The Place of Evangelization in Catechesis

Posted by on February 26, 2013 | 5 comments

A few weeks ago I had a small revelation about the place of evangelization in catechesis. I decided to make a short video about it.

  • Nick Wagner

    Hi Jonathan. I think you make a good point that we simply assume evangelization has taken place for those who are baptized as infants. I believe our current structure, in the ideal, does account for the need to evangelize the baptized, but operationally, that usually doesn’t happen. The GDC, referencing Catechesi Tradendae, says:

    “There are activities which ‘prepare’ (190) for catechesis and activities which ‘derive’ from it (191). The ‘moment’ of catechesis is that which corresponds to the period in which conversion to Jesus Christ is formalized.” (GDC 63)

    Presumably, a first Communion catechist would discern which children were ready to formalize their conversion to Jesus and which still needed to participate in activities that would prepare them for that conversion. I’m not involved in the formation of children’s catechists, but my presumption is that most of them are not trained to make that kind of discernment.

    If I could offer one point of possible clarification, the age 7 dividing line for baptizing a child either through the Rite of Baptism or the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults is a guideline and is flexible. Children under the age of 7 who have attained the use of reason would fall under the rubrics for the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. I heard one story of a parish that was telling parents to hurry up and baptize their six-and-a-half-year-olds so they wouldn’t have to go through the RCIA. The phrase “letter of the law” came to mind.

    Terrific post. Thanks for sharing.

    Nick

  • http://theliturgicalcatechist.weebly.com/ Joyce Donahue

    Great post Jonathan! But my question is where is mystagogy for the average young person who may well leave the Church after Confirmation? Is it not, like evangelization, largely missing in action?

    As you point out, too many people leave after Confirmation, and so never engage in either evangelization OR post-sacramental mystagogy. Thus,they have never fully met Christ, nor made the connection between the recurring sacraments of Eucharist and Reconciiation and their daily lives.

    What if we were to provide young people with opportunities to experience Christ through prayer, Scripture and the witness of the community, and at the same time connect them with the meaning and call of their baptism, the meaning and experience of the Eucharist and Reconciliation, through liturgical and mystagogical catechesis?

    If we help them understand the fundamental meaning of the experience of the Mass and sacraments in their lives – on an age-appropriate level – as well as evangelize them all throughout their catechesis, do you not think that we might have a greater chance that they would want to stick around to keep experiencing the Eucharist and the Body of Christ in the gathered community at Mass? In other words, should not catechesis, evangelization AND mystagogy be simultaneously part of the mix?

    (And by the way, what software did you use to make this video?)

  • http://www.jonathanfsullivan.com/ Jonathan F. Sullivan

    You’re absolutely right, Nick — the Church call for catechesis to be evangelizing, but that’s not always what what occurs “on the ground.” And yes, training in discernment is rare to nonexistent for children’s catechists — something that concerns me as well.

    Thanks for clarifying the age line; should have been more precise in the video.

  • http://www.jonathanfsullivan.com/ Jonathan F. Sullivan

    Absolutely — it’s a both/and. I think Joe Paprocki’s new book (Beyond the Catechist’s Toolbox) offers a good starting point by offering a catechetical model that is “more like Mass than class.” I’ll have a review of the book up next week.

    My video setup was ridiculously simple — it’s just PowerPoint with a black background. I used the pen feature in PowerPoint and my Bamboo Pen Tablet to do the writing; the video and audio are captured with the <a href="http://www.bbsoftware.co.uk/bbflashbackexpress/download.aspx&quot;.free BB FlachbackExpress program.

  • http://twitter.com/JohnRinaldo John Rinaldo

    This is an incredible video and really connects with what Sherry Weddell writes in her book, “Forming Intentional Disciples.” She clearly states that we have been catechized as Catholics, but not evangelized. We’ve been sacramentalized but not evangelized. The missing piece is that through all this process, there needs to be some sort of conversion of heart that makes one WANT to be catechized. Catechesis should be a choice, but we often force it on children and youth.

    Well done. This really resonates with me, and I plan to use it in the future.