In this chapter the relationship of catechesis with the other elements of evagelization, of which it is itself an integral part, is demonstrated. Thus, firstly, the relationship of catechesis with the primary proclamation, which is realized in mission, is described. There follows an examination of the close connection between catechesis and the sacraments of Christian initiation. Then is perceived the fundamental role of catechesis in the ordinary life of the Church and its role as continuing teacher in the faith. Special consideration is given to the relationship between catechesis and the teaching of religion in schools, since both activities are profoundly inter-connected, and, together with education in the Christian home, are basic to the formation of children and young people. Primary or first proclamation and catechesis
Primary proclamation is addressed to non-believers and those living in religious indifference. Its functions are to proclaim the Gospel and to call to conversion. Catechesis, "distinct from the primary proclamation of the Gospel", 182CT 19. promotes and matures initial conversion, educates the convert in the faith and incorporates him into the Christian community. The relationship between these two forms of the ministry of the word is, therefore, a relationship of complementary distinction. Primary proclamation, which every Christian is called to perform, is part of that "Go" 183Mk 16:15 and Mt 28:19. which Jesus imposes on his disciples: it implies, therefore, a going-out, a haste, a message. Catechesis, however, starts with the condition indicated by Jesus himself: "whosoever believes", 184Mk 16:16. whosoever converts, whosoever decides. Both activities are essential and mutually complementary: go and welcome, proclaim and educate, call and incorporate.
Nevertheless in pastoral practice it is not always easy to define the boundaries of these activities. Frequently, many who present themselves for catechesis truly require genuine conversion. Because of this the Church usually desires that the first stage in the catechetical process be dedicated to ensuring conversion. 185Cf. CT 19; DCG (1971) 18. In the "missio ad gentes", this task is normally accomplished during the 'pre-catechumenate'. 186RCIA 9-13. cf. CIC 788. In the context of "new evangelization" it is effected by means of a "kerygmatic catechesis", sometimes called "pre-catechesis", 187In the present directory it is supposed that those to whom kerygmatic catechesis or pre-catechesis is addressed will be interested in the Gospel. In situations where they have no such interest then primary proclamation is called for. because it is based on the precatechumenate and is proposed by the Gospel and directed towards a solid option of faith. Only by starting with conversion, and therefore by making allowance for the interior disposition of "whoever believes", can catechesis, strictly speaking, fulfil its proper task of education in the faith. 188Cf. RCIA 9,10,50; CT 19. The fact that catechesis, at least initially, assumes a missionary objective, does not dispense a particular Church from promoting an institutionalized programme of primary proclamation to execute more directly Jesus's missionary command. Catechetical renewal should be based thus on prior missionary evangelization. Catechesis at the service of christian initiation Catechesis, an essential "moment" in the process of evangelization
The Apostolic Exhortation Catechesi Tradendae places catechesis firmly within the Church's mission and notes that evangelization is a rich, complex and dynamic reality which comprises essential but different "moments". "Catechesis", it adds, "is one of these moments—a very remarkable one—in the whole process of evangelization". 189CT 18; cf CT 20c. This is to say that there are activities which "prepare" 190CT 18. for catechesis and activities which "derive" from it 191Ibidem. The "moment" of catechesis is that which corresponds to the period in which conversion to Jesus Christ is formalized, and provides a basis for first adhering to him. Converts, by means of "a period of formation, an apprenticeship in the whole Christian life", 192AG 14. are initiated into the mystery of salvation and an evangelical style of life. This means "initiating the hearers into the fullness of Christian life". 193CT 18.
In discharging in different ways the initiatory function of the ministry of the word, catechesis lays the foundation for the building of the faith. 194St Cyril of Jerusalem, Catecheses illuminandorum, I, 11; PG. 33, 351-352. Other functions of the same ministry will continue to build, at different levels, on that foundation. Initiatory catechesis is thus the necessary link between missionary activity which calls to faith and pastoral activity which continually nourishes the Christian community. This is not, therefore, an optional activity, but basic and fundamental for building up the personality of the individual disciple, as it is for the whole Christian community. Without it, missionary activity lacks continuity and is sterile, while pastoral activity lacks roots and becomes superficial and confused: any misfortune could cause the collapse of the entire building. 195Cf. Mt 7:24-27. In truth, "the inner growth [of the Church] and her correspondence with God's plan depend essentially on catechesis". 196CT 13; cf. CT 15. In this sense catechesis must always be considered a priority in evangelization. Catechesis, at the service of Christian initiation
Faith, by means of which man responds to the proclamation of the Gospel, requires Baptism. The close connection between the two realities is rooted in the will of Christ himself, who commanded his apostles to make disciples of all nations and to baptize them. "The mission to baptize, and so the sacramental mission, is implied in the mission to evangelize". 197CCC 1122. Those who have converted to Jesus Christ and who have been educated in the faith by means of catechesis, by receiving the sacraments of Christian initiation (Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist) "are delivered from the powers of darkness through the sacraments of Christian initiation and having died, been buried, and risen with Christ, they receive the Spirit of adoption as children and celebrate with the whole people of God the memorial of the Lord's death and resurrection". 198AG 14. Cf. CCC 1212, 1229.
Catechesis, is thus, a fundamental element of Christian initiation and is closely connected with the sacraments of initiation, especially with Baptism, "the sacrament of faith". 199CCC 1253. In the baptismal catechumenate of adults in the mission ad gentes catechesis precedes Baptism. In the catechesis of the baptized, formation is subsequent to Baptism. However, also in this case a function of catechesis is to help to discover and bring to life the immense richness of Baptism already received. CCC 1231 uses the expression post-baptismal catechumenate. ChL 61 calls it post-baptismal catechesis. The link uniting catechesis and Baptism is true profession of faith, which is at once an element inherent in this sacrament and the goal of catechesis. The aim of catechetical activity consists in precisely this: to encourage a living, explicit and fruitful profession of faith. 200Cf. CCC 1229; CD 14. The Church, in order to achieve this, transmits to catechumens and those to be catechized, her living experience of the Gospel, her faith, so that they may appropriate and profess it. Hence, "authentic catechesis is always an orderly and systematic initiation into the revelation that God has given of himself to humanity in Christ Jesus, a revelation stored in the depths of the Church's memory and in Sacred Scripture, and constantly communicated from one generation to the next by a living active traditio". 201CT 22. Cf. CT 21b, 18d. Fundamental characteristics of initiatory catechesis
Catechesis acquires certain characteristics in virtue of being an "essential moment" in the process of evangelization, in the service of Christian initiation. 202Cf. CT 21. It is: – a comprehensive and systematic formation in the faith. The Synod of 1977 underscored the need for a "comprehensive and structured" 203Two things need to be underlined in this synodal contribution taken from Catechesi Tradendae: the preoccupation to take into account a pastoral problem ("I insist on the necessity of an organic and systematic Christian education because for diverse reasons there has been a tendency to minimize its importance"), and the fact of considering the organic nature of catechesis as the principal characteristic connoting it. catechesis, since catechesis is principally distinguished from other forms of presenting the word of God by its comprehensive and vital deepening of the mystery of Christ; – this comprehensive formation includes more than instruction: it is an apprenticeship of the entire Christian life, it is a "complete Christian initiation", 204CT 21. which promotes an authentic following of Christ, focused on his Person; it implies education in knowledge of the faith and in the life of faith, in such a manner that the entire person, at his deepest levels, feels enriched by the word of God; it helps the disciple of Christ to transform the old man in order to assume his baptismal responsibilities and to profess the faith from the "heart"; 205Cf. CT 20; St Augustine, De catechizandis rudibus, I, chap. 4, n. 8; CCL 46, 128-129. – a basic and essential formation, 206Cf. CT 21b. centred on what constitutes the nucleus of Christian experience, the most fundamental certainties of the faith and the most essential evangelical values; it lays the foundation of the spiritual edifice of the Christian, nurtures the roots of his faith life and enables him to receive more solid nourishment in the ordinary life of the Christian community.
In summary, initiatory catechesis, being comprehensive and systematic, cannot be reduced to the circumstantial or the occasional. 207Cf. CT 21c. As it is formation for the Christian life it comprises but surpasses mere instruction. 208Cf. CT 33 and CCC 1231; AG 14. Being essential, it looks to what is "common" for the Christian, without entering into disputed questions nor transforming itself into a form of theological investigation. Finally, being initiatory, it incorporates into the community, which lives, celebrates and bears witness to the faith. It fulfils, at once, initiatory, educational and instructional functions. 209Cf. DCG (1971) 31. This inherent richness in the Catechumenate of non-baptized adults should serve to inspire other forms of catechesis. Catechesis at the service of ongoing formation in the faith Continuing education in faith within the Christian community
Continuing or on-going education in the faith follows upon basic education and presupposes it. Both fulfil two distinct but complementary functions of the ministry of the word while serving the process of continuing conversion. Initiatory catechesis lays the basis for the Christian life of the followers of Jesus. The process of continuing conversion goes beyond what is provided by basic catechesis. In order to encourage this process, it is necessary to have a Christian community which welcomes the initiated, sustains them and forms them in the faith: "Catechesis runs the risk of becoming barren if no community of faith and Christian life welcomes the catechumen at a certain stage of his catechesis". 210CT 24. The accompaniment which a community gives to the initiated is eventually transformed into their being totally integrated by the same community.
In the Christian community the disciples of Jesus Christ are nourished at a twofold table; "that of the word of God and that of the Body of Christ". 211DV 21. The Gospel and the Eucharist are the constant food for the journey to the Father's House. The action of the Holy Spirit operates so that the gift of "communion" and the task of "mission" are deepened and lived in an increasingly intense way. Continuing formation in the faith is directed not only to the individual Christian, to accompany them in their journey towards holiness, but also to the Christian community as such so that it may mature also in its interior life of love of God and of the brethren as well as in its openness to the world as a missionary community. The desire of Jesus and his prayer to the Father are an unceasing appeal: "May they all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they may also be in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me". 212Jn 17:21. Approaching this ideal, little by little, demands of the community a great fidelity to the action of the Holy Spirit, the constant nourishment of the Body and Blood of Christ and continuing education in the faith, listening all the time to the word. At this table of the word of God, the homily occupies a privileged position, since it "takes up again the journey of faith put forward by catechesis and brings it to its natural fulfilment, at the same time it encourages the Lord's disciples to begin anew each day their spiritual journey in truth, adoration and thanksgiving". 213Cf. CT 48; cf. SC 52; DV 24; DCG (1971) 17; Missale Romanum, Ordo Lectionum Missae, n. 24 Editio Typica Altera, Libreria Editrice Vaticana 1981.