To educate, entertain and edify. On teaching Church history in Catechism
Painting: Tommaso Masolino da Panicale, Detail of St. Peter Preaching in Jerusalem
In my last article, I said that Church History can be taught in an engaging manner during Catechism. I share some ideas in this article.
The catechetical coordinator knocked on the door and came into the prayer space and approached the lead catechist. "Church History transparencies. You can use them for the overhead projector" he said in a matter-of-fact manner. (For the kids out there reading this article, this was the Era BP (before PowerPoint.)
I was a junior catechist. The seniors exchanged not words. But tired glances. It was the "module" which they dreaded. The vibe they gave me was "just get it over and done with." As a then soon to be history major, I was sad.
But I could understand their dread. School history in their time was taught in a “memorise or fail” manner. Facts vomited back at the examiner for the sake of a grade. And after the grade, nobody was interested anymore.
If school history had such an abysmal reputation, what chance does Church history, a non-examinable subject stand?
Fast forward 20 years.
I have been at the job of history education for more than a decade. The kids tell me that they loved my lessons because they were educated, entertained and edified. And this may well be the key to teaching Church History in an engaging manner.
To Educate
When asked why is it worthwhile studying history, some will say that they do so because they were “curious about the past.” That is indeed a legitimate reason. However, another reason that may well be overlooked is actually “curiosity about the present.”
This was brought home to me when one of the kids was joking about a meme he saw entitled “FBI open up.” The boy found the resulting pandemonium hilarious as FBI agents burst in suddenly into the home of seniors having a party, creating chaos and confusion.
I asked of course if this was possible. The guy had watched too many American cop dramas and quickly answered “nope, you need a warrant for that. And they should be read their rights.”
Has he ever wondered why is it considered “normal” for policemen to ‘read people their rights” ie give people due process, when they are performing their duties?
The teachable moment to introduce Church History had presented itself.
Image: Veduta dell' insigne Basilica Vaticana coll' ampio Portico, e Piazza adjacente, Views of Rome, John the Baptist Piranesi (1720–1778)
In Acts 22:-24-29 we read about Saint Paul was accused of a crime by a crowd. The Roman Tribune decided that police brutality was par for the course and “ordered Paul to be examined by scourging to find out why they shouted thus against him” (Acts 22: 24-29). Paul subsequently invoked his rights under the law and said “is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman citizen, and uncondemned.” (Acts 22: 24).
The scene subsequently became quasi comical as the Tribune became alarmed and started worrying about Paul possibly filing a complaint about police brutality. As far as Roman law is concerned, if you are a citizen, the law is there to protect you. For non-citizens/Roman subjects on the other hand, the law is there to subjugate you.
The idea of the “rule of law” was a Roman idea reserved for Roman citizens. But due to the influence of Christianity, the seeds have been planted for its universal application. After all, all human beings are created in God’s image and likeness, it should be a universal thing.
Historian Tom Holland argues in his blockbuster book “Dominion, how the Christian revolution remade the world” that many of the so called “humane” values we take for granted today, had its roots in Christianity. An excerpt discussing Holland’s ideas is worth quoting at length
While studying the ancient world, Holland writes, he realized something. Simply, the ancients were cruel, and their values utterly foreign to him. The Spartans routinely murdered “imperfect” children. The bodies of slaves were treated like outlets for the physical pleasure of those with power. Infanticide was common. The poor and the weak had no rights. How did we get from there to here? It was Christianity, Holland writes. Even the claims of the social justice warriors who despise the faith of their ancestor’s rest on a foundation of Judeo-Christian values. Those who make arguments based on love, tolerance, and compassion are borrowing fundamentally Christian arguments. If the West had not become Christian, Holland writes, “no one would have gotten woke.” [1]
To Entertain
While the scene of Paul and the Tribune was quite entertaining, Church History is actually filled with even better examples of hilarity.
Painting: St Lawrence Giving the Wealth to the Poor, Palma il Giovane (1550–1628)
Take St Lawrence for instance, a Deacon in the 3rd century during the persecution of Roman emperor Valerian. He was told to give up all the treasures of the Church to the State. Lawrence asked for three days to fulfil that demand. After three days, Lawrence, never one to give up an opportunity to troll the Roman State, presented the city's poor which the church has been helping and said that these were the “true treasures of the Church”. “You see, the Church is truly rich, far richer than your emperor.” Lawrence exclaimed. Unfortunately, the Roman authorities had thin skin and the Prefect, probably to silence this Christian troll, had hot coals ready. He chained Lawrence on a gridiron to roast him, wanting him to die an agonizing death. Lawrence, filled with the Holy Spirit had the last laugh and was able to crack one final joke for Christ by telling the Prefect “It is well done. Turn me over!”
To Edify
Photo: Saint Maximilian Maria Kolbe OFMConv
Finally, the examples of the saints are here to give hope, and to illustrate the power of the Gospel down the ages, to transform lives and inspire love. Indeed, Saint John Paul II taught, in his homily canonizing Saint Maximilian Kolbe, who in 1945, offered his life for another prisoner in Auschwitz, if Kolbe’s example was not particularly like unto Christ-the Model of all Martyrs-who gives his own life on the Cross for his brethren? Does not this death possess a particular and penetrating eloquence for our age? Does not this death constitute a particularly authentic witness of the Church in the modern world? [2]
This short excursus into Church history attempts to highlight what it means to catechise in a kerygmatic key. It is less important for the teens to have a systematic presentation of the history of the Church. It is much more important that episodes in Church history be shared to highlight the powerful impact of Jesus Christ on history, and his ongoing credibility today. In my next article, I will attempt to explore the issue of how to make catechesis more engaging especially through the use of what in Singapore catechetical circles have been called “wonder” questions. Stay tuned!
