As some wrote
“I believe it may be due to the fact that many Catholics, who are themselves the product of inadequate/poor catechesis.”
We can explain some of the poor catechesis by liberal or dissident priests. But most priests are good and doing the best they can.
We have inadequate catechsis because the bishops don’t listen to the Pope. They refuse to take the directives of the Pope seriously. The Catechism says that the
- “The liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; it is also the font from which all her power flows.” [[13]](file:///e:/WP51/Daddy/Apologetics/Apol.%20St.%20Peter/Catechism%20of%20the%20Catholic%20Church.html#9G13) It is therefore the privileged place for catechizing the People of God.
The liturgy includes all the sacraments but especially the mass.
The mass, during the homily is the "
privileged place for catechizing the People of God."
The teaching coming from the Pope in the “Directory for Catechesis”
is that the **CATECHISM IS **
"a sure norm for teaching the faith": (421) the
Catechism of the Catholic Church offers a clear response to the legitimate right of all the baptized to know from the Church what she has received and what she believes; it is thus an
obligatory point of reference for catechesis and for the other forms of the ministry of the word.
How often are homilies based on a commentary of the readings. How often do we have homilies which just repeat the readings we just read. The Church teaches the Catechism is an "
obligatory point of reference for catechesis and for the other forms of the ministry of the word", NOT THE SCRIPTURES.
All this what the Popes have always taught. But almost everyone in the Church ignores the Pope and the teachings of the Church and instead they listen to theologians and scripture scholars before the Church.
Lets make this clear. The Church teaches in the Catechism, approved by the Pope, that the liturgy is the privledged place for catechizing. The Directory for Catechsis, promoted and approved by the Pope dictates that this catechesis (during the homily, etc, )MUST be based on the catechism.
ALL forms of catechesis MUST be based on the Catechism.
Instead we have homiles that are based on giving an exegesis of the readings, (an explanation of the readings). So all we get is a repeat of what we just read.
The homily is supposed to take some point of the readings, such as baptism, or grace or sin, and giving an exposition of this point, based on the Catechism, then use all the scriptures related to it, to noursh or illuminate this point. (not to prove the point).
This is how the homiles are supposed to be given.
I have talked to priests who all said at the seminary they were told the homily is supposed to only be on the content of the readings, and to explain the readings. So they only end up giving a commentary on the scriptures instead of teaching the faith.
It is the bishops who are supposed to get this right and obey the Pope when it comes to the directives in the Catechism and the Directory for Catechsis. And if they don’t understand what these documents say, they should get the correct understanding from Rome. Evidently they have not done so. They listen to theologians instead, and so far not one single theologian understands what Rome is saying. Thus the bishops don’t understand what Rome is saying. They need to swallow their pride and find out from Rome exactly what these directives mean. They need to say, “look, we are ignorant, what exactly does the GIRM and the Catechisms and the Directory for Catechesis” mean when they give instruction on the homily at mass.
God Bless
