Father Koch: Jesus shows us the way to catechesis
December 27, 2024 at 8:00 a.m.
Gospel reflection for Dec. 29, 2024, Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
Jesus and his family made the pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. At the age of 12, and on the brink of his becoming bar mitzvah (son of the covenant) Jesus presented himself to the scholars of the Temple and began to ask them questions. Jesus did not go there to teach but rather to ask questions. It was the quality of his questions, and his response to the follow-up questions that was amazing. Jesus was allowed to ask the questions important to him. In our formation of the youth, we must never be afraid of the questions for they lead them, and often even the teacher, to a deeper insight.
Over the past 50 years or so the Church, as with society as a whole, has struggled with pedagogical developments and the proper instruction of children. As we have seen a decline in the aptitude of school students in mathematical and linguistic skills, so we have also seen a steep loss of apprehension of the sacred things: the teaching and disciplinary traditions of the church, and the knowledge of Sacred Scripture.
In both situations the result is contrary to the intent of reform: educational reforms by society and the reforms inaugurated by the Second Vatican Council.
As a result of this decreased awareness we experience -- again as a society and as a church -- a sense of belonging and participation.
Moving through a multi-generational malaise, we are attempting to reformulate and to recapture what was lost. While our country and local school districts engage in the struggle for educational form, we as a Church are similarly seeking renewal.
At the core of formation -- as a citizen, and as a disciple -- is a family to form us. A breakdown in the family has led to a loss of certain normative values, traditions, and practices that comes with a family unit.
One of the subtle, but necessary features of the life of Jesus is that he lived in a family, likely an extended family, where he was entrusted to the care of various family members, and shared in the care of the younger members of the family as well.
In the heart of a family is the handing-on of stories -- the stories of the family, the stories of faith, the stories of the culture. Today we have entrusted much of that to the schools and to the media. Yet, the stories remain important.
The document Lumen Gentium of Vatican II makes the following observation in paragraph 11: “From the wedlock of Christians there comes the family, in which new citizens of human society are born, who by the grace of the Holy Spirit received in baptism are made children of God, thus perpetuating the people of God through the centuries. The family is, so to speak, the domestic church. In it parents should, by their word and example, be the first preachers of the faith to their children; they should encourage them in the vocation which is proper to each of them, fostering with special care vocation to a sacred state.”
The family of Jesus took him on the annual pilgrimage to the Temple for Passover. Instructed as he was by them, and with his divine nature to guide him, Jesus left his family and encountered the teachers of the Law and asked them questions. They were amazed by the depth of those questions and he spent several days with them in conversation.
This stands as a simple model for us in our catechesis, at home and in our formal programs and schools. It is not uncommon for a parent on the weekend to present a child with a question, often one that the parent felt ill-prepared to answer adequately. What a beautiful opportunity to engage the child; what an awesome experience that the family opens occasions to talk about Church and to share with each other. It is also humbling as a parent to admit that they are not prepared to provide an adequate answer.
It is through our questions -- and certainly the innocent questions of children -- that we grow in our own understanding of faith.
Don’t be afraid to ask -- even Jesus did.
Father Garry Koch is pastor of St. Benedict Parish, Holmdel.
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Gospel reflection for Dec. 29, 2024, Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
Jesus and his family made the pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. At the age of 12, and on the brink of his becoming bar mitzvah (son of the covenant) Jesus presented himself to the scholars of the Temple and began to ask them questions. Jesus did not go there to teach but rather to ask questions. It was the quality of his questions, and his response to the follow-up questions that was amazing. Jesus was allowed to ask the questions important to him. In our formation of the youth, we must never be afraid of the questions for they lead them, and often even the teacher, to a deeper insight.
Over the past 50 years or so the Church, as with society as a whole, has struggled with pedagogical developments and the proper instruction of children. As we have seen a decline in the aptitude of school students in mathematical and linguistic skills, so we have also seen a steep loss of apprehension of the sacred things: the teaching and disciplinary traditions of the church, and the knowledge of Sacred Scripture.
In both situations the result is contrary to the intent of reform: educational reforms by society and the reforms inaugurated by the Second Vatican Council.
As a result of this decreased awareness we experience -- again as a society and as a church -- a sense of belonging and participation.
Moving through a multi-generational malaise, we are attempting to reformulate and to recapture what was lost. While our country and local school districts engage in the struggle for educational form, we as a Church are similarly seeking renewal.
At the core of formation -- as a citizen, and as a disciple -- is a family to form us. A breakdown in the family has led to a loss of certain normative values, traditions, and practices that comes with a family unit.
One of the subtle, but necessary features of the life of Jesus is that he lived in a family, likely an extended family, where he was entrusted to the care of various family members, and shared in the care of the younger members of the family as well.
In the heart of a family is the handing-on of stories -- the stories of the family, the stories of faith, the stories of the culture. Today we have entrusted much of that to the schools and to the media. Yet, the stories remain important.
The document Lumen Gentium of Vatican II makes the following observation in paragraph 11: “From the wedlock of Christians there comes the family, in which new citizens of human society are born, who by the grace of the Holy Spirit received in baptism are made children of God, thus perpetuating the people of God through the centuries. The family is, so to speak, the domestic church. In it parents should, by their word and example, be the first preachers of the faith to their children; they should encourage them in the vocation which is proper to each of them, fostering with special care vocation to a sacred state.”
The family of Jesus took him on the annual pilgrimage to the Temple for Passover. Instructed as he was by them, and with his divine nature to guide him, Jesus left his family and encountered the teachers of the Law and asked them questions. They were amazed by the depth of those questions and he spent several days with them in conversation.
This stands as a simple model for us in our catechesis, at home and in our formal programs and schools. It is not uncommon for a parent on the weekend to present a child with a question, often one that the parent felt ill-prepared to answer adequately. What a beautiful opportunity to engage the child; what an awesome experience that the family opens occasions to talk about Church and to share with each other. It is also humbling as a parent to admit that they are not prepared to provide an adequate answer.
It is through our questions -- and certainly the innocent questions of children -- that we grow in our own understanding of faith.
Don’t be afraid to ask -- even Jesus did.
Father Garry Koch is pastor of St. Benedict Parish, Holmdel.