Posted on 06/08/2008 4:10:18 PM PDT by NYer
BIRMINGHAM, England, JUNE 6, 2008 (Zenit.org).- The Church has expectations not only concerning the content of what we teach, but also how we teach it.
So says Petroc Willey, who co-authored “The Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Craft of Catechesis” (Ignatius) with Pierre de Cointet and Barbara Morgan. He is also the deputy director of the Maryvale Institute, editor of the catechetical journal The Sower, and host of the EWTN series “Handing on the Faith.”
Willey talks to ZENIT in this interview on why the Church has certain teaching requirements, and how catechesis should reflect the pedagogy of God.
Q: Why do you call catechesis a "craft"?
Willey: We use the term “craft” to describe the work of catechesis in order to evoke the notion of working with loving intelligence, uniting intellect, will and practical skills in a patient work of drawing out the very best and the most beautiful.
The ultimate craftsman in the work of catechesis is, of course, the Holy Spirit, “the interior Master of life according to Christ,” as it says in paragraph 1697 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church; paragraph 721 states that Mary is his “Masterwork.”
In her -- and as her children -- we learn our craft and we, too, can be crafted in the Lord, as it says in the second chapter of Ephesians, verses 9 through 10, and paragraph 1091 of the Catechism.
Appreciating catechesis as a craft, therefore, enables us to bear in mind that it is a holistic understanding and application that we are seeking, one that involves the heart, the mind and the hand.
We are also reminded that we develop the skills of this craft always as members of the Church, receiving and participating in the work of grace in our lives. Mary is our model and our mother in this, a “living catechism,” as Pope John Paul II called her.
Q: Your book contends that the Catechism reflects the "pedagogy of God." What do you mean, and how does the Catechism accomplish such a feat?
Willey: That the faith has its own specific pedagogy may perhaps be a new idea for us. Paragraph 31 in the “General Directory for Catechesis,” however, calls upon catechists to consider “the demands” and “the originality” of “that pedagogy which is proper to the faith.”
The Church, then, has certain “demands,” or requirements, with regard to pedagogy. She has expectations not only concerning the content of what we teach, but also how we teach it.
This is the case because the faith generates its own pedagogy. Our catechesis is to be inspired by this pedagogy, the pedagogy of God.
We often think of the word “pedagogy” as more or less synonymous with “teaching.” When the Church speaks of the pedagogy of God she means something broader than this. She means the whole of the work of God leading people to share in his life, in and through Christ.
The transmission of dogmas are described in paragraph 1697 of the Catechism as "lights along the path of faith," as the Holy Spirit, the “interior Master of life,” disciples us in the Church.
How does the Catechism reflect this pedagogy of God? Our book identifies 12 pedagogical principles drawn concretely from the text and structure of the Catechism, principles which have clear and significant implications for our catechesis.
So, for instance, the Catechism invites catechists to bear always in mind the four dimensions of the Christian life, corresponding to the four "pillars" of the Catechism, so as to foster a "holistic" catechesis in which the reality of liturgical and sacramental grace, the converting power of doctrine, the splendor of our life in Christ and our prayerful relationship to the blessed Trinity are all present.
Q: Many would say a crisis in catechesis has been one of the main problems in the Church since the Second Vatican Council. Yet apart from select bishops and the Pope, the Catechism is seldom mentioned as an answer to this crisis. Why not?
Willey: The Catechism is, beyond, doubt, an extraordinary gift to assist in the renewal of catechesis.
One reason for its continuing neglect is that people simply have not taken up the keys provided for understanding this gift; they do not realize how it has been written precisely with a view to assisting catechists in handing on the faith.
The Catechism is treated as a reference text, certainly, but not as the aid offered to us in our time for learning and teaching the faith.
Q: There are endless catechetical resources for young people, yet few are based in any way on the Catechism itself. What factors shaped this phenomenon?
Willey: A major factor lies in the use of alternative pedagogies that are neither derived from, nor compatible with, the faith.
Paragraph 149 in the “General Directory for Catechesis” speaks of a “good catechetical method” as a “guarantee of fidelity to content”; a poor method, on the other hand, cannot deliver content faithfully.
These alternative pedagogies, for example, might be based on secular or even Marxist educational theories, or carry with them philosophical presumptions that are incompatible with a realist Catholic philosophy.
Sister Johanna Paruch, from Franciscan University in Steubenville, has recently completed significant doctoral work at Maryvale Institute in England, where I work, on these pedagogies.
Alongside these distorting influences we can see a widespread minimalism in some resources, where very little of the faith is presented, and also what Hans Urs von Balthasar called an “Islamization” of the notion of God, when he is seen in his unity, but no longer clearly as Triune.
There have been significant moves, in the United States in particular, to address this difficulty, especially through the voluntary submission of catechetical resources for an evaluation by the bishops concerning the conformity of these texts with the Catechism.
We are also seeing resources in the United Kingdom such as Echoes, published by the Catholic Truth Society, which are formation programs for catechists rooted in both the content and the pedagogy of the Catechism.
Q: In the book you discuss the false dichotomy between the personal and propositional dimensions of revelation. In that same context, you state that the goal of doctrine is love. How can bishops, priests and catechists recapture and present Christ's promise that he is the truth, and the truth is life?
Willey: The Catechism makes it a priority from the outset to exclude any thought of a separation between a propositional and a personal understanding of revelation. Rather than think of propositions as detaching us from God, we need to be aware of their absolute necessity in attaching us to him.
Maryvale Institute is the first Catholic home of the Venerable John Henry Newman, and Newman can help us here because he discovered what he called the “converting” impact of doctrine.
We cannot love God if we know nothing about him. We cannot worship Christ without knowing of his divinity. And on the other hand, we shall never know God fully unless we love him, and we shall never have a clear understanding of Christ’s divinity unless we worship and adore him.
Q: Is it too much to say that the personal encounter with the Lord available to one who studies the Catechism spawns a "catechetical spirituality”?
Willey: This question rightly presumes that a personal encounter with the Lord is available to one who learns and teaches from the Catechism.
The “Compendium of the Catechism” speaks of “the wisdom of its presentation and the depth of its spirituality,” and our book has grown out of an “amicitia catechistica” between Notre Dame de Vie in France, Maryvale Institute and Franciscan University in Steubenville -- three institutions that have firsthand evidence of this spirituality through their courses in theology and catechesis.
Studying, and praying with, the Catechism leads to an increased trust, joy and confidence in being able to speak about the faith to others, adults and children alike. One is immersed in a text that is precise, gracious, elegant and deeply spiritual.
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On the Net:
“The Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Craft of Catechesis”: www.ignatius.com
In our small Maronite Catholic community, we were truly blessed this year to have two girls (aged 9 and 12) enroll in the program, be baptized in January, receive the Sacrament of Penance in March and the Sacrament of Holy Communion in May. We have also been blessed with another family whose young children had little or no religious upbringing in the home, enroll the older pre-K daughter. She has brought the parents to church each Sunday.
My personal observation from this first year affirms what we all see in the world around us. We live in very difficult times and anything we can do to assist children and their families in passing on the faith, is like planting seeds. These must be watered with our 'prayers' with the fervent request that they will one day blossom. Catechesis is the anchor that holds the ship in place.
**Willey: The Catechism is, beyond, doubt, an extraordinary gift to assist in the renewal of catechesis. **
Every Catholic should have a copy of the new Catechism of the Catholic Church as well as references to the Baltimore Catechism, in my opinion.
**Director for Religious Educ**
Wow! I bet it was an interesting year!
I usually teach the OCIC class, it is hard because they are older and have had no religious education whatsoever for the most part. You’re right, we have so little time with them but of my 6 child class this last year 5 are attending church regularly after their Baptisms and 1st Communions.
A lot of them drop out afterwards because they just wanted the Sacraments and no-one in the family is committed to getting them to church but some still come back to religious ed. I don’t worry about it too much because I don’t pick the time when the Holy Spirit will touch their hearts and send them back to the God and the Church and I believe it will happen.
Our experience as well.
Last year, our "Reconciliation" class had 24 kids ages nine and ten. Perhaps two knew ANYTHING about GOD, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, Heaven, Hell, Angels, the soul, any prayers at all, the Sign of the Cross, etc.
Unfortunately, the workbook we were assigned really didn't mention those things either. It was all Care Bear type sentiments with no content at all.
We ignored the workbook and I taught the St. Joseph's Baltimore Catechism through lectures with a flip chart. (You know, the way enlightened teachers will tell you bores the kids.)
The kids were ENTHRALLED. They were starving for knowledge. At the end of the year they knew a lot more than the average Catholic.
Thank you tiki for your sage advice. It is both frustrating and painful to work with these parents. Oftentimes the parents say the children’s schedule is too full with extracirricula activities and there is no more room for anything else. But, as you noted, we need to have faith that the Holy Spirit will act in His time.
It was a tremendous challenge. Only 4 teachers and children that span in age from barely 3 to 16. To keep them focused, I have sent home a list of recommended Catholic books, grouped by grade level. This was an opportunity to inform the parents and children that we would like to have a parade of saints on the feast of All Saints in November. In my letter I recommended parents and children read about the saints, pick one and make a saintly costume to wear on that day.
The parents were quite excited. I included photos of young children dressed as Sts Francis, George and even an archangel. May the Holy Spirit continue to inspire them.
< pretty please! >
My kids dressed up as saints for Hallowe'en when they were little. My daughter was St. Lucy, with two fake eyeballs on a plate . . . . ( yeah my kids are weird )
I borrowed one of those presentation easels and bought a big presentation tablet at Staples. Then I used different color markers to write the outline to the St. Joseph's Baltimore Catechism on the tablet pages (Who made you? Who is God? Why did God make you, etc.) So it's really too big to copy, but it's all there in the Catechism.
The kids didn't have a clue that the Almighty Creator of the Universe wants nothing so much as to share eternity with them in paradise, to the point of sacrificing His only begotten Son for their salvation. It was a real eye-opener for them.
Not weird at all - creative and inventive. Did anyone figure out that she was St. Lucy? We have a statue of St. Lucy in our Church - with the plate and eyeballs ;-) A St. Jude costume might be a challenge with that flame.
My son branched out from St. Martin (Roman soldier and got to carry a sword) to Luke Skywalker and various military figures (yeah, he's headed for the USMC as soon as they'll take him . . . .)
Or, as the Presbys say, "Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever."
On THAT point, at least, we agree.
I am probably the only Episcopalian child who ever got a copy of the Westminster Shorter Catechism on the occasion of my confirmation (my grandparents were Presbys, and it was a last forlorn hope, I guess!)
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