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 DOCTRINE

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DOCTRINE

the innermost piety and devotion of heart believe, that 'there is no other name under heaven given to men whereby we must be saved ', for ' He is the propiti- ation for our sins'. But as in this we do know that we have known Him, if 'we keep His commandments', the next consideration and one intimately connected with the foregoing, is to show that life is not to be spent in ease and sloth, but that we 'ought to walk even as He walked', and with all earnestness 'pursue justice, godliness, faith, charity, mildness'; for He 'gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a people accept- able, pursuing good works'- which things the Apostle commands pastors to 'spealc and exhort'. But as our Lord and Saviour has not only declared, but has also shown by His own example, that the Law and the Prophets depend on love, and as also, according to the confirmation of the Apostle, 'the end of the command- ments and the fulfilment of the Law is charity, no one can doubt that this, as a paramount duty, should be attended to with the utmost assiduity, that the faith- ful people be excited to a love of the infinite goodness of God towards us ; that, inflamed with a sort of divine ardour, they may be powerfully attracted to the su- jjreme and all-perfect good, to adhere to which is solid happiness" (Catech. of the Council of Trent, Pref., x).

The persons concerned in catechizing (teachers and taught) and the times and places for catechizing can hardly be treated apart. But it will be best to begin with the persons. The duty of providing suitable relig- ious instruction for children is primarily incumbent on their parents. This they may fulfil either by teaching them themselves or by entrusting them to others. Next to the natural parents the godparents have this duty. The parish priest should remind both the par- ents and godparents of their obligation ; and he, too, as the spiritual father of those entrusted to his care, is bound to instruct them. In Pius X's Encyclical Letter on the teaching of Christian doctrine it is enacted " (1) that all parish priests, and in general, all those entrusted with the care of souls, shall on every Sunday and feast day throughout the year, without exception, give boys and girls an hour's instruction from the catechism on those things which every one must believe and do in order to be saved; (2) at stated times during the year they shall prepare boys and girls by continued instruction, lasting several days, to receive the sacraments of penance and confirmation; (3) they shall likewise and with special care on all the weekdays in Lent, and if necessary on other days after the feast of Easter, prepare boys and girls by suitable instruction and exhortations to make their first Communion in a holy manner; (4) in each and every parish the society, commonly called the Con- fraternity of Christian Doctrine, shall be canonically erected; through this the parish priests, especially in the places where there is a scarcity of priests, will have lay helpers for the catechetical instruction in pious lay persons who will devote themselves to the office of teaching." In countries where there are Catholic schools religious instruction is given on weekdays either before or after the secular instruction. As is well known, for the sake of this privilege the faithful have contributed enormous sums of money to build and support schools. Where this is the case the difficulty is only a financial one. Nevertheless, the First Provin- cial Council of Westminster warns the pastor not to make over this duty of catechizing "so far to others, however good or religious they may be, as not to visit the schools frequently and instil into the tender minds of youth the principles of true faith and piety". We see, then, that the work of giving religious instruction belongs to the parents, to priests with the care of souls, to the teachers in Catholic schools, and to other lay helpers.

Turning now to those who are to be taught, we may consider first the young and then those who are grown

up. The young may be divided into those who are receiving elementary education (primary scholars) and those who are more advanced (secondary schol- ars). Although in many dioceses the scholars are ar- ranged in classes corresponding to the secular classes, we may consider them for our present purpose as divi- ded into three groups: those who have not been to con- fession; those who have been to confession but have not made their first Communion ; and those who have made their first Communion. In the case of the first group the instruction must be of the most rudimentary kind ; but, as already pointed out, this does not mean that the little ones should be taught nothing except the first part of some catechism ; they should have the Creed and the Commandments, the Our Father and the Hail Mary, explained to them, together with the forgive- ness of sin by the Sacraments of Baptism and Pen- ance. The principal events in the life of Christ will be found to be an ever-interesting subject for them. How far it is wise to talk to them about Creation and the Fall, the Deluge and the stories of the early patri- archs, may be a matter of discussion among teachers. In any case great care should be taken not to give them any notions which they may afterwards have to discard. It is of importance at this stage to tell the children in the simplest language something about the services of the Church, for they are now beginning to be present at these. Any one who has charge of them there, or, better still, who will recall his own early memories, will understand what a hardship it is to a child to have to sit through a high Mass with a sermon. The second group (those preparing for first Commun- ion) will of course be able to receive more advanced instruction in each of the four branches mentioned above, with special reference to the Holy Eucharist. In instructing both groups the subjects should be taught dogmatically, that is, authoritatively, appeal- ing rather to the children's faith than to their reason- ing powers. The after-Communion instruction of elementary scholars will be almost similar to the in- struction given to younger secondary scholars, and will consist in imparting wider and deeper knowledge and insisting more upon proofs. When they grow up their difficulty will be not only the observance of the law, but the reason of it. They will ask not only, What must I believe and do? but also. Why must I believe it or do it? Hence the importance of thorough instruction in the authority of the Church, Scripture texts, and also appeals to right reason. This brings us to the subject of catechizing grown-up persons. Pius X goes on to speak of this matter, after laying down the regulations for the young: "In these days adults not less than the young stand in need of religious instruction. All parish priests, and others having the care of souls, in addition to the homily on the Gospel delivered at the parochial Mass on all days of obliga- tion, shall explain the catechism for the faithful in an easy style, suited to the intelligence of their hearers, at such time of the day as they may deem most conven- ient for the people, but not during the hour in which the children are taught. In this instruction they shall make use of the Catechism of the Council of Trent; and they shall so order it that the whole matter of the Creed, the Sacraments, the Decalogue, the Lord's Prayer, and the Precepts of the Church shall be treated in the space of four or five years."

The subjects to be treated of are laid down by Pius X: "As the things divinely revealed are so many and so various that it is no easy task either to acquire a knowledge of them, or, having acquired that knowl- edge, to retain them in the memory, . . . our prede- cessors have very wisely reduced this whole force and scheme of saving doctrine to these four distinct heads: the Apostles' Creed; the Sacraments; the Ten Com- mandments; and the Lord's Prayer. In the doctrine of the Creed are contained all things which are to be held according to the discipline of the Christian Faith,