A Beacon Of Light… Life In Christ

By FR. RICHARD D. BRETON JR.

(Editor’s Note: Fr. Richard D. Breton Jr. is a priest of the Diocese of Norwich, Conn. He received his BA in religious studies and his MA in dogmatic theology from Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell, Conn.)

• + + Several weeks ago we began an exploration of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. In section one, we were invited to reflect upon our beliefs as Catholics. In particular we studied the Creed, or the profession of faith, which enabled us to better understand what we profess each Sunday at Mass.
  Then, having gained a better insight of our creedal faith, section two opened for us the door to the Church’s sanctifying power found in her Sacred Liturgy. In this section we examined the liturgical life of the Church and how it assists us as pilgrims on a journey.
  With a better understanding on the Church’s liturgical life, we studied the Paschal Mystery and recognized this as the heart of everything that followed: the sacraments, sacramentals, and how we celebrate the liturgy in various forms.
  With this information fresh in our minds, today we begin an understanding of what it means to live our: Life in Christ. St. Leo the Great spoke of this in one of his sermons:
  “Christian, recognize your dignity and, now that you share in God’s own nature, do not return to your former base condition by sinning. Remember who is your head and of whose body you are a member. Never forget that you have been rescued from the power of darkness and brought into the light of the Kingdom of God” (St. Leo the Great Sermon 22 in nat. Dom., 3: PL 5).
  Basically this section of the Catechism will show us how creedal faith and the sacred liturgy are linked to living a life devoted to Christ, because they keep our souls fixed on the Lord.
  Why is it important to recognize this distinction? Because, if we remember, everything that Jesus did was geared toward pleasing the Father and there was always a perfect communion with them. For us, disciples of Christ, we must strive to do the same; to live in as perfect harmony with the Lord as is humanly possible.
  Even as children of God, it is very easy for us to get distracted along the way. Sometimes life throws us curve balls as we go along, and we must choose the path we will follow. For us there are two paths. St. Ignatius of Loyola, in his Spiritual Exercises, talks about discernment. Discernment is the way through which we find Christ. Along these two ways are consolation, and desolation. Consolation is what leads us to a life in Christ, while desolation has the potential to lead us into destruction.
  Being able to discern the proper way means having the knowledge necessary to make such a decision.
  The Church in her love for us gives us all that we need to live our lives in Christ. This is accomplished in what we call catechesis: “Catechesis is nothing other than the process of transmitting the Gospel, as the Christian community has received it, understands it, celebrates it, lives it, and communicates it in many ways” (General Directory for Catechesis, n. 105).

Seven Coherent Ideas

Catechesis is so much more than this, however, because in all clarity, it reveals the joys and demands that one is called to in living with Christ. This includes a “newness of life” and the ability of being open to this newness of life.
In order to understand this fully, the catechism breaks catechesis down into seven coherent ideas.
First, there must be some kind of understanding of the Holy Spirit. This includes allowing the interior Master of life, according to Christ, to be a gentle guest and friend who inspires, guides, corrects, and strengthens our life.
Second, there must exist grace. For it is by grace that we are saved, and our works can bear fruit for eternal life.
Third, we must know the beatitudes. The way of Christ is summed up in the beatitudes, the only path that leads to the eternal beatitude for which the human heart longs.
Fourth, there has to be complete awareness and understanding of sin and forgiveness. Unless man acknowledges that he is a sinner, he cannot know the truth about himself, which is a condition for acting justly; and without the offer of forgiveness he would not be able to understand this truth.
Fifth, we must have a desire of the human virtues. Virtues causes one to grasp the beauty and attraction of right dispositions towards goodness.
Sixth, we must never forget the Christian virtues of faith, hope, and charity. These virtues are infused within our souls at Baptism. These virtues are generously inspired by the example of the saints.
And seventh, we must understand the twofold commandment of charity, as set forth in the Decalogue: to love the Lord our God with all our hearts and to love our neighbor as ourselves.
Together, these seven aspects of catechesis lead to an ecclesial catechesis. In other words, it leads us to recognize the Church herself as the “chief catechist.” This is accomplished through the manifold exchanges of “spiritual goods” in the “communion of saints” so that Christian life can grow, develop, and be communicated.
Today, we are living in unprecedented times, and we find ourselves in the midst of a struggle to teach the faith. This struggle is nothing new actually, it was recognized in part by our late Holy Father, John Paul II, who encouraged the Church to begin “a new evangelization.” He foresaw, as did many of his Predecessors, a decline in catechesis.
Sadly, however, many dismissed this idea, which has led to a spiritual disaster, of sorts, because people no longer know the faith. We have failed in our responsibility of catechesis; we have failed in teaching the faith!
Why? Well, precisely because we have forgotten the most important and critical aspect of our faith. We have forgotten that the first and last aspects of our entire faith rest solely in Christ Jesus!
St. John knew well that everything must be rooted in Christ. He even wrote it down for us to remember: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father, except through me” (John 14:6).
As we continue in this section of the catechism, we must remind ourselves that our entire faith is rooted in a life of Christ. Without Christ, the Creed and Sacred Liturgy, will mean nothing to us. United in Christ, however, they assist us on our journey of faith.
Moving ahead, next week we will explore man’s dignity and how we are made in the image and likeness of God. This will, however, require from us an opening of ourselves to Christ.

He Longs For You

St. John Eudes, who was a French Roman Catholic priest, had a great devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. He taught many, including priests, the importance of this relationship with Jesus and Mary. St. John Eudes may be able to help us in understanding what it means to live our lives in Christ:
“I ask you to consider that our Lord Jesus Christ is your true head, and that you are one of His members. He belongs to you as the head belongs to its members; all that is His is yours: His spirit, His heart, His body, and soul, and all His faculties.
“You must make use of all these as of your own, to serve, praise, love, and glorify God. You belong to Him, as members belong to their head. And so He longs for you to use all that is in you, as if it were His own, for the service and glory of the Father” (St. John Eudes, Tract. de admirabili corde Jesu, 1, 5.)