THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

Her Doctrine and Morals

Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost

11 August 2024

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The Sunday

Sermon

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Dear Friends in Christ,

In today's Gospel reading (Saint Luke 10: 23-37), Jesus is questioned by a lawyer. The lawyer asks what he must do to possess eternal life. Jesus turns the question on him and asks him what is written in the law. The lawyer already knew the answer to his question and was humbled when Jesus pointed this out to him, so he tried to justify himself by asking Jesus to expound upon the law he already knew.

The Law is clear: we must love God with our whole being and our neighbor as we love ourselves. The lawyer's attempt to justify himself raised the question of, who is my neighbor? Our Lord's answer is given in the parable of the Good Samaritan.

As important as it is for us to recognize that everyone is our neighbor and that we owe all of our fellow men the same love that we have for ourselves, there is also a lesson for us in the questioning of the lawyer.

Every Catholic, in preparation for receiving Sacraments, studies or reviews the Catechism or the doctrines of the Church. Our children memorize questions and the concise answers the Church has painstakingly composed and made readily available to us. Like the lawyer, we often know the answers that are given. Still, frequently, like the lawyer in today's Gospel reading, we do not fully comprehend because our pride and vanity are interfering. It is as if we know the law but don't want to follow it, so we are looking for a loophole or some other justification for not obeying.

Or perhaps our rote memorization of questions and answers has prevented us from truly understanding. The instructors only cared that we could parrot the text from the book. And all too often, that is the extent of our Catechism studies—we learn to parrot the answer often without ever clearly understanding the very answer we have been given.

I often wonder what good it is for children to give a precise answer to a religious or spiritual question if they do not even understand the very words of the answer they are giving. What good are our memorized prayers if we do not even know what we are saying? The Old English used in our common prayers gives a relatively clear but disheartening example.

In the Lord's Prayer, we say: "Our Father Who art in Heaven…" After memorizing this prayer and frequently repeating it most of their lives, many of our children (perhaps even many adults) struggle to explain what the word "art" means. There are many other examples as well: "hallowed," "trespasses," "Hail," etc.

I am not suggesting that we do away with the Old English vocabulary that has carried over in many of our prayers. I do not suggest that we do away with the simple and concise answers in our Catechisms. Nor do I seek to do away with rote memorization.

It is my suggestion that we understand that the mere rote parroting of doctrinal answers and common prayers is not the goal or end of our studies. Memorization and repetition are only the beginning or foundation of our studies. Teachers and students should seek understanding in addition to rote memorization. With memorization and knowledge, we should pursue wisdom or the ability to apply what we have learned to our daily lives. This pursuit of understanding and wisdom should inspire and motivate us in our spiritual journey.

In addition to and perhaps even more importantly than memorization, understanding, and wisdom, we should constantly seek increasing love of God and our neighbor. Memory and intellect are useless without a correctly formed will that loves and desires God more than anything else. Memory and intellect, without love, lead to the pride and vanity of the lawyer in today's Gospel reading. Forming the lawyer's character is far more important than the laws he could memorize and repeat without proper understanding or comprehension.

We should seek, above all, in our studies and instructions, the cultivation of charity (love for God and our neighbors). Love is an act of the will guided by memory and intellect. Our instructions must go beyond memory and intellect to incorporate the will in frequent acts of love.

The study of our faith needs to be more than labors of memory and intellect; it needs to be labors of love even more so. All that is tiresome, boring, etc., in the labors of our memory and intellects becomes pleasant and joyful when they are motivated by love. It is love for God and neighbor that allows us to truly understand and apply the truths of Religion. This love is what connects us to our faith and to each other, fostering a sense of compassion and unity.

May the Immaculate Heart of Mary inspire, guide, and protect us!