Catechesis
Next Entries »Putting on Errors: How Pride Corrupts Catechesis
Wednesday, May 14th, 2008In the 1990s, shortly after the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the United States bishops formed the Ad Hoc Committee to Oversee the Use of the Catechism. Ever since, this body has helped to ensure that all catechetical materials are in “conformity” with the Catechism. The criteria are not particularly exacting, but [...]
Novice Training
Wednesday, May 7th, 2008One of the hallmarks of the Church in our age is the renewed emphasis on the role of the laity. Drawing upon the rich, traditional teaching of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), the Church reminds the laity that all of us are called to holiness by virtue of our Baptism, and we are all called to [...]
Christ the Teacher . . . and Subject
Wednesday, April 30th, 2008When it comes to catechesis, Jesus Christ is both the teacher and the subject that is “taught.” We simply cannot understand the Church’s catechetical ministry–that is, her response to the Lord’s call to make disciples of all nations–unless we grasp this fundamental point. But wait a minute! In the definition of catechesis that we gave [...]
Catechetically Speaking . . .
Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008Today we begin at this blog a weekly series on the Church’s catechetical mission. As I noted last week, the inspiration for this series comes from the Holy Father himself, who desires that we bridge the gap between faith and the everyday lives of believers through sound catechetical formation. This series has to start somewhere, [...]
Bringing Faith to Life
Friday, April 18th, 2008Next Wednesday we will begin on this blog a weekly series on the Church’s catechetical ministry, which is nothing other than the practical application of Our Lord’s command to “make disciples of all nations” (Mt. 28:19). Much of the impetus for this series comes from the recent addresses of Pope Benedict here in the United [...]
Dare to Discipline
Thursday, February 21st, 2008I used to listen to a talk radio host who would say, “In the department store of life, sports is, after all, the toy department.” Surely that’s a useful message for us “weekend warriors.” But let’s take that comment a step further. In the department store of life, is our faith merely a department–and a [...]
Who’s Your Teacher?
Tuesday, February 19th, 2008Sometimes our strategies backfire. One of the incentives we give to our busy three-year-old son Raymond to behave at Mass, at least on Sundays (and Wednesdays when it’s not Lent) is that he may have a donut after Mass if he does a good job. He was a little talkative during Mass today, so my daughter [...]
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