Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. (Mt 28:18-19)
As a catechist, contemplating the word 'everything' has helped me enormously in my understanding of what we mean by handing on the faith.
The disciples had spent three years living with Jesus. They received their faith directly from him. What was this faith? Well, it certainly included knowledge of God. Through Jesus the mysteries at the heart of our faith were revealed: the Most Holy Trinity, the hypostatic union in the Incarnation and the Paschal Mystery through which we are saved. The Gospels are full of sermons, parables, teaching and sayings which reveal something of the nature of God. Occasionally, we read of Jesus taking his disciples to one side to give them a little extra private tuition (Mt 13:36-43). The teaching of knowledge is an important part of handing on the faith. But Jesus gave them so much more than this.
He gave them an insight into the dignity of human being, what it means to be created in the image and likeness of God. For three years, they witnessed the love, mercy and compassion of God transforming the lives of people in their everyday lives.
He gave them a dynamic relationship with his Father in prayer. The ritual prayer of the Temple and synagogues was not ignored; communal prayer is important. But, when they witnessed Jesus praying on his own, a longing touched the hearts of the disciples: 'Lord, teach us to pray', they asked (Lk 11:1). Through him, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, they experienced a filial relationship with God.
Finally, he gave them the means of entering into and celebrating his life and enabling the power of his death and resurrection to transform them. These are the liturgies of the Church and, in particular, the Sacraments, most especially, the Eucharist.
He gave them an insight into the dignity of human being, what it means to be created in the image and likeness of God. For three years, they witnessed the love, mercy and compassion of God transforming the lives of people in their everyday lives.
He gave them a dynamic relationship with his Father in prayer. The ritual prayer of the Temple and synagogues was not ignored; communal prayer is important. But, when they witnessed Jesus praying on his own, a longing touched the hearts of the disciples: 'Lord, teach us to pray', they asked (Lk 11:1). Through him, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, they experienced a filial relationship with God.
Finally, he gave them the means of entering into and celebrating his life and enabling the power of his death and resurrection to transform them. These are the liturgies of the Church and, in particular, the Sacraments, most especially, the Eucharist.
The word 'catechesis' comes from the Greek katechein, which means 'to echo' or 'to resound'. this is the word St Paul uses when he speaks of handing on the faith:
For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received (1 Cor 15:3a)
When the disciples were commanded to teach, they were to hand on everything they had received from Jesus:
- knowledge of him as God and man
- his way of life; his world view
- his relationship with his Father through the power of the Holy Spirit
- his presence in the liturgies; his redeeming grace through the Sacraments
When we catechise, we hand on the Person of Jesus Christ. As St Paul reminds us:
it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. (Gal 2:20a)
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