RCLBenziger.com

Recently I ran into a parent from the parish catechetical program where I served as DRE. She was thrilled to see me and shared an experience that had resulted from our sacrament preparation period over ten years ago!

She recalled the ritual blessing of making the sign of the cross on her child's forehead from our parent/family sessions and said she has continued the practice. Every night before bed, she blesses her daughter by tracing the sign of the cross on her forehead, reminding her she is one with Christ. She then follows the blessing by giving her a goodnight kiss. Her daughter is now a freshman in college and left home in the fall. When her daughter came home for Christmas break, she told her mother that each night before going to bed, she would recall the simple blessing and love her mother shared with her throughout her years of growing up. She said that now, even though she was away from home, she found comfort and peace knowing she was still being blessed by her mom.

The story is both touching and revealing. The simplicity and power of primary symbols and ritual actions not only led this family to a deeper connection with the Church's sacramental life, but to a life-long journey of being one with Christ. Not words, but ritual keeps this family tied together. Even when not physically present to one another, they are connected on a deep spiritual level.

This is what ritual and liturgy do for us.

So what is all this talk about Liturgical Catechesis? What is it? How is it different from the way we have been doing catechesis in the past?

Liturgical catechesis uses as its starting point the liturgy. "Although the liturgy is above all worship of the divine majesty, it likewise contains rich instruction for the faithful." (CSL#33) This instruction comes through the readings, prayer, actions, gestures, rites and symbols of the liturgical actions.

We don't teach or catechize about the symbols, rituals, actions, words, and gestures before the experience. Instead, our catechesis prior to liturgy is to help participants to be "present" to the liturgical experience! Then after the experience of liturgy, we reflect on the experience to uncover its meaning.

Questions such as the following can help us make the connections between liturgy and life: What touched your heart in the liturgy today? What does your experience say to you about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the Church? And how are you being called to live as a result of this experience?

It is in allowing the symbols and liturgy to do what they are intended to do that we lead people into a lifetime of returning to the liturgy for more!

By holding up the liturgy as the starting point for catechesis, we are training people in the art of mystagogy--reflecting on the mysteries. By reflecting on liturgy we enter into the mystery which is the presence of Christ. The liturgy touches and transforms us, sending us forth to continue the mission of Jesus Christ. Catechesis becomes a lifetime of discovering, naming, and growing in that experience!