Using Liturgical Catechesis 

by Nick Wagner

As a religious educator, your job is to facilitate the catechesis of everyone in the parish. The sole aim of catechesis is to draw people into intimate communion with Jesus (see LITURGICAL CATECHESIS 1:1). In order to enable everyone in the parish to enter into intimate communion with Jesus, you are going to have to call upon the skills of the other ministers in the parish (see LITURGICAL CATECHESIS 1:2).

The place where all the ministries of the parish converge and the place that best models the catechetical process used by the New Testament community is the liturgy. What has gone amiss is that most catechetical processes are not centered on the liturgy. In fact, any process identified as "liturgical catechesis" is sometimes seen as inferior to other types of religious education and, amazingly, is even "banned" in some places.

Is liturgical catechesis right for your parish?

This is really a false question. Liturgical catechesis happens. The question should be: Is liturgical catechesis done well or poorly in your parish? The liturgy will always catechize. If you teach children in a classroom setting that God loves them, but their liturgical experience is one of boredom or even hostility, they will usually not grow up "learning" that God loves them. On the other hand, if children experience vibrant, exciting liturgies that put them in intimate communion with Jesus, but their religious education process is boring or unsound, they will still come to know that God loves them. The liturgy is the strongest catechetical tool you have in the parish. Your challenge as a religious educator is to learn how to take full advantage of it so that the children, the teenagers, the adults and the newcomers will all have both vibrant liturgical experiences and vibrant catechetical experiences.

And it's not that hard. It takes some vision and some skill, but creating a powerful catechetical process based on the liturgy can be easier than creating a classroom-style religious education program. The hardest part, for both you and your catechists, is to learn to let go of pre-planned agendas and outcomes. Some people cannot get past that first hurdle. But for those who can, an exciting adventure in faith- building awaits.

Key elements

The first step in creating a liturgical catechesis process is to get the right textbook. The right textbook for this process is the liturgy (which includes Sunday Mass, seasonal celebrations, and sacramental celebrations). This is so because the church "in the course of the year ... unfolds the whole mystery of Christ from his Incarnation and Nativity through his Ascension, to Pentecost and the expectation of the blessed hope of the coming of the Lord" (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy 102 § 2). In the liturgy, the whole mystery of Christ -- everything we are to believe -- is revealed to us. Just as the New Testament community did, we devote ourselves to the teaching of the apostles (the word of God), fellowship (celebrating with the members of our parish), breaking the bread (Eucharist), and the prayers (the Lord's Prayer and the other intercessory prayers of the liturgy).

The next step is to understand the ways in which catechesis can enhance the experience of the liturgy so that the whole mystery of Christ can be more effectively revealed. Catechesis can first of all prepare the faithful to celebrate the liturgy. By helping the assembly -- especially newer members -- learn the prayers and gestures of the liturgy and learn some of the basic meanings of the rituals and symbols, you will be helping the members of your community enter more fully into the liturgical celebration.

The second way in which catechesis interacts with the liturgy is mystagogically. Mystagogical catechesis is a catechesis that "reveals the mysteries." It is catechesis that usually happens after a liturgical celebration, and it is a reflection on the liturgical experience. In mystagogical catechesis, the catechist focuses on helping us go back over the experience in our minds and come to some insight about what it is we just celebrated. That catechist helps us make more concrete the experience of the mystery of Christ we had entered into in the liturgy. Mystagogical catechesis is both challenging and exciting. The challenge is to prepare for the catechetical session in a way that leaves the outcome open to the Spirit. It is not possible to pre-plan what the Spirit will reveal. The excitement arises from the fact that new aspects of Christ's mystery will be revealed not only to the participants but to the catechist as well.

The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults identifies four aspects of a well- developed liturgical catechesis that can be summarized as word, worship, community and service (75). A catechized person is exposed to God's word on a regular basis. Note, however, that this is neither a random nor strictly sequential biblical study. It is a "hearing" of the word in a way that is accommodated to the liturgical year -- that is, it is a liturgical word.

A full catechesis also involves full, conscious and active participation in the liturgical life of the church. This means celebrating Mass and participating in the sacramental life of the church and even in the celebration of the Hours.

One of the more essential things a catechetical program needs to promote is that we are a community, an interdependent body. A well-catechized person will be conscious of the need to contribute to the welfare and building up of the body. Our model and source of inspiration for building up the body comes from the liturgy, where we become one with the Body of Christ.

And finally, a sound catechetical process will promote the advancement of God's reign through evangelization, apostolic works, and service to the whole world. This is ultimately the core of our mission as Catholics, and it is the charge left to us by Jesus -- to go forth and proclaim the good news. This is also a liturgical charge. The reason we celebrate liturgy is to learn and rehearse how we are to live in the world. The liturgy ends with the mandate to go in peace to love and serve the Lord.

What about the Catholic stuff?

The critics of liturgical catechesis seem to fear that if we center our catechesis on the liturgy we will be leaving out a lot of essential information. They want to know when we teach the Catholic stuff. When do we teach the doctrine? It is difficult to pin down exactly what they think will be left out, but a partial list might include some of the following: Marian beliefs and practices, the teachings on abortion and birth control, the difference between Protestants and Catholics, the Pope, stations of the cross, confession, transubstantiation, salvation history, and Scripture.

Let's imagine for a moment that a Catholic child participates in a structured liturgical catechesis process for six years. That means the child would celebrate the three-year lectionary cycle twice. In that time, the child would be exposed to several Marian feastdays on which Marian devotional practices such as the rosary could be explored. A child might be too young to become very involved in abortion and birth control issues, but many of the Gospel readings could lead to a discussion of the church's consistent life ethic. Easter season, with its focus on Acts and the tensions involved in forming the church, could lead to an exploration of the Protestant split and an explanation of church hierarchy and the role of the Pope. Stations and sin and reconciliation can be dealt with in Lent every year. Eucharist as meal and sacrifice can be discussed any Sunday. Salvation history is revealed over time as the riches of Scripture are proclaimed in the assembly every week. And the importance of Scripture itself in the life of the church is made clear by its central role in the liturgy.

One of the advantages of liturgical catechesis is that it is "spiral" rather than "linear." That means someone is not exposed to a doctrine or practice only once at a particular "grade level." Rather, the teachings and practices of the church are interwoven in a repeating cycle throughout each liturgical year. If a participant misses a session or even an entire year, he or she will still encounter all the basic beliefs of the church.

A "spiral" form of catechesis is also an advantage for developing an adult religious education process in your parish. Since liturgical catechesis is not linear, it does not have a beginning or ending point. There is no "graduation" from liturgical catechesis. Liturgical catechesis can be seamless and life-long. The mystery of Christ is continually unfolded as participants celebrate the liturgical cycle over and over throughout their lives.

None of this happens automatically, of course. It requires a careful, spirit-filled catechetical team that is willing to put in the preparation and prayer required to lead people deeper into the paschal mystery. But the liturgy provides everything you need to be able to get started. It is an excellent textbook for "teaching" people how they can find intimate communion with Jesus. -- Nick Wagner