My 9 year old daughter asked her catechist to explain the Procession of the Holy Ghost

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I remember when I was a child and heard “who proceeds from the Father and the Son” I just pictured this white dove walking or flying away from the Father and the Son.
 
I am linking to a Vatican document posted on EWTN that was produced by a Pontifical Council under St. John Paul II on the Filioque issue:


From the preamble:
The Holy Father, in the homily he gave in St Peter Basilica on 29 June in the presence of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, expressed a desire that "the traditional doctrine of the Filioque , present in the liturgical version of the Latin Credo, [be clarified] in order to highlight its full harmony with what the Ecumenical Council of Constantinople of 381 confesses in its creed: the Father as the source of the whole Trinity, the one origin both of the Son and of the Holy Spirit".

What is published here is the clarification he has asked for, which has been undertaken by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. It is intended as a contribution to the dialogue which is carried out by the Joint International Commission between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church.
 
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I know someone who asked at a Catholic bookstore for papal encyclicals and was told they ‘probably had the music’.
 
Maximian said:
Shows how valuable the work of a good catechist can be.
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It also shows how important it is for catechists to admit and to say: “let’s remember I don’t know eveything and I can make mistakes. What the Church teaches is true, but it is a lot to know, some of it is difficult to explain and understand, and we all know from being in school that we can make mistakes even about things we know really well. That’s true when you’re nine, and I have news for you: you won’t get past it by the time you’re 99, either. Be easy on us teachers: it could be you up here some day!”
 
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Maximian said:
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JimG:
and she had no idea what I was talking about.
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That could be a disadvantage if she ever has to deal with a candidate with a Russian background
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Then the catechist adapts. Flexibility. “let’s look it up together”
The catechist and the catechumen are working together. The catechist is not a knowledge machine.

And my intuitions on this are, the catechist may have heard a “stump the teacher” attempt in this question, as it is not a question that pops into the head of a 9 year old randomly.
As a catechist, I think good-will questions are opportunities to learn.
 
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I’ve taught for a number of years and I’ve had many “stump the teacher” questions.

My normal response is to ask why they are asking the question. In other words, give me more information.

Generally, it is something Mom or Dad brought up, and it is actually their question, not the student’s. Or it is asked to see if I am qualified to teach. Sometimes it is truly from the student.

I have to say, from the wording of the OP, I would have never gotten the right topic. My first question would have been, where is it held?
 
Tis_Bearself said:
The catechist’s mind might not have immediately jumped to the Filioque. I know mine didn’t.

Did your daughter say, “No, I mean when the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son” or did the whole class just move on?
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Neither did mine.
 
Nor mine. And I have a masters degree in theology.

This feels like a case of “gotcha!” to a catechist volunteer using a poorly phrased question. From a parent who clearly does not volunteer him/herself.
 
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The problem is that the question didn’t sound like it was about the Creed.
 
Proceeds … procession… doesn’t that strike a connection? Perhaps it’s less obvious in US English than over here?
 
Ok. I think people have explained this enough at this point. There actually is a festival of the Holy Spirit in Portugal that includes a procession, so the catechist wasn’t that off the wall.

Also, this feels a lot like a “gotcha” moment with a volunteer—and using an unclear question to do it.

Given your implied criticism, I’d hope you’re volunteering as a catechist.
But from your lack of answers to that question, I’m assuming you’re not.
 
JulianN said:
But from your lack of answers to that question, I’m assuming you’re not.
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I don’t answer questions which are irrelevant, speculative about my motives or ad hominem. I also don’t ask that kind of question.
 
Okey dokey. My points stand then:
-Poorly phrased question
-Not unreasonable answer by catechist
-Strongly implied criticism from someone who’s not volunteering, but appears to think this is some kind of “gotcha” to someone who actually does volunteer.
 
A question is not an answer.

My question is, which phrase of mine implies a criticism?
 
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