Evangelization and Systematic Catechesis
Continuing our look into Pope John Paul II’s Apostolic Exhortation Catechesi Tradendae, On Catechesis in Our Time, we will now move from understanding catechesis as maintaining the integrity of the deposit of faith to the notion of systematic catechesis.
Systematic catechesis is the process whereby an individual is brought from the moment of initial conversion to Jesus to a mature discipleship in the Church. The questions of method and approach are subordinated to the broader concept of this systematic catechesis because the pedagogy serves the goal and may be changed in order to properly meet the ends of those receiving instruction in the Gospel, which we talked about in the last post.
From our previous understanding of keeping the integrity of the message and balancing it with the disposition of the intended audience, we now proceed on how to make that accommodation worthy of the title "catechesis."
The pope is framing this systematic catechesis within the “moment of evangelization” as Pope Paul VI put it in his Evangelii Nuntiani. Evangelization "is a rich, complex and dynamic reality, made up of elements, or one could say moments, that are essential to and different from each other, and that must all be kept in view simultaneously." Catechesis cannot be separated from evangelization, but its "specific character" is that
"catechesis is an education of children, young people and adults in the faith, which includes especially the teaching of Christian doctrine imparted, generally speaking, in an organic and systematic way, with a view to initiating the hearers into the fullness of Christian life." (CT 18)
In this regard, catechesis is related to, but not the same as, the initial proclamation of the gospel or missionary preaching, "apologetics or examination of the reasons for belief, experience of Christian living, celebration of the sacraments, integration into the ecclesial community, and apostolic and missionary witness." Catechesis is complementary with all of these works of the faith, remaining "one of these moments - a very remarkable one - in the whole process of evangelization."
CT 19 speaks to this relationship between evangelization and catechesis by making it “distinct from the initial conversion” of the individual. Catechesis has two objectives: to “mature the initial faith” and to educate the student “by means of a deeper and more systematic knowledge of the person and message of our Lord Jesus Christ” (CT 19).
And it is here that the pope makes an important observation about the relationship between initial proclamation and catechesis in various scenarios. For example, it is true that many children today have been baptized into the faith and come to the church for instruction "without receiving any other initiation into the faith and still without any explicit personal attachment to Jesus Christ." This probably the most common experience of the typical America parish. Kids who have been Catholic since infancy have no real commitment to Jesus or the Church. This affects the way we catechize, for it
"must often concern itself not only with nourishing and teaching the faith, but also with arousing it unceasingly with the help of grace, with opening the heart, with converting, and with preparing total adherence to Jesus Christ on the part of those who are still on the threshold of faith. This concern will in part decide the tone, the language and the method of catechesis."
We see here in the language of the pope the desire to intentionally frame catechesis to initiate the individual systematically into the Mystery of Christ. Systematic catechesis does not mean just lesson plans, scope and sequences, and a five year curriculum. It means discerning the place of the hearer and making decisions on how to proceed to develop them into mature disciples. Method and language are the means to that end.
Systematic Catechesis: It's Specific Aim
Now we proceed to CT 20, which is a crucial component to understanding our work as catechists.
“The specific aim of catechesis is to develop, with God’s help, an as yet initial faith, and to advance in fullness and to nourish day by day the Christian life of the faithful, young and old. It is, in fact, a matter of giving growth, at the level of knowledge and in life, to the seed of faith sown by the Holy Spirit with the initial proclamation and effectively transmitted by Baptism.”Our work is that of the farmer, who utilizes his skills and knowledge in order to cultivate the land and make the craps grow. Patience with our student is key, as we seek not only cognitive apprehension of data, but life-changing understanding. In short, we preach ongoing conversion to Christ to an audience who little knows Him and in an age which has found itself moving past Him. The steady cultivation of the faith of each disciple must be as systematic as the farmer, knowing when to utilize apologetics and when to cultivate prayer, how to engage the culture and when to stand against the tide of society. This is why our work is more an art, keeping in mind always the tension that catechesis brings.
We have mentioned numerous times the aim of catechesis. The pope restates this aim in a more specific way:
"Catechesis aims therefore at developing understanding of the mystery of Christ in the light of God's word, so that the whole of a person's humanity is impregnated by that word. Changed by the working of grace into a new creature, the Christian thus sets hiself to follow Christ and learns more and more within the Church to think like Him, to judge like Him, to act in conformity with His commandments, and to hope as He invites us to."
We work for two things: understanding and change. As our Lord prayed in John 17: "Now this is eternal life: that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you have sent, Jesus Christ." The individual meets Christ and converts to Him, but needs further instruction on what this new life of grace means for him and how he is to be "filled with the fullness of God" (Ephesian 3:19). The following of Christ for the rest of one's life is the purpose of being His disciple and it is the task of the catechist to present the depths of the wisdom of God's word so the following of Jesus can actually take place.
"To put it more precisely" says the pope in the third paragraph of CT 20, "within the whole process of evangelization, the aim of catechesis is to be the teaching and maturation stage". The initial proclamation is "the period in which the Christian, [has] accepted by faith the person of Jesus Christ as the one Lord and [has] given Him complete adherence by sincere conversion of heart". Encountering Jesus as both my Savior and my God begins conversion. Catechesis, then,
"endeavors to know better this Jesus to whom he has entrusted himself: to know His 'mystery,' the kingdom of God proclaimed by Him, the requirements and promises contained in His Gospel message, and the paths that He has laid down for anyone who wishes to follow Him."
Being a Christian means living a life of faithfulness, not just the initial response of our confession of faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. We must go deeper as believers and as catechists:
"It is true that being a Christian means saying 'yes' to Jesus Christ, but let us remember that this 'yes' has two levels: It consists in surrendering to the word of God and relying on it, but it also means, at a later stage, endeavoring to know better and better the profound meaning of this word."
Systematic Catechesis: Needed Now More than Ever
Pope Paul VI gave some closing remarks to the fourth general assembly of the synod of bishops on the topic of systematic catechesis and how he views this moment of evangelization. It is precisely through the "reflective study of the Christian mystery" that is systematic catechesis which "distinguishes it from all other ways of presenting the word of God."
There are four key points that Pope John Paul wants to emphasize for our instruction:
- "It must be systematic, not improvised but programmed to reach a precise goal
- It must deal with essentials, without any claim to tackle all disputed questions or to transform itself into theological research or scientific exegesis
- It must nevertheless be sufficiently complete, not stopping short at the initial proclamation of the Christian mystery such as we have in the kerygam
- It must be an integral Christian initiation, open to all other factors of Christian life."
For me in working with high school youth I have a 4 year curriculum plan framed by CT 20: understanding and change. These are goals: what will the teenager in my ministry understand after 4 years of being involved and what in their life will have changed. Then I get even more specific with my semester breakdowns. Each semester forms a catechetical unit, such as on the Person of Jesus, or the Paschal Mystery of Jesus, following the USCCB guidelines and the Life Teen resources. Within each semester all of the individual Life Nights, as we call them, are broken down by the twin goals of understanding and change. I ask myself this question every single time I plan a Life Night or educational event: what will they understand about Jesus Christ at the end of the night through my talks, the prayers and small groups and what in their lives will have changed.
This keeps our focus on living the Christian life and not just having information accumulated. The pope goes into the relationship between orthodoxy- right teaching- and its relationship with orthopraxis- right living, showing how catechesis and life experience are inseparably united. Understanding and change bring about true conversion as every new thing we learn about our Lord becomes yet another reason to love Him more.
God love you,
Michael Gormley
AMDG
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