By Fr John Hardon
The Catechist as Teacher of Christian Love
There is more than academic value in making clear just what teachers of religion are to impart to those they teach.
There are so many truths revealed by God that need to be believed; there are so many precepts of the Gospel that need to be learned—that we are liable to forget those words of Christ at the Last Supper: “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Whatever else, therefore, a catechist teaches those under religious instruction, the heart of Christian catechesis is instruction in Christian charity.
It might be useful if only for a few minutes, to explain what we mean by Christian charity.
Christian charity is not worldly love.
Christian charity is supernatural love.
Christian charity is supernatural love because it would be unknown,
except for the supernatural revelation made by God, who is Love, and who
became Man to show us the meaning of love.
Christian charity is supernatural love, because it requires supernatural grace to practice.
Christian charity means two things:
It means loving God more than anyone else in the world, especially more than we love ourselves.
It means loving others out of love for God.
It means loving others as God loves us.
Catechists have many
truths of the faith to teach, but none is more basic, or more important,
or more profitable for salvation, or more distinctively Christian, than
to teach the meaning and value and practice of selfless love.
The Catechist as Channel of Christian Love
If the teaching of Christian love or charity is so important in the teaching of faith, how can this best be done?
In other words, what is the pedagogy of Christian charity? One simple sentence answer: The most effective way for a catechist to teach Christian charity is to practice Christian charity.
There is more locked up in this statement than meets the eye.
God will use us as catechists to teach the virtues, in the measure that we ourselves practice them. The most distinctive virtue of Christianity is selfless love of God and selfless love of others out of love for God.
Like reproduces like. We shall be conduits of divine grace to generate loving Christians in the degree that we are personally living loving Christian lives.
This is the iron law of spiritual reproductivity. It is also the secret of being an effective catechist.
Live what you teach—especially Christian charity.
Be what you say—especially selfless love.
Then you can leave the
rest up to God. He knows that the main reason He became man in the
person of Jesus Christ was that we might follow in His footsteps, and
prove to a selfish world that Christianity is the true religion. Why?
Because it produces selfless people who believe—with the Little
Flower—that our primary vocation in life is to love.
Of course, on earth the price of loving selflessly is suffering. Of course it means enduring pain. Of course: it means carrying the Cross!
But the reward is great.
Already on earth, selfless love produces such peace of soul as nothing else can provide,
And in the life to come, the reward of selfless love is to enjoy the possession of God, who is Love, and enjoy the experience for all eternity.