Celebration of the Word with Educators in Faith (5 November 1982)

On Friday, 5 November 1982, the Holy Father celebrated the Liturgy of the Word in Granada with Educators in the Faith. In his homily, the Pope said to them, "You, educators in the faith, perform a special service to divine revelation, taking inspiration from this eternal complacency that resides in God himself.

“I bless you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have kept these things hidden from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to little ones. Yes, Father, for so it pleased you" ( Mt 11, 25-26).

1. I wish, dear brothers and sisters, to pronounce with you these words of blessing that Jesus Christ addresses to the Father.

He blesses him because the Father is “Lord of heaven and earth”.

And he blesses him for “the gift of revelation”. In a certain sense, revelation is the first fruit of God's pleasure towards men. God, "from eternity" has been pleased with man, and for this reason over time he has revealed himself and the merciful plans of his will. The Second Vatican Council says: “God, in his Wisdom, disposed to reveal himself and to make known the mystery of his will (cf. Eph 1, 9), through which men, through Christ, the Incarnate Word, have access to the Father in the Holy Spirit and become participants in the divine nature (cf. Eph 2, 18; 2 Pt 1, 4)” ( Dei Verbum , 2).

You, "educators in the faith", perform a special service to divine revelation, taking inspiration from this eternal complacency that resides in God himself.

You are at the same time disciples and apostles of Christ. To Him, precisely to Him, "everything was handed over" by the Father ( Mt 11, 17). In Him the Father revealed everything that had to be revealed to humanity, starting from the treasure of his divine complacency: "And no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and the one to whom the Son want to reveal it" ( Mt 11, 27).

Dear brothers and sisters: the Son wishes to reveal to you the whole truth of God's love, so that you can announce it to other men, since you are educators in the faith.

2. United in this love of the Father, I find myself today with the Pastors of this region, with all of you who have the very important mission of educating in the faith in Spain, and with you who accompany us and have come above all from the dioceses of eastern Andalusia and Murcia.

The stupendous setting for this meeting is offered to us by the city of Granada, one of Spain's artistic jewels, which evokes transcendental events in the history of the nation and its unity.

I know the ancient tradition of the Christian faith of these churches, the admirable testimony of your martyrs, the vitality already reflected in the Council of Elvira, at the beginning of the 4th century.

That faith received in the early days of Christianity continues to exist rooted in the personal and family life and popular religiosity of your people, expressed above all in devotion to the mysteries of the Passion of the Lord, of the Eucharist and in filial love for the Virgin Mary.

These lands have been fortunate to have excellent Christian educators who have helped them maintain and strengthen their faith. Among them, Hernando of Talavera, the famous catechist archbishop who with great skill was able to explain the Christian mysteries to Jews and Muslims.
And in recent times you have given education in the faith teachers of great excellence such as the bishop of Malaga, Manuel Gonzalez, the stupendous pedagogue Andres Manjon, founder of the schools and seminary of the Masters of the Ave Maria, and the illustrious Father Poveda, founder of the meritorious Teresian Institution.

They joined other great Christian educators from different regions of Spain; among them we remember Saint Anthony Mary Claret and Daniel LLorente. Bright and incisive figures who anticipated the renewal of the catechism which occurred in later times culminating with the last Ecumenical Council. Figures who continue to be an eloquent example for all those who today must continue the mission of educating the new generations in the faith.

3. This mission which is an ecclesial duty: "Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!" ( 1 Cor 9, 16), continues to have a transcendental importance in our days, in order to lead the faithful - children, young people and adults -, through the different forms of catechesis and Christian education, to the center of revelation: Christ.

This is why I wrote in my first Encyclical: "The fundamental commitment of the Church in every age, and particularly in ours, is to direct man's gaze, orient the conscience and experience of all humanity towards the mystery of Christ, helping all men to be familiar with the profound event of the Redemption accomplished in Christ Jesus” (John Paul II, Redemptor Hominis , 10).

This mission is by no means reserved for sacred ministers or the religious world, but must extend to the laity, to the family, to schools.

“Every Christian must participate in the commitment of Christian formation. He must feel the urgency to evangelize. “In fact, it is not a matter of pride for me to preach the gospel; it is a duty for me” ( 1 Cor 9, 16).

Today, above all, this task becomes necessary and urgent, so that every Christian can be helped to maintain and develop his faith in the context of the rapid social and cultural transformations that Spanish society is experiencing.

To this end, education in the faith must be strengthened through a profound religious formation, which establishes an organic concatenation between infant, youth and adult catechesis and which accompanies and promotes the growth of the Christian's faith throughout his life. In fact, there is a Christian and ecclesial "age minority" that cannot withstand the assaults of an increasingly secularized society.

For these reasons, the catechesis of young people and adults must help transform feelings and experiences perhaps not sufficiently rooted in childhood into deep and personal convictions. The educational task is thus realized in all its overview and breadth in order to lead everyone to the newness of life in Christ. The Christian faith, in fact, involves for the believer a personal search and acceptance of the truth, overcoming the temptation to live in systematic doubt, and knowing that his faith "far from coming from nothing or from pure illusions, from fallacious opinions or from uncertainties , is based on the word of God, which neither deceives nor deceives” (John Paul II, Catechesi Tradendae , 60). For this reason, catechesis must also give "those certainties, simple but solid, which help us to seek more and better knowledge of the Lord every time" ( Ibid .).

The believer will therefore have to open up to a new perspective that embraces and orients his entire existence, and which can offer him with the Christian program "reasons to live and reasons to hope" ( Gaudium et Spes , 31). In this line, today, the Catholic educator can find his place of honor, directing his effort towards an integral formation that offers the valid answers contained in the Revelation on the meaning of man, history and the world (cf. Sagrada Congregación para la Educación Católica, El laico católico testigo de la fe en la escuela , 28).

4. Although Catholic education is a lifelong task, there are phases of Christian growth that require particular attention, such as those of Christian initiation, adolescence, the choice of state of life and other more complex circumstances. importance in personal life such as a religious crisis or a painful experience. These are moments that must be followed with particular care to help the person who experiences them to appropriately hear God's call (cf. Mt 11, 28).

In order to offer this effective help, it is necessary and indispensable for catechists and educators to be solidly trained, through adequate biblical, theological and anthropological training, so that first of all they live that faith themselves, in order to then be able to catechize others with the word and above all with the integral profession of faith, taken as a lifestyle.

This attitude requires, on the one hand, total availability to a lived faith, and on the other, availability to serve the faith itself and others. The apostle underlines it thus in the reading we heard: "For although I was free from all, I made myself the servant of all in order to win the greatest number of them" ( 1 Cor 9:19). By using the word "servant", Saint Paul wants to highlight total surrender to the service of faith and of those he serves.

These other words of his are even more eloquent: “I made myself weak to the weak, to win the weak; I have become everything to everyone, to save someone at any cost" ( 1 Cor 9, 22).

The apostle is a realistic man; he understands that his effort produces only partial fruit. However, he gives himself entirely: "I do everything for the gospel, to share in it with them" ( 1 Cor 9, 23).

In fact, the Gospel must not simply be transmitted, we must participate in it. Whoever participates more transmits in a more mature way, and whoever transmits more generously participates more deeply. Ultimately, the proclamation of the Gospel, the service of faith, consists in "bringing Christ closer to men and men to Christ". Then the words find their fulfillment: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" ( Mt 11, 28).

5. Within the vast field of education in the faith, the Spanish bishops, in their last plenary assembly, chose the service of faith as a priority commitment and in particular considered the importance of transmitting the Christian message through catechesis and of school education.

It is a field that deserves a lot of pastoral care. There is no doubt that the parish must continue its privileged mission of formation in the faith: there is no doubt that parents must be the first catechists of their children. This does not mean that we should neglect the transmission of the message of salvation through religious teaching in private and public schools, especially in a country where the majority of parents ask for religious teaching for their children during the school period. Teaching must be given with due discretion, with full respect for the right freedom of conscience, but at the same time respecting the fundamental right of parents, who are primarily responsible for the education of their children (John Paul II, Allocutio ad quosdam Hispaniae sacros praesules occasion oblata ad limina visitationis coram admissos habita , 2 February 1982 : Teachings of John Paul II , V, 1 [1982] 280 ff).

For their part, Catholic professors and teachers can also have a role of primary importance in the religious field. Many parents and also the Church trust in them to obtain this integral education of childhood and youth, on which ultimately depends whether the future world is more or less close to Jesus Christ (cf. Sagrada Congregación para la Educación Católica, El lay Catholic testimony of life in school , 81).

6. “I bless you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have kept these things hidden from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to little ones.” These words opened our meeting.

And during it, the figure of a large and very important sector of those being educated in the faith was always present in our minds: children. I want to refer to them directly now.

You, dear boys and girls of Spain, are the first to know many things about Revelation that are hidden from the older ones. For this reason you are Jesus' favorite. In you, the little ones, He praised the Father because he made you share in truths and experiences that remain hidden from the wise. In the face of your goodness, simplicity and sincerity and love for all, He proclaimed: "Let the little children come to me, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" ( Mt 19:14). Your innocence and absence of evil also made Jesus say that: "unless you convert and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven" ( Mt 19:3).

While speaking to you from Granada, during this meeting dedicated to education in the faith, the Pope wants to tell you that he keeps you very present in his mind and heart; and he wants to recommend that you take your catechetical education with great commitment, both in the parish, in the school or college and in the religious instruction received from your parents. Thus, little by little, you will learn to know and love Jesus and to turn to Him daily with prayers, to invoke our Mother of Heaven, the Virgin Mary, to behave well at all times to please God who always contemplates us with Father's loving gaze.

I pray for you, I send you a hug and a blessing as a friend of children and I ask you to pray for me too. Are you really going to do it?

7. Dear educators in the faith, in front of this stupendous panorama of a world that needs to be catechized to bring it closer to Christ, in front of so many adults, young people and children, who require a faithful delivery to the cause of the Gospel, "with what vigor and conviction" do they resonate in this meeting the words of the Apostle: “For it is not a boast for me to preach the Gospel; it's a duty for me.

Woe to me if I did not preach the Gospel!” ( 1 Cor 9, 6). I hope that these words are deeply engraved in your hearts, dear brothers and sisters.

The Apostle continues: “If I do it of my own accord, I am entitled to the reward; but if I do not do it on my own initiative, it is a task that has been entrusted to me" ( 1 Cor 9, 17).

In fact, this is a task entrusted to administrators.

Remember this expression: “Dispensers of Divine Revelation”. Since this revelation is inspired by God's complacency towards men, then, indirectly, you are also "dispensers" of that complacency, of that "eternal love".

You will have to pray and strive so that your disciples in faith accept from you not only the word of revealed truth, but also that love from which Revelation is born and which is expressed and realized in it.

For this reason the apostle then writes to those who serve as dispensers: “What then is my reward? That of preaching the Gospel freely without using the right conferred on me by the Gospel" ( 1 Cor 9, 18). Because the Gospel gives you the right to sustenance, if spiritual service occupies all your time and absorbs all your energies. Without a doubt, the greatest reward, according to the apostle, consists in "being able to announce the Gospel". To be able to be dispensers of the words and love of God, to be collaborators and apostles of Jesus Christ.

“Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!”.

Dear educators in the faith: May Christ be "the reward" for your labors, carried out with selflessness and magnanimity in all the churches of Spain. May this labor produce yields of a hundredfold. I ask this of the Virgin of Distress, patron saint of Granada.

© Copyright 1982 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

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