Catechesis | Essays, by André Costa
Reflections, teachings, and resources for Christian catechesis. My notes and materials that I apply in my classes with my catechumens.
To begin this essay, I needed to draw on a few concepts and authors, attempting to bring this context closer to the human drama. Thus, my aim here is not to produce a theological essay but, as a novelist, to assess the text of the Gospel of Matthew 19 and from there try to approach the drama suffered by the rich young man upon receiving Christ’s words.
The concrete gestures of Christ—touching, breathing, anointing, mixing clay, washing and blessing—are not mere pious stagings. They reveal a profound theology rooted in the very structure of reality and in the history of salvation. In God made man, invisible grace is communicated by visible means, and the sensible world becomes a pathway to the divine.
No. 1436 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that “daily conversion and penance find their source and nourishment in the Eucharist.” This statement reveals the intimate bond between two sacraments which, although distinct, converge upon the same reality: the reconciliation of man with God and his perseverance on the path to holiness. Penance is the continual return of the heart to the Father; the Eucharist is the food that sustains this return.
The account of the wedding at Cana (Jn 2:1–11), in which Jesus turns water into wine, is not merely the record of Christ’s first miracle, but the inauguration of a new stage in the history of salvation.
Christianity does not arise from an idea, a myth, or a philosophy. It is born of an encounter. At the heart of faith stands a living Person: Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God, sent by the Father to reveal His love and to offer salvation. This is the Good News, the Gospel that the Church has proclaimed since apostolic times.
Is Death the Absolute End of Our Existence?Comments for catechesis on Heaven, Hell, the Final Judgement, and the New Creation in the light of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Eternal hope in the risen Christ.
Essay based on Chapters 1 and 2 of De Genesi ad litteram by Saint Augustine. Ideal for a better understanding of the theme of creation, in accordance with the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
At the heart of philosophical and theological reflection lies a question as simple as it is decisive: what is something in its essence?
Difficulties bring down the weak but strengthen the strong. In the Gospel of Luke, chapter 24, we see the disciples on the road to Emmaus returning to their former lives, trapped in their weaknesses and disappointments.
