Franciscan at Home

On August 21, 2012, the feast of St. Pius X, then-Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio—now Pope Francis—published a letter to the catechists of his Archdiocese of Buenos Aires. This is an exclusive English translation of that letter.

“In those days, Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.”  (Lk 1:39)

Dear Catechists,

'On the Spot' aims to highlight some of the complex positions, questions and comments experienced by Catechists, teachers and parents. It tries to outline the knowledge necessary to be faithful to Church teaching and which will best help those we teach who call us to account for the hope that is in us. [cf I Peter 3:15] Here we look at the challenge faced by those who try to present the faith in a hostile and aggressive environment.

‘Christianity: The belief that a cosmic Jewish zombie who was his own father can make you live forever if you symbolically eat his flesh and telepathically tell him you accept him as your master, so he can remove an evil force from your soul that is present in humanity because a rib-woman was convinced by a talking snake to eat from ...a magical tree...yeah, makes perfect sense.’

Of course, it makes no sense at all - and it certainly isn't Christianity, even in an extreme fringe form. Yet, quite suddenly it seems, the beliefs of Christians are no longer either quietly respected or ignored. Whatever the cause, many who do not accept Christianity, or even the existence of God, now feel able to publicly deny, ridicule and attack Christian belief in a way that would have not been accepted before, nor would it be tolerated now if directed towards other religions. This attitude now pervades our public life, our schools, homes and even parishes to an extent that would have been unthinkable even ten years ago. The parody quoted above has been passed around by those who find it very funny; it's possible those people would not have found it so amusing had their own deepest beliefs been lampooned in a similar way.[i]

A catechist is not merely a teacher or instructor in the modern sense; he or she is one who makes another hear, literally ‘makes the ears ring’. Part of each catechetical session is, through proclamation, letting the catechumens or candidates hear the Word of the Lord echoing down through the Tradition of the Church. Tradition is ‘that which is handed down’, that which has been gathered into the Church’s treasury of doctrine and prayer over 2000 years. This is why the words of St Cyril of Jerusalem, St Ambrose, St John Chrysostom still ring out with such clarity centuries after they were proclaimed to catechumens in the Early Church.

A catechist’s task, then, is to hand on only the accumulated wisdom of the Church and this includes her rich heritage of liturgy, whereby we listen to God our Father and enter into dialogue with Him.

In anticipation of a new English translation of the Missal next year, this is an area that needs attention and proclamation. The prayers of the Mass form a great spiritual resource for catechesis and it is easy to miss some of the riches contained in the Mass that take up only a few seconds - before moving on to what may seem the more ‘important’ parts. The Collects, or Opening Prayers, are especially vital in that they set the tone, introduce the theme, of the whole Mass of the day. The Collect is intended to gather up, to ‘collect’ the prayerful thoughts of the people as they prepare to meet the Lord in word and sacrament; we cannot do that adequately unless we understand and appreciate what the Collect is saying on our behalf. It is for this reason that catechesis on these prayers will not only be helpful but will form an important function in handing on the Tradition of the Church.

In the Lord’s Prayer we address God as ‘Father’. Catechesis on God the Father is central to our transmission of the faith. Catechists are often asked about the analogy between earthly fathers and our heavenly Father – is God our Father like an earthly father? Less often do catechists think of the priest, this other earthly ‘father’ that Catholics have, and ask: Can the priest, whom we also call ‘father’, help us appreciate and understand God’s fatherhood more fully? Yet I believe this is a valuable key.

Many say that the father of a family is a ‘real’ father and the fatherhood of the priest is only ‘something similar’. It is also common to think that the word ‘father’ really applies to the father of a family and only by analogy do we apply the term to God, that God is also ‘something similar’.

The view is frequently heard, too, that married Catholic priests are, at last, able to be fathers in the true sense of the word and that rather than this be an exception, it should be an open possibility for all priests of the Catholic Church. Celibacy is understood here in negative terms as renunciation of ‘real fatherhood’.

I, however, would argue that not only the fatherhood of the Catholic priest but celibate fatherhood is the fullest form of fatherhood possible for man because this is closest to the Fatherhood of God. Let me explain.

Catechists do two things. They announce the faith of the Church; and they assist those whom they are catechising to recognise the presence and work of God in their – the catechumens’ - lives and in the world so that the catechumens can learn that docility and receptivity which God so desires of us. The General Directory for Catechesis puts it like this:

Catholic Schools Week gives us all an opportunity to express our gratitude to the parents and families, pastors and parishes who entrust to us the privilege of teaching, and sharing in the Church’s teaching mission. They are good supporters of our work, and with them we share the weighty responsibility of bringing children to Jesus Christ; and bringing Jesus Christ to our children.

During these special days, I hope that you as administrators, teachers and staff, also hear the appreciation of God’s people for your vital work. You are the teaching Christ. You are participants in the work of the bishops, shepherding our young people. You are close co-workers with the parents. You love these children and spend so many hours with them, not only instructing them but also forming them in mind, heart, body and soul. You listen to them and correct them and encourage them. Sometimes you toss and turn at night because of them.

Thank you, dear teachers. Thank you for answering God’s call – fulfilling not just the contractual obligations of a job, but carefully and prayerfully responding to a vocation. When I was at one of the schools recently and asked the students what they were doing during Catholic Schools Week, one young boy answered that they were going to have a teacher appreciation day. He whispered to me that exactly what they were going to do was a secret. I hope you have received many signs of thanks and affection from your students.

‘On the Spot’ aims to highlight some of the complex positions, questions and comments experienced by Catechists, teachers and parents. It tries to outline the knowledge necessary to be faithful to Church teaching and which will best help those we teach who call us to account for the hope that is in us (see I Peter 3:15). This time we look at what ‘Providence’ may mean to those we teach, and we consider the distinction between Providence and the God who provides.

‘God’s Providence Is Mine Inheritance’. These words are to be found on the front of an old building in the City of Chester in the North of England. They can probably be attributed to those who lived in a previous building on the site and were spared from the plague. Others, most notably the Earl of Cork in the seventeenth century, have taken these words for their family motto, though I suspect that they may have been thinking of the words in a different light (‘Mine Inheritance is God’s Providence’), rather than expressing a trust in God to provide for the future!

“No one likes to be called stupid.” This statement spoken to me by a parish catechist attending a seminar I was presenting on The Story of Salvation provided me with a moment of clarity and grace. This catechist was hoping I could provide a way to speak about the accounts of Creation in Genesis that would deliver the truth without “looking stupid”. I had made the catechetical points and the catechist had accepted and acknowledged these. The question was not the faith of the catechist or her own assent to that faith. Neither did the question reflect timidity in proclaiming the Good News. The question was addressing the aspect of catechesis that is very real and perhaps the most daunting; how is the truth delivered to a culture which rejects the basic premise proposed? Perhaps even more to the point: how does a catechist respond, especially in areas where, in popular opinion, science or research seems to disprove, or at least test the credibility of the Word of God. When creation is proposed for belief, the response of the listener often contains terms such as “myth”, “story”, “childish”, “naïve” or just plain “stupid”. And no one likes to be called stupid.

Does a catechist need to know the scientific theories on evolution, quantum physics or genetics? Is it enough to understand how to read Sacred Scripture and that the account of creation was never meant to provide a scientific or even historical explanation of the origin of creation, including man? Perhaps we are not asking the right questions. The question to be addressed is whether the catechist has the confidence to propose the truth in a reasonable and intelligent way. The catechist needs to understand the difference between science and theology and how these two distinct threads of knowing are used in tapestry of God’s design to reveal his truth and glory and our salvation.

As is well known, at the time of the Second Vatican Council the Church adopted a less critical attitude towards the world. Dialogue appeared to be replacing apologetics. Winning the argument gave way to a sharing of hearts and minds. Although the Council documents make some tough statements about the state of the world the overall impression is that of a Church addressing the world in positive tones. “Let us reason together,” seems to be the main form of address.

But in fact the Church does not teach that the importance of dialogue does away with the fundamental duty of preaching the gospel and seeking conversion. And the recent conclusions of the Synod on New Evangelisation contained clear reaffirmations of the need for a renewed apologetcs and a clear proclamation of the Gospel.

So is it perhaps time to look again at our attitude to the world? And why should it be so important? Well, first of all, few would deny that in the western world there is massive ignorance of Christian truth. Secondly a more upbeat, less self-apologising approach to evangelisation has been emerging in the Church for some time now.

One of the most astonishing realities that parish catechists will discover throughout this Year of Faith is that the faith, articulated in the Church’s magisterial documents, is not only heartbreakingly beautiful –it is also true! Once catechists are clear about this point they can resolve to speak the more boldly, empowered by grace. And then a New Evangelization can truly take place.

I would like to look at this question of the truth of the faith through the lens of the “first echo” of some of our early Church Fathers. These early Christians said that “The world was created for the sake of the Church” (CCC 760). The Catechism goes on to say:

“God created the world for the sake of communion with his divine life, a communion brought about by the ‘convocation’ of men in Christ, and this convocation is the Church. The Church is the goal of all things.”

How many Catholics would be willing to say that in public? How many catechists believe that? Before any real re-evangelization can take place those evangelizing must believe this and be able to articulate its meaning. Good catechesis depends on a clear understanding of the role and authority of the Church and from where that authority is derived.