Being disciples of Christ – what does this mean? Well, in the first place it means being able to recognize him. How does this happen? It is an invitation to listen to him just as he speaks to us in the text of Sacred Scripture, as he addresses us and comes to meet us in the common prayer of the Church, in the sacraments and in the witness of the saints.
One can never know Christ theoretically. With great teaching one can know everything about the Sacred Scriptures without ever having met him. Journeying with him is an integral part of knowing him, of entering his sentiments, as the Letter to the Philippians (2.5) says. Paul briefly describes these sentiments: having the same love, being of the same mind, being in full accord, doing nothing out of rivalry and boastfulness, each one not only focusing on his or her own interests, but also on those of others (2: 2-4).
Catechesis can never be merely the instruction of the mind; it must always also become a practice of communion of life with Christ, an exercise in humility, justice and love. Only in this way do we walk with Jesus on his path, only in this way are the eyes of our hearts opened; only in this way do we learn to understand Scripture and to meet him.
The encounter with Jesus Christ requires listening, requires a response in prayer and in putting into practice what he tells us. By getting to know Christ we come to know God, and it is only by starting from God that we understand man and the world, a world that would otherwise remain a nonsensical question.
Becoming disciples of Christ is thus an educational journey toward our true being, toward the proper way of being human.
Pope Benedict XVI
Magnificat Vol II April 2009 pg.267
Reprinted with permission
L’Osservatore Romano, pg. 5
January 2, 2008 N. 1 (2025)
Libreria Editrice Vaticana www.vatican.va
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