Franciscan at Home

The etymology of “discipleship” has something to say about its meaning for today’s catechist.

The word “disciple” came into Old English some time after the first half of the seventh century, borrowed from the Latin word “discipulus” or “pupil”, as the Anglo-Saxon community was Christianised and as learning and Church reform spread[i]. The Indo-European root of this word, “*dek-”, seems to have entered Attic Greek as “didaskein”, “to teach”, and then travelled through the Roman world, as the closely related Latin “docere”, “to teach”, and “discere”, “to learn”. Once the word root reached Wales it had mutated to “dysgu”, a word that confounds in simultaneously holding both these meanings. This Welsh usage may point the way to an appropriate humility.

However, it is apt that “disciple” was adopted, rather than “pupil”, derived from the Latin “pūpillus”, as this could also be translated as “ward” or “orphan”[ii]. Christ teaches the faithful to pray to their Father[iii] and that they will not be left as orphans[iv], while to enter the Kingdom of God they should be as little children[v].

The initial proclamation of the Gospel stands at the heart of the Church’s mission to evangelize and sanctify. This first proclamation or in most cases, the re-proclamation, usually takes on a very simple format. In the beginning, God had a loving plan that was soon destroyed by sin. Sin plagued all of humanity, but God out of love and faithfulness, sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to save us from sin and restore the relationship with the Father. We participate in this saving plan in and through the Catholic Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, particularly in the profession of faith, reception of the sacraments, living the moral life, and daily prayer. This example is the basic Gospel message in very simplistic form, but as we can see, it is all there. The General Directory for Catechesis states, “Catechesis starts out with a simple proposition of the integral structure of the Christian message, and proceeds to explain it in a manner adapted to the capacity of those being catechized.”[1]

The General Directory for Catechesis makes two further points regarding catechesis and the integrity of this message. First, it states that catechesis “‘must take diligent care faithfully to present the entire treasure of the Christian message.’ This is accomplished, gradually, by following the example of the divine pedagogy with which God revealed himself progressively and gradually.”[2] The internal integrity of the message must be maintained at all times in catechesis. This is called “intensive integrity”.[3] The word “intensive” refers to the “growing in degree of” the Gospel message. As it grows, the content of the faith must be present in its entirety. Pope John Paul II wrote, “Thus, no true catechist can lawfully, on his own initiative, make a selection of what he considers important in the deposit of faith as opposed to what he considers unimportant, so as to teach the one and reject the other.”[4]

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.