National Directory for Catechesis

1. National Directory for Catechesis Catechesis Within the Church’s Mission of Evangelization Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature (Mk. 16:15)

2. Evangelization and Inculturation Christ taught his disciples what he received from the Father “What I heard from him I tell the world” (Jn 8:26) The apostles were to echo this divine word faithfully and completely. This “echo” of the Word of God is catechesis

3. Evangelization and Inculturation Christ calls all the faithful to proclaim the Good News to the whole world by Professing Living And Celebrating the faith in Liturgy and prayer. “Evangelization is in fact the grace and vocation proper to the church, her deepest identity. She exists in order to evangelize.” (On Evangelization in the Modern World, (Evangelii Nuntiandi) #14.)

4. Evangelization and Inculturation Revelation God’s Self-Disclosure in Salvation History “It pleased God, in his goodness and wisdom, to reveal himself and to make known the mystery of his will.” (Dogmatic Constitution on divine revelation (Dei verbum) #2) The Divine will is that we should come to the Father through Christ, the Word made flesh, and, in the Holy Spirit, become sharers in the divine nature (theosis).

5. Evangelization and Inculturation Revelation By Word and Deed God reveals himself to us gradually and in stages preparing us for the person and mission of the Incarnate Word, Jesus Christ The works performed by God in the history of salvation show forth and bear out the doctrine and realities signified by the words; The words proclaim the works, and bring light to the mystery they contain

6. Evangelization and Inculturation Revelation First through creation and in the created order then through the history of Israel • He created our first parents in communion with him • After the fall he revealed his plan of redemption through covenants with Noah and Abraham • Through the patriarchs Isaac Jacob and Joseph he formed Israel as his people so that they would know him to be the one true God • He freed the Israelites from slavery, established the Sinai covenant and gave them his law • He spoke to his people through judges, priests, and prophets shaping them for the promised savior • He made a covenant with David that through him would come and eternal kingdom • He fulfilled this covenant through Mary, the virgin mother of God’s only son • God revealed himself fully in Jesus Christ, the “mediator and the sum total of Revelation.”

7. Evangelization and Inculturation Revelation In Christ, God has said everything in one, perfect, transcendent Word. Jesus “completed and perfected Revelation He did this by the total fact of his presence and self-manifestation—by words and works, signs and miracles, but above all by his death and glorious resurrection from the dead, and finally by sending the Spirit of truth.” (Dei Verbum 2-4) There will be no new public revelation until Christ returns in glory at the end of time.

8. Evangelization and Inculturation Revelation The Spirit of truth continues to reveal God in the world and, especially in the Church. The Holy Spirit inspired the sacred authors to preserve the message of salvation in writing and to ensure the authentic interpretation of the word of God contained in Sacred scripture through the Magisterium. Through the Holy Spirit, the risen Christ is alive in those who believe, helping them to understand their experiences in the light of faith.

9. Evangelization and Inculturation The Transmission of Revelation God “wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth.” (1 Tim 2:4) To fulfill this divine plan, Jesus Christ founded the Church on the apostles, filled them with the Holy Spirit and sent them to preach the gospel to the whole world.

10. Evangelization and Inculturation The Transmission of Revelation This apostolic commission is the life of the Church! The Church has preserved the integrity and entirety of the Gospel since Christ entrusted it to her It is her source of inspiration The object of her contemplation the subject of her proclamation And the reason for her missionary activity

11. Evangelization and Inculturation The Transmission of Revelation The apostles carried this out through Their own preaching Example And the institutions they established They like the old Testament writers of salvation history were inspired by the Holy Spirit to communicate in written word what they had seen and heard.

12. Evangelization and Inculturation The Transmission of Revelation God’s self-revelation given through his only son in the Holy Spirit remains living and active within the Church. Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture together are the Deposit of Faith, which is guarded and protected by the magisterium because it was given to us by Christ and can not change.

13. Evangelization and Inculturation Faith God summons a response in faith from his people, a response that is itself a gift. So unimaginable is God’s gift of himself that our response can only be self-surrender, the obedience of faith, of which Mary is the perfect embodiment. Human beings are unique in creation because they alone can offer God a response of faith to his initiative of love.

14. Evangelization and Inculturation Faith The response of faith has two integral dimensions: The faith by which one believes • One’s personal adherence to God who reveals himself, God’s grace that moves and assists the individual to believe through an act of free assent of one’s intellect and will to the whole truth that God has revealed and at the same time The faith which one believes. • The content of Divine Revelation, the truth that God has revealed through the catholic Church

15. Evangelization and Inculturation Evangelization I sense that the moment has come to commit all of the church’s energies to a new evangelization and to the mission ad gentes (to the nations) (John Paul II, That All May Be One (Ut Unum Sint))

16. Evangelization and Inculturation • Evangelization • Purpose of Evangelization is to bring about faith and conversion (a metanoia) • Those who proclaim the Christian message must know and love the culture • Evangelization demands both the inculturation of the Gospel and the transformation of the culture by the Gospel • Evangelization within the United States must take into consideration the great diversity of the country “Yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me.” (Gal 2:20)

17. Evangelization and Inculturation • Evangelization is a Conversion • Evangelization is aimed at personal transformation • Development of one’s relationship with God • Participation in sacramental worship • Development of a mature ethical and social conscience • A deepening integration of faith We must be converted and we must continue to be converted! We must let the Holy Spirit change our lives! We must respond to Jesus Christ! (USCCB Go Make disciples: A National plan and Strategy for Catholic Evangelization in the United States)

18. Evangelization and Inculturation • The Process of Evangelization • The Church’s evangelizing activity consists of several essential elements • Proclaiming Christ • Preaching Christ • Bearing Witness to Christ • Teaching Christ • Celebrating Christ’s Sacraments It aims at both the interior change of individuals and the external change of societies

19. Evangelization and Inculturation • The Process of Evangelization • The essential elements of evangelization are distributed through a complex process of stages or movements • Missionary activity directed toward non-believers or those who live in religious indifference (pre-evangelization) • The initial proclamation of the Gospel (missionary preaching) • Initial catechetical activity for those who choose the Gospel or need to complete or modify their initiation (initiatory catechesis and mystagogical catechesis) • Pastoral activity directed towards those of mature Christian faith (continuing catechesis including theological and liturgical catechesis) There is no evangelization if the name, the teaching, the life, the promises, the Kingdom and the mystery of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of god, are not proclaimed. (On Evangelization in the Modern World)

20. Evangelization and Inculturation • Evangelization • Pastoral directives for Evangelization • Personal conversion to Jesus Christ • Knowledge of Scripture and Tradition • Focus on Conversion and Renewal of every parish • Appreciation for liturgy through liturgical renewal and awareness of the real presence of Christ • Linking of evangelization and social justice • Integration of prayer and daily life • Participation in the Christian life through community building and welcoming

21. Evangelization and Inculturation • Inculturation and Catechesis • Inculturation of the Gospel Message • Process by which the Gospel and catechesis takes root within a culture • Calls for an effort to evangelize culture • Takes place gradually • Is not an external adaptation • Incarnation is the original inculturation of God’s Word • Requires listening and openness to Gospel values, governed by two principles: compatibility with the Gospel and communion with the universal Church • Involves the purification of a culture and an invitation to conversion

22. Evangelization and Inculturation • Inculturation and Catechesis • General elements of culture in the United States which affect inculturation • Freedom • Religious Freedom • Economic Freedom • Pragmatism • Science and Technology • Globalization • Mobility of the people • Diversity

23. Evangelization and Inculturation • Inculturation and Catechesis • Inculturation and the Catechist • An important instrument of inculturation • Discover the seeds of the Gospel present in a culture • Know and respect the essential elements of a culture • Remember that the Gospel message transcends all cultures • Proclaim the transforming power of the Gospel • Promote new enthusiasm for the Gospel • Use the language and culture of a people • Maintain and present the complete and integral content of the faith • Understand the media and to use it to proclaim the Gospel to the culture