In my last ICSI posting[i] I presented the human being's right to education based on human dignity as presented by Gravissimum educationis (GE), the conciliar decree of Vatican II promulgated by Pope Paul VI on Oct. 28, 1965. In this posting I present GE's notion of Christians' right to Christian Education.
The relevant text from Gravissimum Educationis is as follows:
Since all Christians have become by rebirth of water and the Holy Spirit a new creature so that they should be called and should be children of God, they have a right to a Christian education. A Christian education does not merely strive for the maturing of a human person as just now described, but has as its principal purpose this goal: that the baptized, while they are gradually introduced the knowledge of the mystery of salvation, become ever more aware of the gift of Faith they have received, and that they learn in addition how to worship God the Father in spirit and truth (cf. John 4:23) especially in liturgical action, and be conformed in their personal lives according to the new man created in justice and holiness of truth (Eph. 4:22-24); also that they develop into perfect manhood, to the mature measure of the fullness of Christ (cf. Eph. 4:13) and strive for the growth of the Mystical Body; moreover, that aware of their calling, they learn not only how to bear witness to the hope that is in them (cf. Peter 3:15) but also how to help in the Christian formation of the world that takes place when natural powers viewed in the full consideration of man redeemed by Christ contribute to the good of the whole society.(9) Wherefore this sacred synod recalls to pastors of souls their most serious obligation to see to it that all the faithful, but especially the youth who are the hope of the Church, enjoy this Christian education (GE, 2)
Christians have "a right to a Christian education" based on their baptism.
It appreciates baptism, the Church's Sacrament of Initiation, in its full faith-based metaphysical and moral consequentiality. Baptism is more than just an exercise in compliance with culturally-honored church rites with effects in social positioning.
Through baptism, the newly-baptized is reborn by water and the Holy Spirit into a new creature, a new creation. "…if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ" (2 Cor 5:17-18).
Christian education's principal goal is to unlock the meaning of this rebirth for the self consciousness and life-practice of the Christian, as a Christian individual and as a member of the Church: to enable the baptized, "while they are introduced [to] the knowledge of the mystery of salvation, to become ever more aware of the gift of Faith that they have received" (GE) and the responsibilities this Faith entails within the community of believers in the world.
What is the mystery of salvation? It is Christians' needing to be saved because of their history of sin, and their being saved in Jesus Christ through Faith in him, that is itself a gift. For before the foundation of the world God chose them to be holy and blameless in his sight.
It is Christians' appreciation of their history of sin and their need for salvation. "You were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and the ruler of the kingdom of the air, [Satan], the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh, and fulfilling its desires and thoughts. Like the rest we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgression – it is by grace that you have been saved" (Eph 2:1-5).
It is Christians' being able to praise "the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ in accordance with his pleasure and will – to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the richness of God's grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment – to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ" (Eph 1:3-10)
The mystery of faith originates in the timeless mind of God, unfolds in the timebound lives of sinners, who by faith are "new creatures" under Christ.
What is the gift of faith? It is a gift through which Christians are saved. It is not earned; it is not owed. But it is through faith that Christians are saved. It is a gifted relationship between the Savior and the saved, through which God makes the saved new. Christians are the new creation of God's hand, his personal handiwork: "For it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so no one can boast. We are God's handiwork" (Eph 2:8).
This gifted relationship between the Savior and the saved is simultaneously a gifted relationship between the saved and God, the Father, who sends the Savior, his compassionate Word, in Love. Faith is therefore not just a mental affirmation of privileged conceptual content, but a personal relationship which on this earth implicates the Christian in worship of the saving God. GE says that education must enable the Christian to worship God in spirit and in truthas in John 4:23: so not bound to specified places of worship (as in the Temple or on specific mountains) nor to sacrifices detested by God[ii], but in spiritual union with Jesus' own worship of the Father whose sacrifice is his self-sacrifice on the Cross in obedience to the Father for the redemption of the world. Part of the reality of baptized Christians is that they are baptized into the death and the new life that comes with his resurrection. "Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live in new life?" (Rom. 6:3-4). Through baptism, God creates a new creature in Christ, a new human being. He confers on the Christian new life.
The new life is not static. It is dynamic, alive. It is Christian dignity unfolding in the world. For GE, Chistian education is to teach that the Christian must be conformed to the new man in justice and holiness of truth. This is not automatic, it must be worked at through a free appropriation of baptism's reconfiguring grace, i.e., through a thorough renunciation of the "old man" and an embracing of "the new man created in justice and holiness of truth." Eph. explains this: "You were taught with regard to your former way of life to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its evil desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and put on the new self, created to be like God in righteousness and holiness" (Eph. 4: 22-24), "attaining the whole measure of the fullness of Christ" (Eph. 4:13).
In citing Ephesians, GE is not referring merely to the Christian individual, but to the Christian Community, the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ in the world which Ephesians addresses. In the world of religious indifference, secularism, hatred, violence, and sin, this Church needs to grow into spiritual maturity, into "perfect manhood," itself becoming more conformed to Christ according to the mature measure of the fullness of Christ, the goal of the Church. To the church of Ephesus Paul says, "I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order to know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realm, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be the head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way" (Eph. 1:17-23). This is then a fullness that in history fills everything in every way. This is the fullness of Christ in his Church through the life of its members filling everything that is not yet full, everything that is yet unholy, yet only natural, yet disenfranchised, yet unhappy, yet sinful, yet despairing, according to the measure of the fullness of Christ. It is according to the measure of this fullness that the Church, the Mystical Body, grows.
Bear witness to the hope that is in them…. "But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have" (1 Peter 3:15). Live in hope and stand for the reasonability for your hope. The hope that is Christian is the hope that God has called all Christians to: not hope in the riches of gold and silver nor in political power or military strength, but "the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe," i.e., the riches of his Church, men and women gifted with faith in the Savior, Jesus Christ, and the power that He has and has used to raise Jesus from the dead who sacrificed himself for the salvation of all who believe in him, the Church. The hope is that He who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing will "at a time of fulfillment bring all things to unity under Christ" (Eph.1:10) and that "now through the Church the manifold wisdom of God should be made known … according to the eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus, Our Lord" (Eph 3:10). The hope is that the God who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing will "at a time of fulfillment bring all things to unity under Christ" (Eph.1:10) and that "now through the Church the manifold wisdom of God should be made known .. according to the eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus, Our Lord" (Eph 3:10). Bearing witness to this hope means not having to be shackled to earthly pleasure, wealth and power, but having the freedom to live out in history the new creation one is according to the measure of the fullness of Christ.
Christian education should also help in the Christian formation of the world. It should show how through the personal lives of Christians the world can be formed in the fullness of Christ: through the spiritual maturity and growth of its members; through the unity of the Body of Christ, the Church, giving concrete witness to the fullness of Christ in the world; through their worship of God, their love, their self-sacrifice. Practical witness to the fullness of Christ in the world means acting where the fullness of Christ is not present because of lack of faith, lack of basic humanity, lack of respect for human dignity, lack of respect for Christian dignity, lack of the corporal works of mercy, lack of cultures which are formed by Christian values based on the fullness of Christ.
Finally, pastors of souls are to consider it a grave obligation to see to it that Christians are provided an Christian education.
Personal reflection:
GE presents a lofty and apodictic ideal for the Christian's right to Christian education based on the Christian's baptism. But the stymying question is: how is the right to be enforced? While the applicability of the right is limited to the baptized, the importance of the recognition and implementation of the right is intensified because GE is talking about real baptized Christians and the real and practical meaning of their baptism, including its meaning for them belonging to the Church in the contemporary world. That "pastors of souls" are given the grave obligation to see to it that "all the faithful, but especially the youth … enjoy this Christian education" (GE) is of little consolation. The educational task entrusted to "pastors of soul" appears overwhelming.
Even if one were to prescind from the argument of GE for the right of Christians to Christian education based especially on texts from Paul's sublime letter to the Ephesians, and to base the right on the simpler text from the Baltimore catechism which we as Catholic school pupils had to memorize, "Man is created by God to know him, love him and serve him, and to be happy with him in heaven forever," the Christian education that can unravel this theoretically and practically in the context of the Church and the world is daunting.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church[iii], which is required material for mature study of the mystery of salvation includes the follow main parts: I. The Profession of the Faith; II. The Celebration of the Christian Mystery; III. Life in Christ; IV. Christian Prayer.
Part I on Faith involves the dialogue between God and Man, the profession of the Christian faith (including all the articles of the Creed).
Part II on Worship includes the Sacramental Economy, the Seven Sacraments of the Church, the Sacraments at the Service of Communion, Other Liturgical celebrations.
Part III on Life includes Man's Vocation as Life in the Spirit; the Ten Commandments.
Part IV on Prayer includes Prayer in the Christian Life, the Lord's Prayer.
This material in its fullness is difficult to communicate to the busy Christian student or adult in the world of today, even by the skilled pastor. The Catechism of the Catholic Church has more than 900 pages and 2865 numbered paragraphs.
Yet it may be agreed that the more fundamental text for Christian education is the Bible, the collection of Sacred Writings or Sacred Scripture that the Church considers to be divinely inspired: the Word of God as God has revealed himself to us in dialogue with his Chosen People in different periods of history, cultures, and literary genres.
Complementing the discipline of biblical interpretation would be rich literature in various aspects of biblical theology, systematic, moral and sacramental theology, and Church history.
To be stressed is that even on a theoretical plane Christian education is not confined to theory but crucially embraces praxis: lived life, worship, prayer and service.
With so much to communicate about the human being who through baptism is a new creature called within the Church to be configured to the fullness of Christ, how Christian education is to be organized and communicated to the baptized Christian is formidable and practically extends beyond the ability of "pastors" to provide this.
Recalling, however, that the responsibility for providing Christian education to the baptized is not only that of pastors but also of parents and of civil society, it may be understood that this burden is carried also by the institutions of learning that assist the parents in fulfilling their duty to educate the Christian students. Where it is possible Christian parents should choose the schools through which their children can receive proper Christian education. For this purpose the Church should be in a position to recommend the schools which provide this education, whether in a public or private schools. Government should be supportive of these schools. So too parents through complementary family life.
Too often, however, this gargantuan task is left to schools, to which the duty of Christian education is illegitimately outsourced, while a partnership between Christian families, communities and schools impacting local, national and global society and environment is required. Christian education embraces Christian life, worship and prayer, that cannot just be acknowledged but lived. It involves the education of the mind not only in things sacred but secular; it involves the formation of the heart, the exercise of hands in service and of feet in courageous evangelization.
The Catholic Education Association of the Philippines has recently articulated standards for Catholic schools in the Philippines[iv] and beyond in an effort to provide Christian education to those who have a right to it by baptism. Towards Christians achieving the fullness of Christ in history through the Church, the hope is that these standards be actually used as guidance for educational practice.
Finally, a reflection on when the fullness of Christ is felt and achieved in a family. In the Christian family there is appreciation for the new creation Christians are through baptism, converted from the old self of sin to the new self that matures into perfect humanity according to the measure of the fullness of Christ, not a fullness of decorative religious images. This is starkly different from families defined simply by the life of the human being in dignity, no matter how admirable this may be. It is certainly different from families defined by self-centeredness, shared pleasures, shared possessions, different levels of alienation in the members due to quarrels about possessions, infidelity, substance abuse, lack of communication among members of the family despite advances in communications technology, corruption, dishonesty and violence due to an overconcern for wealth or social prestige and their perceived advantages. It is a family conscious of their faith that is constantly affirmed and nourished, the living relationship between God and the family, defining the manner in which the family lives, worships and prays. Life is determined by the experience of God's love in the family, coloring the relationship between parents and their children, and between their family and society beyond the family. Life is defined and sanctified in worship, especially in the life-determining experience of salvation through Jesus with every Mass. It is nourished and blessed in prayer, especially by the Our Father.
[i] A blog on education as it impacts family and society based on Church Social Teaching submitted to the John J. Carroll Institute on Church and Social Issues (ICSI).
[ii] " 'The multitude of your sacrifices – what are they to me?' says the Lord. 'I have more than enough burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats" (Isaiah 1:11). The Psalmist, David, says: "You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God will not despise." (Psalm 51: 16-17).
[iii] Co-published in English in the Philippines by Word and Life Publications, Makati, and CBCP/ECCCE, Manila, from the original Latin text, Vatican:1994
[iv] Philippine Catholic School Standards for Basic Education (Quezon City: Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines and Phoenix Publishing House, 2016). The PCSS for Basic Education as originally publishedis jointly owned by the CEAP and the Phoenix Publishing House Educational Foundation. The Philippine School Standards for Higher Education (Quezon City: Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines, 2022).
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