Faith Seeking Understanding

By Bishop Paul S. Loverde
Special to the Herald
(From the issue of 9/16/04)

This Sunday we will celebrate Catechetical Sunday. What comes first to mind when you hear "catechesis"? For too many of us adults, the word is limited to memories of religious education classes and grade school, first confession and first Eucharist. Unfortunately, it is the exceptional adult Catholic who sees catechesis as a lifelong and continuous stewardship of God’s gifts.

This mistaken mindset would be laughable if we carried it into other areas of our lives: imagine a CFO overseeing a corporation with a child’s understanding of money or an occasional jogger attempting a marathon. Such individuals would likely make poor decisions or fail.

And yet, consider the consequences in the life of faith, where the salvation of souls is at stake. How ill-served we would be if we settled for an understanding of the faith arrested soon after we received the Sacrament of Confirmation.

St. Paul chides the Christians of Ephesus "to be children no longer, tossed here and there" (Eph 4:14). Today we face a host of critical issues that call for a mature and considered response of adult faith. From same-sex marriage to stem-cell research, euthanasia to genetics, these and other complex public policy debates require the arsenal of faith if we truly wish to be effective stewards of God’s gifts and "make a defense" (1 Pt 3:15) of our faith. As Catholics, what are we for with regard to the protection of life? As Catholics, why are we opposed to euthanasia?

If we understand the natural law and God’s law, we know that we are not in charge of our own life. Our life is a gift of which we are stewards.

Yes, the stakes are high in catechesis. Nothing is more essential in our lives than becoming a disciple of Jesus, than seeking to know Him better on a daily basis. This is the point of catechesis, for at its heart, "we find, in essence, a Person, the Person of Jesus of Nazareth, the only Son of the Father … " (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 426). Catechesis is a comprehensive and personal invitation to "faithfully practice the discipleship of Jesus and to judge all personal, social and spiritual experiences in the light of faith" (Adult Catechesis in the Christian Community, 36).

The motto of St. Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109) — "Faith seeking understanding (fides quaerens intellectum)" — points to catechesis as the lifelong, active and loving pursuit of a deepening knowledge of Jesus Christ.

This Catechetical Sunday, we all are reminded of the Church’s mission to form people in the faith. From the toddler just learning to fold her hands during family prayer to the elderly who are still actively deepening their faith, we are all in catechesis together. In between, our Catholic school teachers and religious education catechists provide a vital chapter in this formation in the faith.

As the "first heralds," (CCC, no. 2225) parents can give no greater gift to their children than that of a loving witness to the faith, a foundation on which their children can build and flourish. As Pope John Paul II writes in "Catechesi Tradendae," "Family catechesis therefore precedes, accompanies and enriches all other forms of catechesis" (68.2).

This Catechetical Sunday, our theme is "Stewards of God’s Gifts." As stewards of the life He has entrusted to us, will we set out into the deep and meet Him? Will our faith in Him lead us to a deeper love and knowledge of Him? My sisters and brothers, may our stewardship of God’s gifts and loving pursuit of a deepening faith lead others to Him, who stands at the heart of catechesis, Jesus the Lord, our Way, our Truth and our Life.

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