USCCB - Catechesis in the Catholic Church

Catechism of the Catholic Church

Catechism Update
Winter 1999

From The Chairman
Let me begin by thanking you, my brother bishops, for the words of praise and encouragement I received from many of you following my oral report to the General Assembly on November 15. It is good to know of your continuing interest in and support of the work of the Catechism Committee.

The other Committee members and I believe it is important to keep you apprised of any directions we give to catechetical publishers as well as decisions we make regarding catechetical materials. Working with the catechetical publishers has been an extremely beneficial experience for us, and also, we believe, for the Church in the United States. We also want you to be aware of developments in the various aspects of the feasibility study of a national catechism or catechetical series. Since I updated you on these issues in November, I will not address all of them here.

The most important development in our feasibility study has been the work engaged in by an inter-Committee task force. Chaired by Bishop Donald Wuerl, this task force has been looking at possible ideas, content and structure for a national adult catechism. On behalf of the other members of the Catechism Committee, I want to thank not only Bishop Wuerl, but also the other bishops who have worked with him on the task force: Bishop Gordon Bennett, Bishop Al Hughes, Archbishop William Levada, Bishop William Lori and Bishop Joseph Martino. The work of this task force has contributed tremendously to the feasibility study by helping the members on the Catechism Committee see that a national adult catechism is feasible. However, as I mentioned during my oral report, it still remains to be determined whether the development of such a text would be advisable. It is my plan to make a recommendation concerning both the feasibility and advisability of either a national catechism or a catechetical series in September, 2000.

It is also my hope to bring before the Body of Bishops next year a formal proposal to establish a permanent standing Bishops' Committee on Catechesis. As I mentioned while speaking to you on November 15, my experience as chair of the Ad Hoc Committee to Oversee the Use of the Catechism has convinced me of the need for a group who can exercise episcopal leadership and oversight for the entire catechetical mission of the Church in the United States. I hope all of you will come to share this conviction.

Finally, it appears certain that the second edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church will be available early in the Spring. The modifications from the editio typica will be incorporated into the text of this edition. While the Index of Citations that appeared in the original edition will remain unchanged, the Subject Index from the first edition will be replaced with an English translation of the Index Analyticus from the editio typica. Pope John Paul II's apostolic letter, Laetamur Magnopere, promulgating the Latin language version of the Catechism, will be included in this second edition for the United States, as well as a glossary of terms based on the language of the Catechism. I am confident that these additions which will appear in the second edition of the Catechism will make the text easier to use. (The full text of Archbishop Buechlein's oral report can be found in Origins - November 25, 1999; Vol. 29, No. 24)

Correlation with Ecclesia in America - Segment Two
The Fall, 1999 issue of Catechism Update included the first of a series of articles correlating Ecclesia in America and the Catechism. This second segment focuses on Part III, "The Path of Conversion." As is the case with all such correlations, this is not intended to be exhaustive. The selections from both documents were chosen to be representative of the message and teaching contained in each.

Ecclesia in America

. . . The encounter with the living Jesus impels us to conversion. In speaking of conversion, the New Testament uses the word metanoia, which means a change of mentality. It is not simply a matter of thinking differently in an intellectual sense, but of revising the reasons behind one's actions in the light of the Gospel. This means that true conversion needs to be prepared and nurtured through the prayerful reading of sacred Scripture and the practice of the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist. Conversion leads to fraternal communion, because it enables us to understand that Christ is the head of the church, his mystical body; it urges solidarity, because it makes us aware that whatever we do for others, especially for the poorest, we do for Christ himself. Conversion, therefore, fosters a new life, in which there is no separation between faith and works in our daily response to the universal call to holiness. (#26)
Catechism of the Catholic Church

"The Church has always venerated the divine Scriptures as she venerated the Body of the Lord" (DV 21): both nourish and govern the whole Christian life. "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." (Ps 119:105; cf Isa 50:4) (¶141)

From the Sermon on the Mount onwards, Jesus insists on conversion of heart: reconciliation with one's brother before presenting an offering on the altar, love of enemies, and prayer for persecutors, prayer to the Father in secret, not heaping up empty phrases, prayerful forgiveness from the depths of the heart, purity of heart, and seeking the Kingdom before all else. This filial conversion is entirely directed to the Father. (¶2608)

Conversion is accomplished in daily life by gestures of reconciliation, concern for the poor, the exercise and defense of justice and right, by the admission of faults to one's brethren, fraternal correction, revision of life, examination of conscience, spiritual direction, acceptance of suffering, endurance of persecution for the sake of righteousness. Taking up one's cross each day and following Jesus is the surest way of penance. (¶1435)

Hence, for the Christian people of America conversion to the Gospel means to revise "all the different areas and aspects of life, especially those related to the social order and the pursuit of the common good." . . . Involvement in the political field is clearly part of the vocation and activity of the lay faithful. (#27) The initiative of lay Christians is necessary especially when the matter involves discovering or inventing the means for permeating social, political, and economic realities with the demands of Christian doctrine and life. This initiative is a normal element of the life of the Church. (¶899)

As with any ethical obligation, the participation of all in realizing the common good calls for a continually renewed conversion of the social partners. Fraud and other subterfuges, by which some people evade the constraints of the law and the prescriptions of societal obligation, must be firmly condemned because they are incompatible with the requirements of justice. Much care should be taken to promote institutions that improve the conditions of human life. (¶1916 )

In this life, conversion is a goal which is never fully attained: On the path which the disciple is called to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, conversion is a lifelong task. . .The universal call to conversion has special implications for the church in America, involved as she is in the renewal of faith. The synod fathers expressed this very specific and demanding task in this way: "This conversion demands especially of us bishops a genuine identification with the personal style of Jesus Christ, who leads us to simplicity, poverty, responsibility for others and the renunciation of our own advantage so that, like him and not trusting in human means, we may draw from the strength of the Holy Spirit and of the Word all the power of the Gospel, remaining open above all to those who are furthest away and excluded. (#28) The human heart is heavy and hardened. God must give man a new heart. Conversion is first of all a work of the grace of God who makes our hearts return to him: "Restore us to thyself, O LORD, that we may be restored." God gives us the strength to begin anew. It is in discovering the greatness of God's love that our heart is shaken by the horror and weight of sin and begins to fear offending God by sin and being separated from him. The human heart is converted by looking upon him whom our sins have pierced: Let us fix our eyes on Christ's blood and understand how precious it is to his Father, for, poured out for our salvation, it has brought to the whole world the grace of repentance. (¶1432)

Intrinsically linked to the sacramental nature of ecclesial ministry is its character as service. Entirely dependent on Christ who gives mission and authority, ministers are truly "slaves of Christ," in the image of him who freely took "the form of a slave" for us. Because the word and grace of which they are ministers are not their own, but are given to them by Christ for the sake of others, they must freely become the slaves of all. (¶876)

The proposal of a new style of life applies not only to the pastors, but to all Christians living in America. They are asked to know more deeply and to make their own a genuine Christian spirituality. . . . Among the many elements of spirituality which all Christians must make their own, prayer holds a preeminent place. Prayer leads Christians "little by little to acquire a contemplative view of reality, enabling them to recognize God in every moment and in every thing; to contemplate God in every person; to seek his will in all that happens. Prayer, both personal and liturgical, is the duty of every Christian. (#29) Prayer in the events of each day and each moment is one of the secrets of the kingdom revealed to "little children," to the servants of Christ, to the poor of the Beatitudes. It is right and good to pray so that the coming of the kingdom of justice and peace may influence the march of history, but it is just as important to bring the help of prayer into humble, everyday situations; all form of prayer can be the leaven to which the Lord compares the kingdom. (¶2660 )

Prayer and Christian life are inseparable, for they concern the same love and the same renunciation, proceeding from love; the same filial and loving conformity with the Father's plan of love; the same transforming union in the Holy Spirit who conforms us more and more to Christ Jesus; the same love for all men, the love with which Jesus has loved us. "Whatever you ask the Father in my name, he [will] give it to you. This I command you, to love one another." (¶2745)

Christian spirituality is nourished above all by a constant sacramental life, since the sacraments are the root and endless source of God's grace, which believers need to sustain them on their earthly pilgrimage. . . It should also be noted that this spirituality is not opposed to the social responsibilities of the Christian life. On the contrary, in following the path of prayer, believers become more conscious of the Gospel's demands and of their duties toward others. Through prayer, they are strengthened with the grace they need to persevere in doing good. (#29) "The purpose of the sacraments is to sanctify men, to build up the Body of Christ and, finally, to give worship to God. Because they are signs they also instruct. They not only presuppose faith, but by words and objects they also nourish, strengthen, and express it. . . ." (¶1123)

It is necessary, then, to appeal to the spiritual and moral capacities of the human person and to the permanent need for his inner conversion, so as to obtain social changes that will really serve him. The acknowledged priority of the conversion of heart in no way eliminates but on the contrary imposes the obligation of bringing the appropriate remedies to institutions and living conditions when they are an inducement to sin, so that they conform to the norms of justice and advance the good rather than hinder it. (¶1888)
Conversion is directed to holiness, since conversion "is not an end in itself but a journey toward God who is holy. To be holy is to be like God and to glorify his name in the works we accomplish in our lives. On the path to holiness, Jesus Christ is the point of reference and model to be imitated." (#30) "All Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of charity." All are called to holiness: "Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." In order to reach this perfection the faithful should use the strength dealt out to them by Christ's gift, so that. . .doing the will of the Father in everything, they may wholeheartedly devote themselves to the glory of God and to the service of their neighbor. Thus the holiness of the People of God will grow in fruitful abundance, as is clearly shown in the history of the Church through the lives of so many saints. (¶2013)
"I am the way, the truth and the life." With these words Jesus presents himself as the one path which leads to holiness. But a specific way knowledge of this way comes chiefly through the Word of God, which the church proclaims in her preaching. Therefore, the church in America "must give a clear priority to prayerful reflection on sacred Scripture by all the faithful. This reading of the Bible, accompanied by prayer, is known in the tradition of the Church as lectio divina, and it is a practice to be encouraged among all Christians. For priests, the lectio divina must be a basic feature of the preparation of their homilies, especially the Sunday homily. (#31) The lectio divina, where the Word of God is so read and meditated that it becomes prayer, is thus rooted in the liturgical celebration. (¶1177)

Meditation engages thought, imagination, emotion, and desire. This mobilization of faculties is necessary in order to deepen our convictions of faith, prompt the conversion of our heart, and strengthen our will to follow Christ. Christian prayer tries above all to meditate on the mysteries of Christ, as in lectio divina or the rosary. This form of prayerful reflection is of great value, but Christian prayer should go further: to the knowledge of the love of the Lord Jesus, to union with him. (¶2708)
Conversion (metanoia), to which every person is called, leads to an acceptance and appropriation of the new vision which the Gospel proposes. This requires leaving behind our worldly way of thinking and acting, which so often heavily conditions our behavior. . . . Strongly recommended on this path of conversion and quest for holiness are "the ascetical practices" which have always been part of the church's life and which culminate in the sacrament of forgiveness, received and celebrated with the right dispositions. Only those reconciled with God can be prime agents of true reconciliation with and among their brothers and sisters. (#32) Conversion to Christ, the new birth of Baptism, the gift of the Holy Spirit and the Body and Blood of Christ received as food have made us "holy and without blemish," just as the Church herself, the Bride of Christ, is "holy and without blemish." Nevertheless the new life received in Christian initiation has not abolished the frailty and weakness of human nature, nor the inclination to sin that tradition calls concupiscence, which remains in the baptized such that with the help of the grace of Christ they may prove themselves in the struggle of Christian life. This is the struggle of conversion directed toward holiness and eternal life to which the Lord never ceases to call us. (¶1426)

The confession of sins, even from a simply human point of view, frees us and facilitates our reconciliation with others. Through such an admission man looks squarely at the sins he is guilty of, takes responsibility for them, and thereby opens himself again to God and to the communion of the Church in order to make a new future possible. (¶1455)

The way of perfection passes by way of the Cross. There is no holiness without renunciation and spiritual battle. Spiritual progress entails the ascesis and mortification that gradually lead to living in the peace and joy of the Beatitudes. (¶2015)