Do you remember ever being too short to ride a roller coaster?
I remember trying to so subtly step up a bit on tippy toes in order to cross the threshold needed to ride the ride. (I think I convinced the operator, too. That, or he took pity on me…)
Looking back, it makes sense to have a standard by which you determine who is ready to ride the big rides and who isn’t. It would not make a ton of sense to let little kids ride the upside-down roller coasters, with the harnesses not fitting properly.
They aren’t the target audience of those amusement park rides. There are different rides for them.
The Church also used to operate this way in her missionary efforts. Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, preacher to the papal household, has made the point numerous times that in the early Church there was a clear distinction between evangelization and catechesis, between “kerygma” and “didache.” That one goes before the other.
The Kerygma is the good news we share with others, first inviting them into the story of the Gospel. Catechesis is the teaching and formation that helps us deepen our understanding and live out what we now understand.
Today, we too often blur these lines. We catechise when we should be evangelizing. We teach as though the audience has faith, when we should be trying to bring them to faith.
How can we expect someone to follow guidelines for their life when they don’t really know why they are doing it?
Archbishop Vigneron of the Archdiocese of Detroit explains it really well here:
We want everyone to get to ride the big kid rides… and we can help them enjoy all that the adventure that is offered by helping them cross the threshold of faith.
May God help us in the work of making him known and loved by all.
If you’re interested in learning more about how you can be on mission in your community, you can sign up for Proclaim training below.
