Amazing Catechists

Teaching and learning the faith together

Jesus, a theologian, and a rock star…

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I know the title for this post might raise an eyebrow but I promise, in a few minutes it will make sense.  It’s not the beginning of a bad joke like, “A priest, a rabbi, and a minister walk into a bar…”  And even though the title is, Jesus, a theologian, and a rock star, I am actually going to discuss each of those people in the reverse order.  I mean, Jesus has to get top billing in the title, right? First, the rock star…

I was listening to satellite radio (i.e. Sirius) yesterday and stopped on the hard rock station, Octane.  The band that was on at the time is called Stone Sour and they were singing their new song, Do Me a Favor.  I am familiar with the band but had never heard this particular song before; the lyrics didn’t strike me as any radical departure from the norm of today’s hard rock.  

The song had plenty of angst and rage directed outwardly; the lyrics didn’t really leave me with an understanding of who or what the target was for all the rage, although the imagery in the video suggests the lyricist has some daddy issues and a beef with the Catholic Church.  

Basically, I see the song as just another contribution to a culture that is already bursting at the seams with angst and rage.  In fact, the first line of the song begins with, “I am an anti-everything man…” so that kind of lets you know from the beginning where the whole thing is going.

Despite the rage, the second time the chorus was sung, it did get my attention. The first half of it goes like this:

So do me a favor
Your behavior
Is just a reason why
There is no savior

I know it may be a little difficult without the melody, such as it is, but the way it is sung leaves the listener with the impression that someone’s behavior is why there is no savior.  Now objectively that is ridiculous.  No one’s behavior, good or bad, can cause a savior to exist or not exist.  Or can it?  Let’s hear from our theologian – Dr. Ralph Martin.

Dr. Martin’s latest book, Will Many Be Saved: What Vatican II Actually Teaches and Its Implications for the New Evangelization, is the published version of his doctoral dissertation which dug deeply into the Vatican II Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium).  In working his way through the doctrinal developments of Lumen Gentium, Dr. Martin also refers to the Council’s Decree on Ecumenism (Unitatis Redintegratio) and at one point quotes from paragraph four of the decree.  I think after reading it, you may begin to pick up on the connection to song lyric I mentioned above:

For although the Catholic Church has been endowed with all divinely revealed truth and with all means of grace, yet its members fail to live by them with all the fervor that they should, so that the radiance of the Church’s image is less clear in the eyes of our separated brethren and of the world at large, and the growth of God’s kingdom is delayed (UR 4a (my emphasis added)).

Do you see that?  Members of the Church – Christians – failing to live their life of faith adequately are impeding the growth of God’s Kingdom!  Dr. Martin adds his commentary on this section of Unitatis Redintegratio:

Not every proclamation of the gospel can be deemed “adequate,” either because of deficiency of content, manner, or witness of life, and therefore not everyone who apparently rejects such an “inadequate” preaching of the gospel can be judged culpable of unbelief” (Martin, 53 (my emphasis added)).

This is really significant and should be a wake up call for Christians.  If our “witness of life” (i.e. “behaviors”) is an inadequate representation of the gospel, then it is the Christian who will be held accountable for their neighbor’s unbelief.  

For example, if you preach and preach at your neighbor about reforming their lives and returning to the Church, but everything they see you do is contrary to the gospel, then the fact they didn’t choose to believe and return to the Church is as much on you, as it is on them, maybe even more.

So this leads us to Jesus (as everything should).  How many different instructions did Jesus leave us on how to act?  Honestly, not a lot; it was always the same instruction, just perhaps worded a little differently each time:

  • A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another (Jn 13:34)
  • By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another (Jn 13:35)
  • You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.  The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these (Mk 12:30-31).
  • Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends (Jn 15:13).
  • But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (Mt 5:44).
  • If you love me, you will keep my commandments (Jn 15:14)

I think you might be catching on by now on what Jesus’ expectations for us are (I sure hope so!).  

It is possible, sadly it is even quite common today, for people not to believe there is a savior, to think one doesn’t even exist.  And why is that?  Well, it might be they have hardened their hearts to such a degree that no amount of persuasive talk and loving generosity will change their mind.  If that is the case, we are not released from our obligation to love them but they will held culpable for the unbelief.  

However, there is a chance that some are not as convinced by persuasive talk as they would be by seeing a living example of Christ’s love.  If they can’t see that in us and decide all our talk is just that – talk – then it us who will be held accountable for their unbelief.  

Catechism Trivia

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Seventeen years after its first publication, The Catechism of the Catholic Church continues to fascinate and instruct readers around the world. Today’s column enumerates a few of the things that inspire and delight me about The Catechism. Call it Catechism trivia if you like.

The Catechism is  a Monumental Achievement

The idea for the Catechism of the Catholic Church came in the first days of the Extraordinary Synod in Rome in October 1985. John Paul II convened this meeting of the world’s bishops, who were the presidents of their national bishops’ conferences, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Vatican II.

The bishops discerned that, as the world has become a “global village,” there was a growing need for the one faith of the Church to be proclaimed in a single universal volume. Not that there weren’t already catechisms available. But there had not been a UNIVERSAL catechism, or major catechism, in over 400 years, since the Roman Catechism of 1566, following the Council of Trent.

Historically speaking, this was a big deal for Catholics. And a major undertaking of faithfully handing on the Deposit of Faith, as received from the Apostles through the ages. It required a systematic catechetical overhaul of the Roman Catechism, while maintaining integrity of content. Plus it must incorporate the enormous wealth of two millennia of Christian experience. The goal was to create a universal resource that made the teachings of the Catholic Church accessible both for the modern Catholic, and for generations to come.

(And just for a moment, consider that this global task began in the late 80s before widespread use of email and electronic reference texts and tools existed. Not only that, you pretty much would want to hire a spiritual Superman for the job, given the impact this work is going to have. Imagine the job description: Wanted: Excellent communicator with a genius level understanding of Catholic doctrine and theology, coupled with a passionate fidelity to orthodoxy. Candidate should possess a pastor’s heart and concern for those who teach and learn the faith. Success as a published author a must!)

In 1986, following the Synod’s recommendation for a new universal catechism, John Paul II assigned Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger to lead a commission of bishops and Cardinals to develop the next universal catechism. Ratzinger, a renowned theologian and author in his own right, and the Pope’s go-to man as Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, would later become Pope Benedict XVI.

Over 6 years, the new catechism received the input of over 1000 bishops worldwide – a true work of collegiality between the bishops, the pope, with the Holy Spirit. Over 24,000 modifications were assimilated into the text from the bishops’ suggestions through the skillful editing and writing style of Christoph Schönborn, (a former Ratzinger protégé, now Cardinal of Vienna, Austria.)

Finally, the first edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church was presented in October 1992 in French. It was the 30thanniversary of the opening of Vatican II. The English edition arrived later in 1994. The official Latin version was published in August 1997.

To date, The Catechism has been translated into over 50 languages.

The Proportions of the Text

The Catechism is both concise and comprehensive. It uses a numbering system, as do many ecclesial texts, to reference its subject matter. There are 2865 numerical paragraphs in total.

There are four parts, sometimes called “pillars”, of The Catechism:

· Part One (beliefs or creed) represents 39% of the content, and covers paragraphs 1-1065.

· Part Two (sacraments) = 23% and covers paragraphs 1066-1690.

· Part Three (the Christian life) = 27% and covers paragraphs 1691-2557.

· Part Four (prayer) = 11% and covers paragraphs 2558-2865.

The actual doctrinal portion of The Catechism covers about 700 pages, depending on font size of the version you read. It’s multiple indices and glossary are 100-200 pages.

In June 2005, Benedict XVI released the Compendium, a shorter, more concise format of The Catechism, using a question and answer format. It does not replace The Catechism, but serves as a faithful introduction to the doctrines presented in the larger work.

Citations

Each page of doctrine is heavily footnoted and cross-referenced. (One gets a good education just by meandering through The Catechism’s many sources!)

Scripture is the most frequently cited source in The Catechism. In fact, 40 out of 46 books of the Old Testament are cited, and all 27 books of the New Testament are quoted. It is a wonderful to discover the biblical underpinnings of Catholic doctrines. I recommend having a bible nearby when reading The Catechism for referring to the scriptures found in the footnotes. (Or use the resource below.)

The Documents of Vatican II are the second most quoted source. (You might want to have a copy of that handy too! Or use the resource below.) Sixteen other ecumenical councils from history are also quoted.

The writings from 22 popes are quoted, as is Canon Law, and numerous other ecclesiastical documents.

Hundreds of quotes from over 50 saints, Church Fathers, and Doctors provide a wealth of inspiration for one’s meditation. By the way, 6 of which are women: St. Thérèse of Lisieux, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Rose of Lima, St. Joan of Arc, St. Catherine of Siena, Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity, and the Christian mystic Julian of Norwich.

The most quoted saint in The Catechism is St. Augustine with 87 citations, followed by St. Thomas Aquinas with 61.

The Catechism and Related Works On-line

To conclude, allow me to share useful websites for your reading. While I always encourage Catholics to buy copies of The Catechism for their personal reading, I realize that many Catholics find their reference needs online. The sites below are worthy of bookmarks in your browser.

1. My favorite source for The Catechism on-line is the website sponsored by St. Charles Borromeo’s Parish. This is a wonderful apostolate, and their site has a very user-friendly search engine: https://www.scborromeo.org/ccc.htm.

2. The United States Catholic Conference of Bishops also has The Catechism online, but the search engine is difficult to use. However, their site provides the glossary to The Catechism, which is handy, and not always found on other sites:https://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/.

3. The Vatican website, naturally, has any reference work you might need. The search engine, while comprehensive, is a little tedious for beginners. But here’s what you can find:

The Catechism: https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM

The Documents of Vatican II: https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/index.htm

The Compendium:

https://www.vatican.va/archive/compendium_ccc/documents/archive_2005_compendium-ccc_en.html

4. The Catechism uses the Revised Standard Version (RSV) of the Bible in its text. To browse or search the RSV Bible, go here:https://quod.lib.umich.edu/r/rsv/.

 

©2009 Patricia W. Gohn

This article first appeared at CatholicExchange.com.