Ah, but it also means: DON’T STEAL. Easier to understand than ‘the universal destination of goods’.
If ya can’t understand that, ya shouldn’t be let out without a minder.
The Catholic Church: Keeping it simple since the year 0. Give 'em the basics first and K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid).
Advanced theology later (if you have the time, money, a smart, interested pupil and a keen, knowledgeable teacher … see how people can lose the Faith while ostensibly being taught it? A lot of ducks have to line up before you can get to that stage. Get the basics into 'em first.)
This is not the way that it happened at all. It was the other way around. It all begins with the theological dissertations found in the Epistles, the historical narratives that followed in the Gospels, the theological arguments of the Fathers, the Councils, the writing and teachings of the Spiritual Masters. Finally, in th 1500s were catechism published with the question and answer format. From there, many other editions were published in subsequent years and centuries, some better and some worse.
The Church never began with “keep is simple.” The simple catechism were written for several reasons:
a. By the 1500s Catholics did not read Latin. They needed very simple catechism that were easier to translate than the Fathers of the Church.
b. At that same time, the Counter Reformation was in effect. There was a need to give Catholics a crash course in the faith.
c. The Church never said that these catechism had all of the answers. She said they were free of error.
d. The great Christian educators rejected the catechisms and did not use them. Benedictines did not use them in their monastery schools. St. Francis de Sales and later the Salesians did not use them, one of the largest teaching congregations in the Church. St. John Baptist de La Salle and his Christian Brothers did not use them until they came to American and adopted the Baltimore Catechism. The Jesuits did the same thing. They came to America from France and Spain. They were not very proficient in English so they adopted the Baltimore Catechism. But they did not use the catechisms in their schools in Europe. Franciscans never used the catechism. We always used the writings of the Franciscan masters and the scriptures.
It’s only in the 19th century that the catechism becomes generally adopted, because the world has expanded and not everyone speaks the same language. The Catechism could be translated from the Latin to whatever language. They were short. In the USA, the Baltimore Catechism was a translation of a translation. The original catechism that was to be adapted for the American Province was a translation of the Catechism of Trent into French. It was to be translated from French to English. The American Bishops decided to wait a while. That crew died off. They were replaced by another crew that was not at the Council of Baltimore. The new crew of bishops adopted an Irish catechism and translated it from Standard English to American English. The Vatican was very displeased, but did not intervene, because it was not until Vatican II that the Council made it clear that bishops must govern in communion with the pope and the pope in communion with his bishops on pastoral matters as well as faith and morals. Up to then, pastoral matters were not the concern of the popes. Something like a catechism was not the concern of a pope. Pope Pius X wrote one, but never promulgated it. It’s there for the taking. Unlike the CCC which must be used as the point of reference for all other catechism, according to an apostolic decree by Pope John Paul II.
Memorization does not imply understanding. And memorization can help pass some exams, but not others. Is most disciplines, memorization will get you to a point, but on;y the basics. You will never get past the most rudimentary levels of anything by relying on memorization. It is one thing to memorize the Ten Commandments, and quite another to understand what is implied beneath the surface.
You are correct. The taxonomy of human cognition begins from the bottom up
- use/create
- analyze/evaluate
- apply
- explain/describe
- remember
When you can go from stage one to stage four, then you have mastered a concept.
Can there be a more Sacred language than that which the Lord spoke (Aramaic)?
Now we’re getting silly. You’re joking right?
Jesus was also a carpenter. Is carpentry more sacred driving a bus?
Things do not become sacred by association. They are sacred because they are part of the Spiritual life.
Besides, we know that Jesus also spoke Hebrew and probably had rudimentary knowledge of Latin, since he and Joseph were members of the merchant class. It is reasonable to believe that they dealt with Latin speaking customers. Joseph and Jesus did sell what they made. Joseph was really a craftsman, not a carpenter. Carpenter is a modern misconception. Carpenter to a Jew is one who creates artifacts out of wood. Carpenter as we think today is one who works with wood. He or she builds things. That’s not the Jewish concept of carpenter. That’s a builder. Jewish carpenters were artists
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
