By Nicholas Soellner, Associate Director of the Office of Catechesis
A publication I recently read shared the following observation:
“A further consideration is a general lack of interest on the part of the children and youth in religion. They are taken up with other things and are attracted by games and exercises of physical culture, or by worldly shows where not infrequently moral discipline is relaxed; and thus led away, even on feast-days, the result is failure to attend the parish catechetical instruction. Thereupon forgetfulness and neglect of the things of God … take root in early childhood and grow worse with the years.”
As uncanny as this description is to our modern situation, it may surprise you that this quote comes from a document written in 1935! Ninety years ago, Pope Pius XI’s “On Better Care for Catechetical Teaching” addressed a situation many Catholics in the U.S. are still concerned about today. For those who imagine the pre-Vatican II era of the church akin to halcyon days, with the Baltimore Catechism in wide circulation and the traditional Latin Mass as the liturgical norm, here is evidence that even in a time when society was generally more Christian than it is now, there remained a grave concern for the future of the youth in our Church.
The annual celebration of Catechetical Sunday exists precisely for this reason. To call to mind a renewed sense of vigilance for our mission to hand on the faith taught to us by Jesus, his apostles, and their successors, and to celebrate the good news which our first pope, Peter, implored us to be ready to defend: “Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope” (1 Peter 3:15). This passage is the theme the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops chose for 2025, fittingly tied to the Jubilee Year of Hope. The word “explanation” here has also been translated to mean “defense,” both from the Greek word apologia, which often refers to a legal testimony that would be presented before a judge and jury.
When our testimony is asked of us, Peter says we must give it “with gentleness and reverence” and to keep our consciences clear (cf. 1 Peter 3:16). But why? “So that when you are abused, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing right, if that should be God’s will, than for doing wrong.” And in doing so, we imitate Jesus Christ, who “also died for sins once and for all, the righteous for the unrighteous” (1 Peter 3:16-17). Notice that Peter says “when” you are abused and not “if.” This, of course, echoes a sentiment Jesus shared with him and the other apostles at the Last Supper, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:18-19). In a world routinely filled with turmoil, record levels of depression, anxiety and loneliness, hope can certainly seem to be in short supply. Christian joy and hope are in direct opposition to materialism and despair.
This is why the words of Jesus are called “the words of eternal life” (cf. John 6:68 ). As Peter tells us earlier in his first letter, “By his great mercy we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and to an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:3-4). This is the gospel, the source of our hope. This is the Christian Doctrine we are called to celebrate on the feast day that is Catechetical Sunday. The “McGrath Institute’s Journal for Church Life” recently published an article highlighting how diminishments in consensus of message, confidence in sharing and perceived credibility have all contributed to a decline in the transmission of the Catholic faith over the last 75 years. This weekend, do something visible and intentional to celebrate the Feast of Christian Doctrine. May the Holy Spirit inspire us all to find ways to celebrate in Jesus’ resurrection and his promise that “we shall rise like Christ, with him, and through him.” (CCC 995).
Nicholas Soellner serves as associate director for the Diocese of Evansville Office of Catechesis.