U.S. Catholic Bishops - Office for the Catechism

Catechism Update
Spring 1999

Release of Doctrinal Elements for Elementary Grades
As you know, the release of the Catechism of the Catholic Church prompted the establishment of the Ad Hoc Committee to Oversee the Use of the Catechism. One of the main charges given to the Catechism Committee was to conduct a study of the feasibility of developing a national catechism or catechetical series. A strategy the bishops on the Catechism Committee adopted in conducting this feasibility study was establishing a task force to determine if it would be possible to distribute the content of the Catechism over the eight years of elementary religious education.

The task force presented a draft instrument to the Catechism Committee in October, 1997, detailing how the doctrinal content of the Catechism might be appropriately distributed over eight years. That draft was then reviewed and critiqued by some sixty bishops, religious educators, child psychologists, theologians, publishers and parents. The Committee accepted numerous additions, deletions, redactions, relocations and a restructuring resulting from this limited consultation.

This instrument was originally intended for the Catechism Committee's own information. However, numerous catechetical publishers and diocesan directors of religious education have expressed a strong interest in the publication of the document for use in their work. Therefore, the members of the Catechism Committee are pleased to release Doctrinal Elements for Elementary Grades Based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church. This document is being released as a provisional instrument to all bishops, to the chief catechetical officer and the diocesan director of religious education in each diocese, as well as to all publishers of catechetical materials. The members of the Catechism Committee believe that the primary value of this instrument lies in the assistance it may offer to diocesan offices in the development of curriculum guidelines and to publishers in the preparation of catechetical materials which are fundamentally complete in doctrine.

We welcome any constructive comments or suggestions that might come from those using Doctrinal Elements for Elementary Grades. Following a year of provisional use, the responses from bishops and others in the catechetical field will be studied, with a view to completing a definitive instrument.

Dies Domini and the Catechism
This article continues the correlation between these two documents, focusing on the fourth chapter, "Dies Hominis." As in previous correlations, this is not intended to be exhaustive. It is our hope that this will be of benefit to our fellow bishops and their staff.

Dies Domini
Beyond particular ritual forms,which can vary in time depending upon church disciplines, there remains the fact that Sunday, as a weekly echo of the first encounter with the risen Lord, is unfailingly marked by the joy with which the disciples greeted the master: "The disciples rejoiced to see the Lord." . . . The festive character of the Sunday eucharist expresses the joy that Christ communicates to his church through the gift of the Spirit. Joy is precisely one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. (#56)

Catechism of the Catholic Church

Sunday, the Lord's Day, is the principal day for the celebration of the Eucharist because it is the day of the Resurrection. It is the pre-eminent day of the liturgical assembly, the day of the Christian family, and the day of joy and rest from work. Sunday is "the foundation and kernel of the whole liturgical year." (#1193)

The remembrance of the liberation of the exodus also assumes its full meaning as it becomes a remembrance of the universal redemption accomplished by Christ in his death and resurrection. More than a "replacement" for the Sabbath, therefore, Sunday is its fulfillment and in a certain sense its extension and full expression in the ordered unfolding of the history of salvation, which reaches its culmination in Christ (#59). Sunday is expressly distinguished from the sabbath which it follows chronologically every week; for Christians its ceremonial observance replaces that of the sabbath. In Christ's Passover, Sunday fulfills the spiritual truth of the Jewish sabbath and announces man's eternal rest in God. For worship under the Law prepared for the mystery of Christ, and what was done there prefigured some aspects of Christ . . . .(#2175)

The alternation between work and rest, built into human nature, is willed by God himself, as appears in the creation story in the book of Genesis. Rest is something "sacred," because it is man's way of withdrawing from the sometimes excessively demanding cycle of earthly tasks in order to renew his awareness that everything is the work of God. There is a risk that the prodigious power over creation that God gives to man can lead him to forget that God is the Creator upon whom everything depends. It is all the more urgent to recognize this dependence in our own time, when science and technology have so incredibly increased the power which man exercises through his work. (#65) With creation, God does not abandon his creatures to themselves. He not only gives them being and existence, but also, and at every moment, upholds and sustains them in being, enables them to act and brings them to their final end. Recognizing this utter dependence with respect to the Creator is a source of wisdom and freedom, joy and confidence . . . . (#301)

Therefore, also in the particular circumstances of our own time, Christians will naturally strive to ensure that civil legislation respects their duty to keep Sunday holy. In any case, they are obliged to arrange their Sunday rest in a way which allows them to take part in the Eucharist, refraining from work and activities which are incompatible with the sanctification of the Lord's Day, with its characteristic joy and necessary rest for spirit and body. (#67) In respecting religious liberty and the common good of all, Christians should seek recognition of Sundays and the Church's holy days as legal holidays. They have to give everyone a public example of prayer, respect, and joy and defend their traditions as a precious contribution to the spiritual life of society. If a country's legislation or other reasons require work on Sunday, the day should nevertheless be lived as the day of our deliverance which lets us share in this "festal gathering," this "assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven."(#2188)

From the Sunday Mass there flows a tide of charity destined to spread into the whole life of the faithful, beginning by inspiring the very way in which they live the rest of Sunday. If Sunday is a day of joy, Christians should declare by their actual behavior that we cannot be happy "on our own." They look around to find people who may need their help. It may be that in their neighborhood or among those they know there are sick people, elderly people, children or immigrants who precisely on Sunday feel more keenly their isolation, needs and suffering. (#72) Those Christians who have leisure should be mindful of their brethren who have the same needs and the same rights, yet cannot rest from work because of poverty and misery. Sunday is traditionally consecrated by Christian piety to good works and humble service of the sick, the infirm, and the elderly. Christians will also sanctify Sunday by devoting time and care to their families and relatives, often difficult to do on other days of the week. Sunday is a time for reflection, silence, cultivation of the mind, and meditation which furthers the growth of the Christian interior life. (#2186).

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Office for the Catechism
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
3211 4th Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20017-1194 (202) 541-3000

*Dies Domini* Beyond particular ritual forms,which can vary in time depending upon church disciplines, there remains the fact that Sunday, as a weekly echo of the first encounter with the risen Lord, is unfailingly marked by the joy with which the disciples greeted the master: "The disciples rejoiced to see the Lord." . . . The festive character of the Sunday eucharist expresses the joy that Christ communicates to his church through the gift of the Spirit. Joy is precisely one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. (#56)		*Catechism of the Catholic Church* Sunday, the Lord's Day, is the principal day for the celebration of the Eucharist because it is the day of the Resurrection. It is the pre-eminent day of the liturgical assembly, the day of the Christian family, and the day of joy and rest from work. Sunday is "the foundation and kernel of the whole liturgical year." (#1193)
The remembrance of the liberation of the exodus also assumes its full meaning as it becomes a remembrance of the universal redemption accomplished by Christ in his death and resurrection. More than a "replacement" for the Sabbath, therefore, Sunday is its fulfillment and in a certain sense its extension and full expression in the ordered unfolding of the history of salvation, which reaches its culmination in Christ (#59).		Sunday is expressly distinguished from the sabbath which it follows chronologically every week; for Christians its ceremonial observance replaces that of the sabbath. In Christ's Passover, Sunday fulfills the spiritual truth of the Jewish sabbath and announces man's eternal rest in God. For worship under the Law prepared for the mystery of Christ, and what was done there prefigured some aspects of Christ . . . .(#2175)
The alternation between work and rest, built into human nature, is willed by God himself, as appears in the creation story in the book of Genesis. Rest is something "sacred," because it is man's way of withdrawing from the sometimes excessively demanding cycle of earthly tasks in order to renew his awareness that everything is the work of God. There is a risk that the prodigious power over creation that God gives to man can lead him to forget that God is the Creator upon whom everything depends. It is all the more urgent to recognize this dependence in our own time, when science and technology have so incredibly increased the power which man exercises through his work. (#65)		With creation, God does not abandon his creatures to themselves. He not only gives them being and existence, but also, and at every moment, upholds and sustains them in being, enables them to act and brings them to their final end. Recognizing this utter dependence with respect to the Creator is a source of wisdom and freedom, joy and confidence . . . . (#301)
Therefore, also in the particular circumstances of our own time, Christians will naturally strive to ensure that civil legislation respects their duty to keep Sunday holy. In any case, they are obliged to arrange their Sunday rest in a way which allows them to take part in the Eucharist, refraining from work and activities which are incompatible with the sanctification of the Lord's Day, with its characteristic joy and necessary rest for spirit and body. (#67)		In respecting religious liberty and the common good of all, Christians should seek recognition of Sundays and the Church's holy days as legal holidays. They have to give everyone a public example of prayer, respect, and joy and defend their traditions as a precious contribution to the spiritual life of society. If a country's legislation or other reasons require work on Sunday, the day should nevertheless be lived as the day of our deliverance which lets us share in this "festal gathering," this "assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven."(#2188)
From the Sunday Mass there flows a tide of charity destined to spread into the whole life of the faithful, beginning by inspiring the very way in which they live the rest of Sunday. If Sunday is a day of joy, Christians should declare by their actual behavior that we cannot be happy "on our own." They look around to find people who may need their help. It may be that in their neighborhood or among those they know there are sick people, elderly people, children or immigrants who precisely on Sunday feel more keenly their isolation, needs and suffering. (#72)		Those Christians who have leisure should be mindful of their brethren who have the same needs and the same rights, yet cannot rest from work because of poverty and misery. Sunday is traditionally consecrated by Christian piety to good works and humble service of the sick, the infirm, and the elderly. Christians will also sanctify Sunday by devoting time and care to their families and relatives, often difficult to do on other days of the week. Sunday is a time for reflection, silence, cultivation of the mind, and meditation which furthers the growth of the Christian interior life. (#2186).