WALKING BY FAITH

The Catechism of the Catholic Church

Reverend Michael D. Place, S.T.D.

The meaning of catechetical ministry is best understood in the context of the Church as an evangelizing community-a community that brings the good news to all times and all peoples. In his apostolic exhortation, Pope Paul VI reminded us that evangelization is not a thing but a complex, interrelated process. And catechesis is one of the moments or elements of evangelization. The purpose of catechesis is to make it possible for those who are catechized to be in touch with and in communion with Jesus Christ and, through Christ, with the Triune God. It is Christ who is taught-who is the content of catechesis-and it is Christ who teaches.

We also know that catechesis is more than kerygma (proclamation). Catechesis is an education of the total person, within his or her own developmental journey, as a member of the community of faith. The catechetical process is itself many-faceted, involving an experience of Christian living, personal as well as liturgical and sacramental prayer, and participation in the life of the community of faith through apostolic witness. Essential to this catechistic process is the handing on of Christian doctrine in a systematic manner.

The documents of the magisterium and of our own bishops have pointed out that this educational aspect of the catechistic process has some core elements. In addition to being systematic, it should deal with the essentials of our faith tradition, be sufficiently complete, and be integrated with other aspects of the catechistic process.

The Catechetical Context

It is in this rich catechetical context that Walking by Faith was developed. The series asks the students and their parents to reflect through the eyes of faith on their experience of Christian living. It integrates personal and liturgical prayer and it invites the students to engage in apostolic activity appropriate to their age level.

What brings these elements together and provides for their integration is Walking by Faith's handing on of Christian doctrine. For perhaps the first time in the United States, both the content and the presentation of doctrine in this series is based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church . The series is designed to provide at each grade level an integral presentation of the fundamental elements of Church teaching as presented in the Catechism . In addition, the series makes reference throughout both pupil and teacher materials to the Catechism by citing paragraph numbers and summarizing content. Specific lesson plans in Walking by Faith clearly reflect the Catechism's integration of the teaching of the Second Vatican Council with the wealth of earlier ecclesial teaching, as well as its attention to the rich heritage of the Eastern Catholic tradition.

The Pillars of Faith

Great care was taken to ensure that student, parent, and catechist would come to appreciate and understand the distinctive manner in which each of the "pillars of faith" has been organized in the Catechism of the Catholic Church . The series reflects the strong attention to Trinitarian themes found in Part One. It grounds its discussion of the individual sacraments in an awareness of the sacramental economy that moves throughout Part Two. The series' emphasis on morality as a vocational call to conversion and holiness, made possible by God's grace and lived out by obeying the commandments, reflects the emphasis in Part Three. Finally, Walking by Faith expresses the dynamic nature of the personal relationship with God that is prayer, as outlined in Part Four.

Challenges for Today

The challenge has been to do all of this in a manner that is appropriate to the developmental level of the student and sensitive to the great diversity of student backgrounds that is found in school and parish religious-education programs. As daunting as those challenges are, it has also been imperative that the series respond to those dimensions of our culture that might impede the students' gaining a full appreciation of the faith that is being handed on to them. Such values as community, stewardship, and truth-which many today may consider counter-cultural-are woven into and throughout the entire series.

In the end, however, the success of this new catechetical series will be determined by how seriously parents, catechists and, indeed, the entire parish come to view themselves as participating in the Church's ministry of evangelization and make their own the truth that it is Christ who is taught and Christ who teaches.