Franciscan at Home

There is a particularly unnerving paragraph for catechists in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It is paragraph 428 and it begins, “Whoever is called ‘to teach Christ’ …” The two paragraphs above it, 426 and 427, quote from Catechesi Tradendae and are very well known. This one is rarely seen quoted anywhere and is unique in what it teaches about the catechist. Whoever is called “to teach Christ” must first seek “the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus”; he must suffer “the loss of all things...” in order to “gain Christ and be found in him,” and “to know him and the power of his resurrection, and [to] share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that if possible [he] may attain the resurrection from the dead” (CCC 428). This paragraph quotes from St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians, chapter 3:8-11, which we will be examining; however, the context of the whole letter is significant because it gives us insight into St. Paul’s heart for what he writes in chapter 3. Though writing from prison, St. Paul is overflowing with gratitude, love, and joy: “I thank God in all my remembrance of you” (Phil 1:3); “For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus” (Phil 1:8); “my brethren, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown” (Phil 4:1).

In her book Forming Intentional Disciples, Sherry Weddell remarks that “Pew researchers found that attending CCD, youth groups and even Catholic high schools made little or no difference in whether or not an American Catholic teen ended up staying Catholic, becoming Protestant or leaving to become unaffiliated. The best predictor of adult attendance at religious service is strong adult faith.”[i] Without detracting from our efforts with children, the Catholic Church has always intended that adult faith formation receive priority in parish life. Pope St. John Paul II remarks in Catechesi Tradendae (43) that adult catechesis is “the principal form of catechesis, because it is addressed to persons who have the greatest responsibilities and the capacity to live the Christian message in its fully developed form.” Adult catechesis is centered on a lifelong deepening of faith in Christ, thus serving as the point of reference for catechesis in other age groups. Whether you are involved in religious education, youth ministry, or pastoral care at your parish, all parish staff are ministers of and to the adults of the parish. Strong catechesis of youth and young adults has its foundation in adult catechesis and we need to orient parish life to the centrality of adult faith formation.

Over the next few issues of The Catechetical Review, I will be presenting three articles on the role of the catechist: from the perspectives of a parent, a teacher in a Catholic school, and a parish volunteer. I have fulfilled all of these roles myself, but may I say at the outset that none of them has been as personally important to me as the one conferred by the vocation of marriage—that of husband and father, with responsibility for my family. This is where I will begin.

In 1981, Pope John Paul II issued Familiaris Consortio. I remember this event as clearly as if it were yesterday because it spoke directly into our circumstances. My wife, Anne, and I were anticipating the birth of our first child. One sentence stood out and its impact has never left me: “Their [the parents’] role as educators is so decisive that scarcely anything can compensate for their failure in it” (36). A few years earlier, the same pope had also pointed out that “… parents themselves profit from the effort that this demands of them, for in a catechetical dialogue of this sort each individual both receives and gives.”[i] He was telling us that if we put our efforts into this task, we would gain as much as our children.
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John Paul II’s emphasis on “the church of the home” picked up on a theme from VaticanII. The success of the Church’s educational efforts in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries had obscured the role of parents as catechists. Yet the family’s role in passing on the knowledge of God was as ancient as humanity itself. This pattern is so consistent through the Old Testament that I will not multiply examples—a few will suffice. The covenant God offered to Abraham implied an ongoing relationship with his family through the generations; his household had to be a place of instruction, prayer, and worship for the continuation of the covenant. This was reiterated in the Law of Moses: “and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise (Deut 6:7). When the new covenant was offered through Christ, the importance of the family was in no way diminished. From the earliest days of Christianity, the family was seen as the gathering place for worship and prayer, and the favored place for catechetical instruction. In Christ, spouses participate in the plan of God, imaging in their marriage Christ’s union with his bride, the Church.

Why did the newly risen Christ appear to so few people? Can you imagine the sensation that would have accompanied the crucified and risen One had he revealed himself to all those in Jerusalem who were making ready to depart after the Passover?

This is a paid advertisement that appeared in the April-June 2017 issue of The Catechetical Review.  This event is hosted by Franciscan University of Steubenville, publisher of The Catechetical Review.

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In a Catholic school everyone works together and grows together, united by a common mission to form young people in faith and knowledge for success in this life and the next. Catholic educators are more than just instructors; they are servant leaders and catechists who echo the faith. But the students are not the only ones growing; teachers grow together with their students, and, in turn, Catholic schools grow.

As an example in this article, I will refer to the experience of my son, Sam, who goes to a Catholic school. As parents, my wife and I form a partnership with the pastor, the principal, the teachers, and all the staff. We all work together to help Sam and his fellow students get an education to encounter Jesus Christ. This is why Catholic schools exist: to provide students with an encounter with the living God through every aspect of the life of the school. In the process of creating this environment of encounter, all involved have the opportunity to grow.

What was it about St. Mother Teresa that gave her such broad appeal? Did she say something new about the Catholic faith, offer people some sort of entertainment, or appeal to them with her physical beauty? Anyone with even a superficial awareness of her life would know it was none of those things.

Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen vividly described the modern thirst for witnesses like Mother Teresa in his book, Remade for Happiness. He wrote, “When you see people crowding into theatres, charging cocktail bars, seeking new thrills in a spirit of restlessness, you would conclude that they have not yet found pleasure, otherwise they would not be looking for it.” One could easily add to this more modern distractions like texting, messaging friends on Snapchat, browsing Facebook, or watching the latest viral video.

Are not the words “missionary” and “disciple,” in reality, opposites? It seems, on the one hand, that “disciple” implies remaining with, being with: passivity, contemplation, learning, etc. On the other hand, “mission” seems to imply just the opposite, a being sent, going out, going forth: activity, work, doing, etc. Pope Benedict XVI also comments on this apparent contradiction, saying, “Being with Jesus and being sent by him seem at first sight mutually exclusive...”[1] Can these words legitimately stand together? If so, how?

This article, though unable to provide a comprehensive study, will survey the main lines of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger to Pope Benedict XVI’s teaching on discipleship in order to further draw out the contours of missionary discipleship, the reality highlighted by Pope Francis in Evangelii Gaudium (nos. 119-121). This brief study will first trace the basic elements of Benedict’s understanding of discipleship, before exploring the connection between discipleship and spiritual christology made possible in Jesus’ filial communication (i.e. prayer), and the implications of what Ratzinger calls “pro-existence” on discipleship.[2]

En esta serie de reportajes relacionados con la catequesis para las personas con discapacidades, volvemos la mirada hacia San Pablo quien nos dijo que nuestra actitud debe de ser la de Cristo (Cf. Fil 2:5). En este último artículo de la serie,[i] veremos una gran variedad de condiciones incapacitantes que pueden afectar a los adultos que catequizamos o con quienes compartimos la banca en Misa. La respuesta clave en cada circunstancia es el respeto continuo, auténtico y de corazón.

Dice el Papa Francisco, "En esta época en la que el cuidado del cuerpo se ha convertido en un mito de masas y por tanto en un negocio, lo que es imperfecto debe ser ocultado, porque va en contra de la felicidad y de la tranquilidad de los privilegiados y pone en crisis el modelo imperante."[ii] Se opone a la idea de que "una persona enferma o discapacitada no puede ser feliz, porque es incapaz de realizar el estilo de vida impuesto por la cultura del placer y de la diversión". [iii]

In this series of articles concerning catechesis for persons with disabilities, we have been looking to St. Paul who told us that our attitude must be that of Christ (cf. Phil 2:5). In this last article of the series,[i] we will look at a wide variety of disabling conditions that may be affecting adults we catechize or with whom we share a pew at Mass. The key response in every circumstance is continuing, authentic, and heart-felt respect.

Pope Francis says, “In an age when care for one’s body has become an obsession and a big business, anything imperfect has to be hidden away, since it threatens the happiness and serenity of the privileged few and endangers the dominant model.” He opposes the idea that persons with disabilities “cannot be happy, since they cannot live the lifestyle held up by the culture of pleasure and entertainment.”[ii]

So what does this mean for us on a practical level? Initially, we must remember that a person is a person, no matter the age, condition, or disability. Then we must take into consideration the disability itself, as well as the age of onset and the cause of the disability, and what the future may hold for the person.