Pope Benedict XVI Speaks Out Against Changes In Dogma

[ChaosGamma]

On the topic of “rote memorization” I’m reminded of this story from Fr. Zulhsdorf

Years ago I had an experience which confirmed the value of old-fashioned methods of catechism: rote memorization and repetition aloud. I was called to a hospital to assist in a man’s difficult death. I gave him Last Rites and talked with the family as they struggled with the end of their loved-one’s life. An estranged daughter, beyond her middle years, which had clearly been pretty rough, was severely bitter. She cursed life, fate and God for the cruelty her father’s dying. She shouted at me, “Why did God make us if this is ALL THERE IS?” I responded asking, “You tell me. Why did God make you?” She became very still. Then she said, “God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in the next.” I continued, “What must we do to save our souls?” On cue she responded with something that she hadn’t probably thought of for decades: “To save our souls, we must worship God by faith, hope, and charity. We must believe in Him, hope in Him, and love Him with all our heart.” “Did your father do that?”, I asked. “Oh, yes”, she said, “…. oh yes.”

She had been taught well as a child. Without question there were times when she had to be forced to learn and to repeat over and over what seemed boring and pointless. She had been drilled at school, perhaps, by the Sisters, the sort in habits with rulers, whom we now see mocked in the media by ungrateful cads who benefited from their dedication. Her parents did their duty and gave her what she would one day need. By the grace of God the gift her dying father pressed on her years before was rediscovered – in the moment when the battle over her soul was joined.

Many today criticize the old method of education by memorization and repetition. They say that children just mouth things they do not understand. Children might not understand what they are learning at that moment, but one day they will. It will be ready for them. They will have it because it had been given them. Soldiers, sailors and Marines gripe about their training and entertain homicidal thoughts about their drill instructor. But when the time comes, they have the skills that will win battles and save lives. Not a few Marines return to their DI to shake his hand and thank him. We are pilgrim soldiers of the Church Militant. To reach our goal of heaven, we need training, sacrifice, and leadership.

wdtprs.com/blog/2015/10/wdtprs-19th-sunday-after-pentecost-why-did-god-make-you/

 

[ChaosGamma]

Without fixed dogma, there is no fixed standard against which you can measure whether anything is an “abuse” or “good”.

Would you really want to measure things with a yardstick with no permanent shape, made out of a material that could be expanded or shrunk to fit anything? Of course not. That is essentially what the mainline Protestant denominations have done with dogma. They constantly adapt it to fit the demands of the secular culture, expressed in the media. If you read the NY Times this month, you can guess the denominational positions and priorities next month.

We do not need a Church that can keep up with the times, we need a Church that can change the times.

Yea, verily!

 

[OraLabora]

I don’t think that (dislike) is exactly what Ora said. I, too, was raised on BC and I am older than he is, so I have a good bit of that perspective.

It is not that rote memorization is wrong - nor is it that learning the doctrines and morals of the Faith are wrong; it is just that they are in themselves incomplete.

That’s my point exactly. Without appropriate teaching to back up what we learned by rote, it is incomplete. Moreover it is naive to think that a BC-like rote Catechism (and BTW the new Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church very much resembles the BC in format) will somehow instil faith. Faith is (I should hope!) a deeper connection than that.

Obviously when teaching children, the level of teaching (beyond the BC) should be at their level. To be honest, even as a kid, being at a beautiful liturgy with incense, bells, and where the choir sang well, left an impression and sense of other-worldliness on me, and that connected more with me than the FBC (shorthand for French “Baltimore-like” Catechism). It is no surprise then that Gregorian chant played an important role in my eventual return to the Church after 22 years. When I hear the peal of a beautiful set of church bells, there’s a tug in my heart that no amount of BC rote learning could provide. They still ring the Angelus in the town nearest to where I live.

I have and do enjoy reading the current CCC, as a source of knowledge about the faith.

But a Catechism, for me at least, will never be a source of wonder about God. I realize that it’s tough for teachers to do that… but one thing is for sure being too superficial absolutely won’t achieve it.

My background is perhaps why I’m a bit touchy about sloppy liturgies. While I make no secret of preferring the OF liturgy over the EF, I also prefer that it be well-done, and that’s why I joined a schola and go to Mass at a local Benedictine abbey that is OF but in Gregorian chant. Being in the middle of a schola chanting at a Mass or Office of the LOTH is to me the closest I’ll come to experiencing the presence of God on this mortal coil.

 

[commenter]

We do not need a Church that can keep up with the times, we need a Church that can change the times.[end]

Yea, verily!

Thanks for the thumbsup. I was quoting from G. K. Chesterton, of course.

 

[ProVobis]

That’s my point exactly. Without appropriate teaching to back up what we learned by rote, it is incomplete. Moreover it is naive to think that a BC-like rote Catechism (and BTW the new Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church very much resembles the BC in format) will somehow instil faith. Faith is (I should hope!) a deeper connection than that.

Obviously when teaching children, the level of teaching (beyond the BC) should be at their level.

Teaching is not quite the same thing as learning. It seems the BC is designed more for learning than teaching. People learn at different speeds, not to mention engender a different level of enthusiasm for the subject. That’s normal. Curiosity is a difficult thing to teach, but that’s what gets people to come back and possibly advance. (That’s what I was agreeing with commenter on.) That and the mystery perhaps. If one thinks he has all possible knowledge, why pursue it further? The BC covers not only the basics and proper nomenclature but should leave us with a lot of questions. And this is healthy IMO.