Date of Award

2020

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (College of Education)

Schools and Centres

Education

First Supervisor

Doctor Gerard O'Shea

Abstract

The Third Millennium necessitates a catechetical vision that engages the whole person and is faithful to both God and the human person who receives it. Catechesis, from the beginning, has had the mission to witness to and instruct believers in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This dissertation seeks to lay out a Catechetical Synthesis which sets the stage for children (and adults) of how the Church over the last two thousand years has transmitted the gift of the deposit of faith by engaging the whole person: body, heart and mind. Catechesis which does not engage the whole person is not able to fully bring about an authentic interior and exterior transformation of individuals. The catechetical renewal that blossomed in the twentieth century brought out three enduring catechetical priorities: 1) the importance of imparting the Christian message by using methods appropriate to the age and circumstances of the individual; 2)Proclaiming the Gospel message completely and systematically encompassing with thekerygma and the events of salvation history throughout its proclamation; and 3) To link the life experiences of the person with the truths of the Gospel. The whole work of catechesis must presume the integral role of the family. Without the involvement of the parents who are the earliest heralds of the Gospel and impact the religious beliefs of their children first and foremost, catechesis outside the home will be insufficient. Integral and holistic catechesis incorporates both the affective and the cognitive dimensions of the human person so as to bring about and foster in every believer comes “to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ (Ephesians 4:13).”

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