I do not think anyone is disdaining the memorization of facts. However, in this information age, one has to prepare also for the challenges to those facts, questioning whether they are facts, or just precepts of man. This website started as a need to engage in the “why” of the Catholic faith, not just the “what”, so perhaps this place is a not representative of Catholicism as a whole.
Also, as I have said earlier, I believe the over-reliance on memorization has led many Catholics to perceive the Church as changing and contradictory, as doctrine is restated in words other than the ones memorized. All memorization falls short in some way, yet the need for some rote learning is not diminished by this weakness. Priests, as the first part of their seminary education, must first learn philosophy as a basis for understanding (not memorizing) theology.
I am one of those people who struggle with memorization. It comes not because I have to memorize but from the doing, when I quit trying. I know my prayers because they have been repeated daily since I was an infant.
When I worked in a factory, I did not try to memorize the sizes of shipping pallets. They came naturally from daily use.
When you are aware of the historical development of the Church, and not simply memorized answers to questions, it is easier to see its continuity over time.
In modern pedagogy, students are encouraged to rephrase their answers in their own words, to show that they understand what they have read and not simply parrot back answers. I think this is where my classmates were stumping me. I had the memorized answers of the Baltimore Catechism, but had not yet developed enough understanding of my Faith to respond to them.
Before we can internalize the faith in an advanced spiritual way, don’t we have to know it?
What does it mean to know? We can say that knowing is not merely an intellectual process but also a personal and experiential one. But learning the basic concepts is indispensable. And then discussing them with others and living them. I believe this personal aspect is what was absent from the Baltimore Catechism days. Catholics were fed doctrines without being asked to chew them with others, swallow them, articulate them to others. Part of the process of growing with God is giving what we have to others, evangelizing. We simply can’t give what we don’t know. If we can’t give it we can’t know it more fully. Evangelizing is not all “being kind”, and it is not all doctrine thumping. It’s all part of the same process.
My wife and I have conversations about our faith and the scriptures almost everyday. In contrast, when I grew up in the “old days” I don’t ever remember my parents discussing the faith. They knew it, but didn’t talk about it. That was what priests or “holy rollers” did. Thankfully we have come out of our shells.
I disagree with the notion that knowing doctrine is not part of the process of union with God. Is it possible to jump to the contemplative spiritual heights before “eating basic food”? Saints who reached great spiritual heights would say no to that, they recognize this process. Knowing scripture and teaching is an integral part of coming to union with God. John of the Cross’ writings are imbued with a knowledge of scripture and Church teaching. He cautions us not to latch on to great spiritual experiences but to question them and test them.
Many families lived the “shoulds and should nots” of Catholicism. They went through the motions. Pope Francis recently talked about this, about the social elements of the Sacraments being perceived as more important than the Sacraments themselves. Parents had children baptized because it was expected.
The Baltimore Catechism did not talk about scripture. We did not discuss the Bible at home. At least we had copies. I was given my own children’s version to read. I spent time overseas, so I was not in a house that gathered around to watch episodes of Fulton Sheen on television. One brother spent a year in seminary. We had religious artwork around the house. There were only the simplest of discussions about faith. My parents read stories like “The Littlest Angel.” I picked up books from the back of the military chapel to read about the lives of various Saints. I went with my mother to various novenas, or she would take me with her to clean the church, or on trips with the Catholic women’s club.
Not all families center their lives on the Church. The lack of understanding of the Faith is one reason more parishes are emphasizing adult religious education.
There is a difference between being taught the catechism, any catechism, while surrounded by a family devoted to the Catholic Faith, and simply going to religious education because it is expected. It is the difference between attending Sunday Mass out of obligation and participating in the Eucharistic celebration and then living the Catholic Faith on a daily basis.
) but someone else came along and showed that Einstein’s E=m*c^2 wasn’t totally accurate either, using Einstein’s arguments against him. Yet Newton’s Laws still apply for the most part, and we’re safe in memorizing those.