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Heaven and Catechesis

Talking about Heaven is not all that fashionable these days, and I am not sure that Hell has ever been fashionable to talk about (except in the odd-ball crowds).

Recently, Rob Bell, a famous evangelical preacher, author, and all-around good guy, has caused some controversy with his new book, Love Wins, which many suppose he is positing a "universalist" view of the afterlife, which is just a fancy theological way of saying that, in the end, Hell will be empty and everyone will be in Heaven.

Whether or not it holds is outside the point of this post.

People have started talking about Heaven and Hell and their importance in communicating the Faith. I am loving this new conversation. Heaven and Hell are crucial in evangelization, and I want to share some thoughts on the matter.

I am a nerd for Catholic morality, made so by the works of Fr. Servais Pinckaers, a Swiss moral theologian who wrote the book Sources of Christian Ethics, whereby he placed the desire for happiness and the Beatitudes of Christ back in their proper place in Christian morality, which is prior to the Commandments.

Catechesis, MoralityMichael GormleyMay 5, 2011Heaven, Hell, Rob Bell, beatitude, happiness

CCE Syndrome

In doing youth ministry over the years I have encountered two identifiable syndromes that have spread to varying degrees within my youth groups.

The first is "Catholic School Syndrome", which is a disease of the intellect that equates a living faith with a passing knowledge of the subject of Theology. God is reduced to a multiple choice answer on a test.

The second disease, one of the heart, is "CCE Syndrome", which affects the ability of public school kids to find any joy or excitement in their once-a-week faith formation program. CCE Syndrome prevents the teenage will from taking delight in the things of Heaven because they are immersed in the worst of the earth. CCE Syndrome is typically contracted through the lack of emphasis placed on a personal, living faith in God, replaced with a moldly monologue of religious instruction concerned with facts about God and Church history.

If the God of the Universe was madly in love with you, wouldn't that affect you somehow? It is a form of apathy, just like Catholic School Syndrome.

Here are some ways to smack it down.

Catechesis, Church LifeMichael GormleyApril 14, 2011CCE Syndrome, evangelization

evangelization, the youth, and the Theology of the Body

Today I am giving two talks to the youth of Connecticut at their second annual "Youth Explosion" rally. I'm joined with the ever-talented Ike Ndolo Band, who I have never worked with before, but have run into in the ministry field many times.

I was asked to present to the teens in two thirty minute talks an overview of Pope John Paul II's famous Theology of the Body (TOB). Now, these talks spanned years and fill up a rather large book, and have produced book shelves full of commentaries trying to understand and apply his ideas.

...and I have two thirty-minute sessions to get it all in.

Evangelization always being my thing, I want to approach this talk from that perspective and not just give them a thorough check-list summary of TOB's main points. The catechesis needs to be there, but it needs to be framed through the lens of invitation, linked with a basic proclamation of the Gospel, and shown that this is the path to human happiness.

CatechesisMichael GormleyMarch 27, 2011Theology of the Body, evangelization, happiness

Evangelization Before Catechesis

I talk a lot about the new evangelization and approaches that we take here at LayEvangelist.com that are based upon the new evangelization, but it occurred to me that some people might not understand what is so different about this approach than others.

In typical parish-based catechesis in the past it was safe to assume that parents knew the faith and were communicating it to their children and that, at least to some point, the culture was by-and-large supporting the Church's moral vision, and things like the Rosary and mass attendance were just another part of the average Catholic's life.

These assumptions can no longer be made, yet it seems that so much of our theology curricula come from this perspective.

Catechesis, Church LifeMichael GormleyJanuary 13, 2011New Evangelization

Catechesis and Holiness

One's holiness is dependent upon their discipleship, which may depend on our catechesis! Thus the Pope starts out his section on the integrity of the content with these words in CT 30:

"In order that the sacrificial offering of his or her faith should be perfect, the person who becomes a disciple of Christ has the right to receive 'the word of faith' not in mutilated, falsified or diminished form but whole and entire, in all its rigor and vigor."

We cannot be mistaken here. As a catechist you bear awesome responsibility that echoes loudly into eternity. Catechesis that mutilates parts of the deposit- for whatever reason- interferes with the disciple's ability to be conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ. This affects worship, the "sacrificial offering" of ourselves!

CatechesisMichael GormleyDecember 16, 2010evangelization, systematic catechesis

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