Do We Love Our Catechumens Enough? 我們愛護慕道者嗎？

Feast of the Ascension of the Lord, Year B
Theme: Do We Love Our Catechumens Enough? 我們愛護慕道者嗎？

I used to muse on the reason why Jesus had to ascend into heavens to return to His Father. Life would have been very much easier had Jesus remained on earth to run the Church. Less or perhaps no people would commit sins and global evangelization would have quickly been accomplished. Reformation needed not have happened to force the Church in Europe to evangelize the world. In reality, it had been more than two millennia and the end is nowhere in sight. If the end would never come, it would be the worst punishment for all catechists!

The gospel of John is challenging to read but somehow it gives us a lot of hope. During the Last Supper, Jesus made it very clear that He was going to leave the disciples but they did not need to worry. He says, “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places … I am going to prepare a place for you …I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be” (John 14:2-3). Such words are reassuring and they have answered my question satisfactorily. We don’t have to worry about being abandoned by the Master! We would continue to discharge the commission of the Master in hope of joining Him again in the future at the end of this age. In another canonical gospel, Jesus explicitly reassures the apostles, “Behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20b). The risen Lord would accompany us until the end of the world in various manners. Meanwhile, His ascension gives us great hope that the Church, as the Body of Christ, would follow her head, namely Christ, the Son of God, to enter heavens in the end.

Earlier I mentioned about the “commission of the Master” which is the raison d’être of the Church. The Master gave Simon a new name Peter to make him the head of the Church (Matthew 16:18) to continue His salvation project after He ascended into heavens. The gospel of Mark puts the Great Commission this way, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:15-16). There is no ambiguity about the destiny of the people, some of whom are our loved ones. Therefore, not only should we proclaim the gospel, but we should also proclaim it in such a way that they would believe! The Lord has always been merciful. In none of the gospels has He explicitly stated the “reward” of the evangelists during this Great Commission! Of course, elsewhere the Parable of Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) and the Parable of Ten Gold Coins (Luke 19:11-27) may serve the purpose. The Master is exacting. “You take up what you did not lay down and you harvest what you did not plant” (19:21). In short, Jesus rewards and punishes as well! If we insists on His mercy alone, we only have ourselves to blame! Please, use your imagination, catechists! Many believing souls would thank you for your hard work to help them attain salvation and entered into heavens. Jesus might put you and the souls you helped saved together to form a neighbourhood in heaven! On the other hand, what about those who would be condemned? Can we simply brush them aside and say that they had themselves to blame? Or can we pass the buck to God and say that whether the catechumens believe or not is God’s work, not ours. We are only sowers. Whether the catechumens bear fruits or not is not our responsibility!

In this respect, the Catholic Church seems not to be rigorous enough. Many catechists believe in the autonomy and freedom of choice of people. Therefore, we should not impose our morality upon the others to force them to be good Samaritans. See, even Jesus does not force people to believe in Him. Who are we to make people believe in the gospel? Regrettably, many parents apply the same logic and do not baptize their babies during their infancy. Let the children decide when they grow old enough to choose whether to receive baptism or not! Of course, this logic is wrong and the Church “enforces” infant baptism. Now, the Church has not been consistent. On one hand, she baptizes infants and on the other, she does not ensure that catechumens believe and get baptized! Have I been too harsh?

Comparing to the other canonical gospels, the gospel of Mark is more ambitious. It continues with Jesus’ promise to work miracles to support evangelization. Believers would exorcize in Jesus’ name, speak new languages, pick up serpents, drink deadly thing unharmed, and cured the sick etc. (Mark 16:17-18). Most of these miracles are understandable except the one about picking up serpents. Probably we have missed some cultural significance or symbolism of such an action. Anyway, the key message is clear. Christ works miracles through Christians to help them proclaim the gospel. “They went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs” (16:20). Tell me, catechists. Does the Lord work miracles through you when you proclaim the gospel?

Not that I have heard of! This is an unambiguous indication that modern catechists are NOT working with the Lord! Why? One possible reason is that the instruction settings are not conducive to working miracles. Many catechumen classes look like a classroom of teachers and teaching assistants instructing a class of adult learners. They follow a syllabus which they finish within some 18 months before the catechumens get baptized at Easter Vigil. Such an arrangement is systematic and catechists are replaceable. If one gets sick, any other catechists may pick up and continue without disrupting the schedule. But are our modern catechists following the footsteps of the Pharisees against whose teachings Jesus has warned (8:15)? They paid attention to the letters of the Law and had forgotten its spirit. Similarly, is our rigid syllabus crippled and is unable to convey the joy of the gospel? Do our catechists care more about imparting all the necessary knowledge and forget to stir up their desire to come close to the loving Father?

Beloved brethren! If you are not yet a catechist, pray to the Holy Spirit to make you become4e one to win more souls into heavens. If you are already a catechist, invoke the Holy Spirit to work miracles through you to ensure that the Lord is working with you. Amen!
God bless!

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2021 Reflection
Picture Credit: mjdasma.blogspot.com