the grace to enter those gates into eternal life. This is the supreme act of love, “the condescension of the goodness of God.” [i] Christmas is a time to gather close to the ones we love and celebrate the cause of our love and joy. There is something intrinsic to “going home” that really completes the celebration. We all know that when we are not at home for Christmas, it is not the same and something is missing.