The Way of Bethlehem: A Spirituality for Catechists

When Jesus gave himself freely to his Father’s plan of salvation through birth in a stable and death on a cross, he gained for us an incredible freedom. In this article, we’d like to look at concrete ways in which this freedom allows us to follow in Christ’s footsteps by ‘agreeing with judgments’, something which is intrinsic to the ongoing process of ‘losing one’s life to gain it.’ Fundamental to our Christian Faith is that God is righteous and judges all things righteously. ‘Righteous art thou, O LORD, and right are thy judgments’ (Ps. 119:137). Equally foundational for us as catechists, are the truths expressed in these two Old Testament prayers: ‘Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe in thy commandments’ (Psalm 119:66); and ‘My soul yearns for thee in the night, my spirit within me earnestly seeks thee. For when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.’ (Isaiah 26:9) In our relativistic culture, words such as ‘judgment’ and ‘commandment’ sit less and less comfortably. They smack of closed-mindedness, insensitivity and intolerance. Yet these words represent precepts that are vital, not only to Christianity, but to every civilization ordered to truth and justice. Since we, as Catholic catechists, are called to live faithfully, as well as teach truly, the objective truths of the Christian Faith, the more we have a personal understanding about God’s judgments, the better.