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Catechesis in Catechesis in our time our time Personal notes from Pope Personal notes from Pope John Paul II John Paul II Sowers of Truth Sowers of Truth
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Page 1: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis in our Catechesis in our timetime

Personal notes from Pope John Personal notes from Pope John Paul IIPaul II

Sowers of TruthSowers of Truth

Page 2: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis is about Christ

Before Christ ascended to his Father, he gave the Apostles a final command–to make disciples of all nations and to teach them to observe all that he had commanded.

Page 3: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis is about Christ

“Go, therefore, and make

disciples of all nations,

baptizing them in the name

of the Father, and of the Son,

and of the holy Spirit,

teaching them to observe all

that I have commanded you.”

Mt 28:18-20

Page 4: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis is about Christ

WE HAVE BUT ONE

TEACHER, JESUS CHRIST:

PUTTING INTO

COMMUNION WITH THE

PERSON OF CHRIST

Page 5: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis is about Christ

Christocentricity of all

authentic catechesis

Page 6: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis is about Christ

At the heart of catechesis we

find, in essence, a Person,

the Person of Jesus of

Nazareth.

Page 7: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis is about Christ

It is Jesus who is “the way,

and the truth, and the life”,

and Christian living consists

in following Christ.

Page 8: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis is about Christ

The primary and essential

object of catechesis is “the

mystery of Christ”.

Page 9: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis is about Christ

To reveal in the Person of

Christ the whole of God’s

eternal design reaching

fulfillment in that Person.

Page 10: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

“To make all men see what is

the plan of the mystery and

to comprehend with all the

saints what is the breadth

and length and height and

depth know the love of Christ

which surpasses knowledge

(and be filled) with all the

fullness of God”.

Page 11: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

DIVIDER

SLIDE

Page 12: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

TRANSMITTING CHRIST’S TEACHING

6. Christocentricity in

catechesis means the

intention to transmit not one’s

own teaching or that of some

other master, but the

teaching of Jesus Christ, or,

the Truth that He is.

Page 13: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

TRANSMITTING CHRIST’S TEACHING

It is Christ, the Incarnate

Word and Son of God, who is

taught–everything else is

taught with reference to him.

Page 14: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

TRANSMITTING CHRIST’S TEACHING

It is Christ alone who

teaches–anyone else

teaches to the extent that he

is Christ’s spokesman,

enabling Christ to teach with

is lips.

Page 15: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

TRANSMITTING CHRIST’S TEACHING

Every catechist must

constantly endeavour to

transmit by his teaching and

behaviour the teaching and

life of Jesus.

Page 16: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

TRANSMITTING CHRIST’S TEACHING

The catechist will not seek to

keep directed towards

himself and his personal

opinions and attitudes the

attention and the consent of

the mind and heart of the

person he is catechizing.

Page 17: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

TRANSMITTING CHRIST’S TEACHING

Above all, the catechist will

not try to inculcate his

personal opinions and

options, as if they expressed

Christ’s teaching and the

lessons of his life.

Page 18: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

TRANSMITTING CHRIST’S TEACHING

Every catechist should be

able to apply to himself the

mysterious words of Jesus:

“My teaching is not mine, but

his who sent me”.

Page 19: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

TRANSMITTING CHRIST’S TEACHING

Saint Paul said: “I received

from the Lord what I also

delivered to you”.

Page 20: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

TRANSMITTING CHRIST’S TEACHING

In order that he can say: “My

teaching is not mine”!

every catechist must have:

Page 21: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

TRANSMITTING CHRIST’S TEACHING

every catechist must have:

[a] An assiduous study of the

word of God transmitted by

the Church’s Magisterium,

[b] A profound familiarity with

Christ and with the Father,

Page 22: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

TRANSMITTING CHRIST’S TEACHING

every catechist must have:

[c] a spirit of prayer, and

[d] detachment from self.

Page 23: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

TRANSMITTING CHRIST’S TEACHING

Every baptized person,

precisely by reason of being

baptized, has the right to

receive from the Church

instruction and education

enabling him or her to enter

on a truly Christian life;

Page 24: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

DIVIDER

SLIDE

Page 25: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis is about Christ

Every human being has the

right to seek religious truth

and adhere to it freely, that is

to say “ without coercion on

the part of individuals or of

social groups and any human

power”,

Page 26: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis is about Christ

21. There is absolute need

for systematic catechesis:

= it must be systematic, not

improvised but programmed

to reach a precise goal;

= it must be sufficiently

complete;

Page 27: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Systematic catechesis:

= it must deal with essentials,

without any claim to tackle all

disputed questions;

= it must be an integral

Christian initiation, open to all

the other factors of Christian

life.

Page 28: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis & Life Experience

22. It is useless to play off

orthopraxis against

orthodoxy: Christianity is

inseparably both.

Page 29: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis & Life Experience

Firm and well-thought-out

convictions (orthodoxy) lead

to courageous and upright

action (orthopraxis).

Page 30: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis & Life Experience

It is useless to abandon

serious and orderly study of

the message of Christ in the

name of a method

concentrating on life

experience.

Page 31: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis & Life Experience

No one can arrive at the

whole truth on the basis

solely of some private

experience,

Page 32: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis & Life Experience

No one can arrive at the

whole truth without an

adequate explanation of the

message of Christ, who is

“the way, and the truth, and

the life”. (Jn. 14:6)

Page 33: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis Is About Christ

27. Catechesis will always

draw its content from the

living source of the word of

God transmitted in Tradition

and the Scriptures,

Page 34: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis Is About Christ

For “sacred Tradition and

sacred Scripture make up a

single sacred deposit of the

word of God, which is

entrusted to the Church.”

Page 35: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis Is About Christ

Catechesis will be all the

richer and more effective for

reading the texts with the

intelligence and the heart of

the Church and for drawing

inspiration from two thousand

years of the Church’s

reflection and life.

Page 36: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis Is About Christ

29. Care should be taken not

to reduce Christ to his

humanity alone or his

message to a no more than

earthly dimension, but that

he should be recognized as

the Son of God.

Page 37: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis Is About Christ

It is important to display

before the eyes of the

intelligence and of the heart,

in the light of faith, the

sacrament of Christ’s

presence constituted by the

mystery of the Church.

Page 38: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis Is About Christ

It is important to explain that

the history of the human

race, marked as it is by grace

and sin, greatness and

misery, is taken up by God in

his Son Jesus,

“foreshadowing in some way

the age which is to come”.

Page 39: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis Is About Christ

Finally, it is important to

reveal frankly the demands–

demands that involve self-

denial but also joy–made by

this new life in Christ Jesus,

Page 40: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis Is About Christ

This new life in Christ Jesus

is the same thing as life in

the world but lived in

accordance with the

beatitudes and called to an

extension and transfiguration

in the hereafter.

Page 41: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

DIVIDER

SLIDE

Page 42: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis is about Christ

30. In order that the

sacrificial offering of his or

her faith should be perfect,

Page 43: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis is about Christ

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.

Page 44: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis is about Christ

Theologians and exegetes

have a duty to take great

care that people do not take

for a certainty what on the

contrary belongs to the area

of questions of opinion or of

discussion among experts.

Page 45: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis is about Christ

Catechists for their part must

have the wisdom to draw

from the true sources, in the

light of the Magisterium.

Page 46: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis is about Christ

Catechists must refuse to

trouble the minds of the

people they are instructing

with outlandish theories,

useless questions and

unproductive discussions.

Page 47: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis is about Christ

The most valuable gift that

the Church can offer to the

bewildered and restless

world of our time is to form

within it Christians who are

confirmed in what is essential

and who are humbly joyful in

their faith.

Page 48: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis is about Christ

The man who wishes to

understand himself

thoroughly–and not just in

accordance with immediate,

partial, often superficial, and

even illusory standards and

measures of his being–

Page 49: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis is about Christ

but thoroughly - he must

come to Christ with his

unrest and uncertainty, with

his weakness and sinfulness,

with his life and death.

Page 50: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis is about Christ

He must, so to speak, enter

into Christ with all his own

self, he must ‘appropriate’

Christ and assimilate the

whole of the reality of the

Incarnation and Redemption

in order to find himself”.

Page 51: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis is about Christ

If this profound process takes

place within such a man, it

then bears fruit not only in

adoration of God, but also a

deep wonder at himself:

Page 52: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis is about Christ

How precious must I be in

the eyes of my Creator if I

gained so great a Redeemer,

and if God should give His

only Son, so that I should not

perish but have eternal life.

Page 53: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis is about Christ

In reality, the name for this

deep wonder and

amazement at man’s worth

and dignity is the Gospel, the

Good News.

It is also called Christianity.

Page 54: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

DIVIDER

SLIDE

Page 55: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Every Catechist Must

Be Faithful to the

Integrity of Revealed

Truth

JP II General audience of

January 9, 1985

Page 56: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Every Catechist Must Be Faithful to the Integrity of Revealed Truth

Catechesis is a work of the

Church which spreads the

Good News throughout the

world.

Page 57: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Every Catechist Must Be Faithful to the Integrity of Revealed Truth

Through catechesis the

Church is aware of

responding to man’s most

essential questions.

Page 58: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Every Catechist Must Be Faithful to the Integrity of Revealed Truth

Where does man come

from? Why does he exist?

What are his relationships

with God and with the

invisible world?

Page 59: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Every Catechist Must Be Faithful to the Integrity of Revealed Truth

How must he behave in order

to achieve the goal of life?

Why is he subject to suffering

and death, and what is his

hope?

Page 60: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Every Catechist Must Be Faithful to the Integrity of Revealed Truth

To these problems

catechesis brings God’s

response.

Page 61: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Every Catechist Must Be Faithful to the Integrity of Revealed Truth

Catechesis aims to give an

understanding of a doctrine

that is not simply the product

of certain personal

researches, but the truth

communicated to us through

divine revelation.

Page 62: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Every Catechist Must Be Faithful to the Integrity of Revealed Truth

Therefore, in communicating

the truth of salvation,

catechesis is concerned with

making manifest the

fundamental questions

arising in man’s heart.

Page 63: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Every Catechist Must Be Faithful to the Integrity of Revealed Truth

Catechesis shows how God

has answered them in his

revelation with a gift of truth

and life that surpasses man’s

deepest expectations.

(cf. 1 Cor 2:6-9).

Page 64: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Every Catechist Must Be Faithful to the Integrity of Revealed Truth

The role of catechesis is to

give certitude, based on the

authority of revelation.

Page 65: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Integrity of Content

Far from raising doubts or

confusion through the

problems it considers,

catechesis enlightens the

intellect and strengthens it

with firm convictions.

Page 66: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Integrity of Content

Certainly, with the answers it

supplies, catechesis

introduces the human soul

more deeply into the mystery

of revelation.

Page 67: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Integrity of Content

But this mystery gives light to

the mind even if during this

earthly life it does not dispel

all the shadows.

Page 68: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Integrity of Content

We cannot understand

everything, but what is

understood is enough to

point out the fundamental

truths and the meaning of

life.

Page 69: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Integrity of Content

The fundamental structure of

catechesis is the meeting

between man’s question and

God’s response.

Page 70: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Integrity of Content

Although being attentive to

the human side of the

problem, catechesis is not

limited to reflections of a

human character,

Page 71: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Integrity of Content

= nor to investigations of a

philosophical, psychological

or sociological order,

= nor to the effort merely to

preface revelation.

Page 72: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Integrity of Content

Catechesis is aware of

having to expound revealed

truth and have it understood,

a truth which it does not have

the power to reduce or

attenuate.

Page 73: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Integrity of Content

Catechesis seeks to adapt its

teaching to the capacity of

those who receive it.

Page 74: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Integrity of Content

But catechesis does not

claim the right to veil or

suppress a part of the truth

which God himself has willed

to communicate to man.

Page 75: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

A Problem of Faith

It can be clearly seen that the

Christian message may be

difficult to understand and

accept. Many ideas contrary

to evangelical doctrine are

circulating in the world.

Page 76: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

A Problem of Faith

Some maintain an attitude of

opposition to everything that

is taught in the name of the

Church.

Page 77: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

A Problem of Faith

In the face of such

resistance, the catechist

could be tempted to retreat,

= not to expound the

Christian message in all its

truth and all its demands on

life, and

Page 78: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

A Problem of Faith

In the face of such

resistance, the catechist

could be tempted to retreat,

= to limit himself to some

more admissible points.

Page 79: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

A Problem of Faith

It is then that the catechist

must remember that he has

been charged with a teaching

that surpasses him.

He must strive to propose the

teaching as he received it.

Page 80: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

A Problem of Faith

Above all, the catechist must

be aware that in his work of

catechesis he has at his

disposal a divine power that

enables him to transmit his

faith,

Page 81: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

A Problem of Faith

The Holy Spirit makes the

word penetrate into the heart

of his listeners to the extent

that the catechist’s word is

faithful to the truth it has to

express.

Page 82: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

A Problem of Faith

The problem of catechesis is

a problem of faith.

Catechesis therefore counts

on the power of grace to

transmit to children and to

adults the integral gift of the

faith.

Page 83: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

A Problem of Faith

Every catechist has the duty

to communicate the whole

Christian message and

receives from Christ himself

the ability to carry out this

mission fully.

Page 84: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis

Pope John Paul II

General audience, 1/9/1985

Page 85: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

DIVIDER

SLIDE

Page 86: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

The Spirit of Faith Is

Essential to Every

Christian Catechesis

Pope John Paul II

General audience of January 16, 1985

Page 87: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

The Spirit of Faith & Christian Catechesis

Christ offered his listeners

the whole doctrine he had

been sent to teach.

Page 88: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

The Spirit of Faith & Christian Catechesis

In the face of the resistance

of those who heard him,

Christ expounded his

message with all the

demands of faith that it

involves.

Page 89: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

The Spirit of Faith & Christian Catechesis

Despite objections and

defections, Jesus maintained

his doctrine and asked his

disciples to accept it.

(cf. Jn 6:60-69).

Page 90: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

The Spirit of Faith & Christian Catechesis

In transmitting the entirety of

his message to his listeners,

Jesus counted on the

illuminating action of the Holy

Spirit, who would later make

them understand what they

couldn’t yet grasp.

(cf. Jn 14:26; 16:13).

Page 91: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

The adaptation of catechesis

must not mean the reduction

or mutilation of the content of

revealed doctrine, but rather

the effort to have it accepted

with an adherence of faith,

under the light and with the

power of the Holy Spirit.

Page 92: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis: Organic & Systematic

Catechesis stresses the

necessity for an organic and

systematic teaching, not an

improvised one.

Page 93: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis: Organic & Systematic

If it is true that “routine leads

to stagnation, lethargy and

eventual paralysis,

we must acknowledge that

improvisation begets

confusion on the part of

those being given

catechesis;

Page 94: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis: Organic & Systematic

Improvisation also begets all

kinds of deviations, and the

fracturing and eventually the

complete destruction of

unity”. (CT 17).

Page 95: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis: Organic & Systematic

= Catechesis must deal with

essentials, without any

claims to tackle all disputed

questions;

= Catechesis must be

sufficiently complete;

Page 96: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis: Organic & Systematic

= Catechesis must deal with

essentials, without any

claims to tackle all disputed

questions;

= Catechesis must be

sufficiently complete;

Page 97: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis: Organic & Systematic

Catechesis must be an

integral Christian initiation,

open to all the other factors

of Christian life. (CT 21).

Page 98: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis: Organic & Systematic

The intention to give a

complete teaching arises

spontaneously from an

attitude of faith and love

which is loyal to all of

revelation and wishes to

communicate it.

Page 99: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis: Organic & Systematic

The spirit of faith is essential

to every Christian catechesis.

Page 100: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis: Organic & Systematic

Catechesis must be

regulated in its contents and

in its methods by the

structure proper to such

transmission.

Page 101: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Catechesis: Organic & Systematic

This includes the inseparable

connection between Sacred

Scripture, Tradition and the

Magisterium. (cf. DV 10).

Page 102: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

DIVIDER

SLIDE

Page 103: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

Adequate Doctrinal

Preparation Is Fundamental

for Catechists

General audience of March

6, 1985

The obligation of catechesis

implies for the Church an

intense work of formation of

catechists.

Again, Christ’s example

enlightens us. During his

ministry, Jesus devoted

himself above all to forming

those who were to spread his

message throughout the

whole world.

He dedicated much time to

preaching to the crowds, but

he reserved more time to the

formation of disciples.

He had them live in his

company in order to inculcate

in them the truths of his

message. He did this not

only by his words, but by his

example and his daily

contacts.

He revealed to his disciples

the secrets of his kingdom.

He had them enter the

mystery of God, whose

revelation he himself

brought.

He stirred up faith in them

and gradually developed it

with an ever more complete

instruction.

When he gave them the

mission to teach all nations,

he was able to entrust this

task to them because he had

gifted them with the doctrine

they were to spread. But the

full understanding of that

doctrine would come to them

from the Holy Spirit, who

would give them the divine

power of the apostolate.

The formation of catechists is

an essential element in the

common commitment to the

development and the vitality

of the Church. It is necessary

everywhere.

Doctrinal formation is a

fundamental necessity,

seeing that catechesis

cannot be limited to teaching

a minimum of truths that are

learned and repeated by

rote. If catechists have the

mission to inculcate in their

listeners the whole Christian

doctrine, they must first have

learned it well themselves.

They must not merely

witness to their faith, they

must communicate its

content.

The teaching received in

preparation for Baptism,

Confirmation or Communion

is often insufficient for an

exact and profound

knowledge of the faith to be

transmitted. A more

systematic study is

indispensable.

At times, circumstances have

forced those responsible for

catechesis to have recourse

to the cooperation of people

of good will, but who lack an

adequate preparation. Such

solutions are generally

wanting.

To assure the future of a

solid catechesis it is

necessary to entrust this

work to catechists who

through study have acquired

doctrinal competence.

This doctrinal formation is

even more necessary in so

far as catechists live in a

world in which ideas and

theories of all kinds abound.

These are often incompatible

with the Christian message.

Catechists must be able to

react to what they see and

hear, discerning what can be

accepted from what must be

rejected. If they have

assimilated the Christian

doctrine and have

understood its meaning, they

will be able to teach it with

fidelity, even maintaining an

open spirit.

Doctrinal formation requires

an effort of the intellect for

learning revealed doctrine,

yet it must at the same time

deepen the faith. The

essential goal of catechesis

is the communication of the

faith, and this must guide the

study of doctrine.

A study that would question

the faith or that would

introduce doubts about

revealed truth would not

serve catechesis. The

development of doctrinal

knowledge must coincide

with a development of faith.

For this reason, institutes of

catechetical formation must

be considered above all as

schools of faith.

Catechesis cannot be

considered a mere

professional activity, since it

exists in order to spread

Christ’s message in the

world. For this reason

catechesis is at the same

time a vocation and a

mission.

It is a vocation, because

there is a call from Christ for

those who want to devote

themselves to this task.

It is a mission, because from

the very beginning

catechesis was established

in the Church in order to

carry out the command of the

Risen Savior: “Go and make

disciples of all the nations”

(Mt 28:19).

The teaching of Christian

doctrine aims not merely at

knowledge of truth, but at the

spread of faith. It stirs up an

allegiance to Christ in the

intellect and in the heart and

enlarges the Christian

community.

Catechesis must therefore be

undertaken as a mission of

the Church and a mission for

the Church. Catechesis

contributes to building up the

Mystical Body of Christ, to its

growth in faith and charity.

The missionary spirit inspires

catechists to dedicate all

their strength and talents to

teaching. This makes them

more aware of the

importance of their work and

enables them to face all

difficulties with greater

confidence in the grace that

sustains them.

We therefore hope that

progress in the formation of

catechists will foster

everywhere the development

of the Church and the

Christian life on the basis of

that sincere, convinced and

consistent faith to which

catechesis is directed.

v.villa jpa1 catechesis.doc

5/14/97

It is also called Christianity.

Page 104: Pope John Paul II Catechesis

DIVIDER

SLIDE

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DIVIDER

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DIVIDER

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