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Catechesis: activity of an ecclesial
nature
78. Catechesis is an
essentially ecclesial act. (229) The true subject of catechesis is the
Church which, continuing the mission of Jesus the Master and, therefore
animated by the Holy Spirit, is sent to be the teacher of the faith. The Church
imitates the Mother of the Lord in treasuring the Gospel in her heart.
(230) She proclaims it, celebrates it, lives it, and she transmits it
in catechesis to all those who have decided to follow Jesus Christ. This
transmission of the Gospel is a living act of ecclesial tradition:
(231)
– The Church transmits the faith which she
herself lives: her understanding of the mystery of God and his salvific plan,
her vision of man's highest vocation, the style of evangelic life which
communicates the joy of the Kingdom, the hope which pervades her and the love
which she has for mankind and all God's creatures.
– The Church transmits the faith in an
active way; she sows it in the hearts of catechumens and those to be catechized
so as to nourish their profoundest experience of life. (232) The profession
of faith received by the Church (traditio), which germinates and grows
during the catechetical process, is given back (redditio), enriched by
the values of different cultures. (233) The catechumenate is thus
transformed into a centre of deepening catholicity and a ferment of ecclesial
renewal.
79. In transmitting faith and
new life, the Church acts as a mother for mankind who begets children conceived
by the power of the Spirit and born of God. (234) Precisely
"because she is a mother, she is also the educator of our faith";
(235) she is at the same time mother and teacher. Through catechesis
she feeds her children with her own faith and incorporates them as members into
the ecclesial family. As a good mother she gives them the Gospel in all its
authenticity and purity as apposite food, culturally enriched and a response to
the deepest aspirations of the human heart.
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