d) CATECHETICAL PEDAGOGY

"Knowledge of Jesus the Savior and love for him must have pride of place"

Knowledge of Jesus the Savior and love for him must have the top place in the life of a Christian.  So, from their earliest years, we must instill into children's hearts a lofty idea of Christ and arouse in them a very tender love for him, a great confidence in him, a lively and fruitful devotion to him.³⁴

So those who teach catechism must always remember that religious instruction has one purpose: to make God and Jesus Christ known, because this knowledge is eternal life, as the Gospel assures us.³⁵

Besides explaining the section of catechism assigned to a particular class, catechists should constantly put the person of Jesus Christ, the Church, and her august Head before the eyes of the youngsters: Jesus Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith, the heart of religion, our only hope, and what he is as God and man; the Church, his immaculate Spouse, column and foundation of all truth, mother of all the

faithful, outside of which there is no salvation; the supreme Shepherd, the bishop of bishops, the infallible teacher of truth, the Pope. 

All three must be the object of the children's faith, of their knowledge, and of their most loving and deep respect.  Since the faith of this developing generation is threatened in many ways on these points, it is necessary to foster a solid, strong, and enlightened faith.  For faith without a solid foundation and piety based on habit and feeling could hardly withstand the torrent of errors that is causing havoc among the Christians of our day.³⁶

"The meaning of each word of the catechism must be understood in the context of all truths"

Teachers will hold the catechism in their hand and clearly read the questions and answers, explaining the meaning of each word clearly, simply, and very briefly (...).  Children, in fact, do not understand those words; and if they get used to pronouncing them mechanically, they will not derive any benefit from them.  It is necessary to explain each and every word of the catechism with utmost simplicity and informality, with lively ideas and images, so that they can understand the sublime doctrinal and moral truths of our faith.  We often hear youngsters blissfully reciting by heart things they do not understand.  This is the fault of the teachers who give them too much credit for understanding the words and expression of the catechism.

So, after explaining the meaning of each word, the teacher starts from the beginning, illustrating the meaning and sense of the answer and presenting the matter again from different angles.  Sometimes he gives wrong answers on purpose to give the children the pleasure of correcting him.  He distributes praise and reprimands in timely fashion.  He tries to hold the children's attention until the meaning of each word of that section of the catechism is understood in the context of the total august truth it affirms (...).

A catechist must not move on to new ground until he senses from the children's tone of voice and the gleam in their eyes that the proposed truth has touched them (...).  A teacher who does not abide by this rule would betray his or her mission to the great detriment of the youngsters entrusted to him.  So a teacher must be careful not to get bored or tired of repeating.  He must not be in a hurry to move on, mindful of St. Augustine's magnificent statement: "The teachings of our Christian

faith are so deep that, had I studied nothing else from infancy to old age and devoted all my attention, effort, and time to them, I would have learned something new every day."³⁷

Their capacity is rather limited; their memory, reflection, and intelligence untrained, their speech very poor.  Yet the answers of the diocesan catechism are often too complicated for them because, in the words of the Apostle Paul, they need milk not solid food; that is to say, they require an instruction that is expressed in very simple words and phrases that do not exceed their childlike capacities.  In the nursery schools, as a rule, catechists use a few questions and answers taken from the Little Catechism.  These in no way constitute a gradual or interconnected body of teachings that could help the child develop the seed of faith and Christian life deposited in him or her by the grace of baptism.³⁸

"Make it almost indelible"

Every student should have a catechism of the class he or she attends.  The teacher should make them learn it as exactly as possible (...).

An important truth is contained in each formula.  The words and phrases are weighed with such care that to replace them with other ones may often change the substance of things (...).  Hence the importance of assigning a brief lesson every Sunday, one that is to be learned and recited word for word: a child should not be allowed to change even one word, not even one syllable (...).

This kind of study impresses the text of the catechism so vividly on a child's memory as to become almost indelible, to the great benefit of people.  Even if they stray, they will always find the catechism formulas ‑- almost indelibly engraved on their hearts ‑- rebuking and condemning them.  We have heard of people who, having lost their faith and gone through all the stages of unbelief, returned to God after forty or fifty years of very irreligious life and still remembered all the catechism answers, to their supreme benefit and consolation.³⁹

"The imagination must come to the assistance of the intellect"

We must see to it that the imagination comes to the assistance of the intellect by setting before the children's minds images that will explain the truths of the catechism.  The book of nature, St. Francis de Sales used to say, is a good source of images, comparisons, examples, and a thousand other things.  The ancient Fathers of the Church are full of these, and the Holy Scriptures are also teeming with them.  St. Francis de Sales did not just give advice but, when he himself taught catechism, used many, many surprising images.  From his mouth came forth the most marvelous comparisons.  Teachers ought to follow the example of this noble model.  If they do, their work will be blessed with rich and abundant fruit.⁴⁰

But, when it comes to heaven or hell, a teacher must make sure not to instill into the hearts of children ideas that are too material, inexact, or false, in hopes of making an impression on their imaginations.  When it comes to religious instruction, we must always stick to what our faith teaches and not be carried away by the imagination, not even for good reasons.  Though a material idea might make a vivid impression on children, once they grow up and realize it is false, all too often, together with the false idea, they also despise and reject the most sacred truths.⁴¹

If at all possible, teachers should use stories.  Though these stories would seem to lengthen the instruction, they really shorten it very much and remove the boredom from it (...).  God, who intimately knows the spirit of human beings created by him, has couched religion in popular stories that do not bore simple folk but help them understand and remember the mysteries of religion.⁴²

"The whole child, body and soul, should be involved in what he studies"

A teacher must always remember that, even in the religious instruction of little children, she must never separate the heart and will from the mind.  Rather, the whole spirit, namely, mind, heart and will, should be molded to the good and the true

which the Christian faith presents to us.  In a word, a teacher should use every occasion, even recreation, flowers, everything to make the children admire the greatness, the goodness, and the perfection of God and to nurture in them the sense of God instilled into them in holy baptism, the divine seed of baptismal grace infused into their souls so that they could bear fruit.⁴³

The teacher should awaken warm feelings in her youngsters, gently touching all the chords of their hearts and making the most of all their good qualities.  In this way, they will entertain gentle, joyous, and religiously beautiful ideas of their religion, such as to make them happy and cheerful in the simplicity of their faith.  Singing is one of the most effective tools to gladden the hearts of children and make their religion dear to them.⁴⁴

The teacher should use the posters found in nursery schools showing the heavens and the earth to make the children understand in some way the grandeur and the laws of the universe and to fill their hearts with awe and wonderment.⁴⁵

The teacher should  often tell the story of the passion and death of Jesus Christ to her little pupils.  To impress these mysteries ever more vividly on their hearts, the teacher should make use of the image of the crucifix and other images of the passion, which time-honored experience shows are very useful in the religious instruction of children.⁴⁶

"Prudence and patience"

Prudence, this precious virtue, will show teachers how to act with the various characters and different temperaments of their pupils.  They should use prudence in correcting at the right time and in the proper way children who are frivolous, proud, or unmannerly, making them understand that they need to be sensible and behave.  They should use prudence in giving loving support to the first efforts a child is making to mend his ways (...).  They should use great prudence and never allow themselves to do anything that is less than good. They should not convey the slightest hint of evil in their person.⁴⁷

So, have a lot of patience, dear teachers.  Enrich a child's memory with good ideas.  The time will come when these ideas will fall into place by themselves.  Have lots of patience and bear with their vivacious, restless, and impetuous dispositions.⁴⁸

One should give out punishments sparingly and prudently.  Otherwise, youngsters will easily become annoyed and disgusted and develop an aversion for the catechist, for catechism, and for religion itself.  History records the names of people famous for their unbelief and cynicism who confessed that they started down the shameful road of godlessness during their childhood when they were punished too severely during catechism classes.  Then and there, they lost all interest in, and love for, this kind of teaching and, once on their own, never wanted to hear about it anymore (...).

Punishments are necessary.  But a wise educator once said that joy and trust should be the ordinary disposition of children.  Otherwise we impoverish their spirit and demolish their self-assurance.  If they are lively, they become irritated; if calm, they become quite silly.  Harsh punishment ‑- a drastic and violent remedy for desperate illnesses ‑- cures but, at the same time, alters a living organism and frustrates it.⁴⁹

"A form that attracts and captivates"

We must make our religion known in all its primeval beauty and make it known especially to young students.  We must offer them religious instruction in the form best suited to the needs of our times, in a way that attracts and captivates them and ‑- as an illustrious speaker put it so well ‑- in an environment that is not the church, if you will, but still continues the work of the church.  To meet extraordinary needs, we must not get bogged down in empty discussions: we must come up with extraordinary means.⁵⁰

We must engrave the dictates of the faith on the hearts and minds of young people and prepare them to answer the masters of unbelief, who are everywhere.  We must also show them all the vileness, the folly, and the misery of unbelievers.  We must do so, however, not in a polemical way but with a clear, lofty, and dignified exposition and with a solid, well prepared catechesis that reassures, develops, enlightens, and strengthens their faith.  In this case, to quote the Gospel, this

faith is founded not on sand but on rock and, as a result, will victoriously withstand all the assaults of the enemy.⁵¹

"Teach with love"

We are dealing here with nourishing not the material life but the spiritual life of children with the bread of religious instruction.  You must convince yourselves, beloved brothers, that in our day there is perhaps no work that is holier and more precious in the sight of the Lord, more necessary and useful for society, more consoling and meritorious for yourselves than religious instruction.  With every ounce of energy, enlighten minds, fight ignorance, destroy prejudice, make our religion known and loved, and begin to do so with the little ones.

With the wise and practical words of an eminent Italian bishop, I will say to you: welcome children with love and fatherly kindness when they come to you.  If they do not come, like the divine Shepherd inquire about them and go looking for them on the streets and in the squares.  Challenge the laziness and negligence of parents.  Put pressure on the parents and implore them to send their children to religious instruction.  Away with punishments and reprimands!  Away with harsh and stern methods, which would drive them away from you.  Make yourselves children, too, if this is what it takes to win them over to Jesus Christ.

Cover up for their flightiness and restlessness.  Bear with them if they are coarse, if they are slow in learning what you are trying to teach.  Never grow weary of them or be annoyed with them.  With a love that is unlimited, continuous, creative, patient, and kind, with a love that bears all things and hopes all things, we have to make up for the lack of means and for that measure of authority which the times and society have taken from us (...).

In your instructions be brief, clear, and simple.  Your manner must be kind and ingratiating.  Relieve the boredom of your teaching by interspersing pleasant moral stories.  In this way, you mix the pleasant with the useful and induce them to attend your instructions diligently.  Where pastors do not have associates or the latter are not capable, the pastors should turn for help to some good laymen, to some pious women who will gather the boys and girls, bring them to church, and keep order.

I beg you: instruct the children the Church has entrusted to you and let your instruction be formative, because ‑- please pay close attention ‑- by themselves, conceited and sterile words achieve nothing unless you transform them into sentiment.  Instruct with love and charity and instruct always.⁵²