“Narratio” is the “story of salvation.”
“It is the narrative of the Faith. It is the Deposit of Faith proclaimed as
truths discovered within the living history of the People of God” (Willey, de
Cointet, Morgan 84). There are seven “basic elements” within the narratio: they are the four parts of the
Catechism, i.e., “The Profession of
Faith (Part 1);” The Celebration of the Christian Mystery (Part 2);” “Life in
Christ (Part 3);” and “Christian Prayer (Part 4); together with “the three
phases of the history of salvation,” i.e., “the Old Testament, the life of
Jesus, and the history of the Church” (de Cointet, Morgan, Willey 84). The narratio, centered on Christ, who is the
Eternal Word of God, is to be proclaimed to undertake the following fundamental
tasks of catechesis: “promoting the knowledge of faith” in the catechetical
community; for their “liturgical education” and “moral formation;” and
“teaching (them) to pray” (GDC 85). By
telling the story of salvation, catechists help the catechetical community to
know the faith (fides quae) and act
according to the faith (fides qua) (GDC 85).
We can identify the narratio
in St. Paul’s Epistles. For example, in elucidating the doctrine of
justification in the Letter to the Romans, St. Paul pointed out that Christians
are “justified by faith” in Christ (Romans 5:1), who died for us while “we were
still sinners” (Romans 5:8), so that we may be saved by his blood (Romans 5:9).
We were “reconciled to God through the death of his Son” (Romans 5:10). Justified
in Christ, “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit
that has been given to us” (Romans 5:5). This is St. Paul’s “Profession of
Faith” centered on Christ, in the context of the economy of salvation of the
Holy Trinity. In making his point, St. Paul also used the example of Abraham, a
prominent Old Testament figure, who was reckoned as righteousness because of
his faith in God. And for this reason, Abraham has become our father in faith
(Romans 4:16). St. Paul went on to preach the sacrament of Baptism – an
important “Celebration of the Christian Mystery.” Those who are baptized into
Jesus are “baptized into his death” (Romans 6:3). “(J)us as Christ was raised
from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life”
(Romans 6:4). Baptized Christians should not remain in the state of sin but
have been “set free from sin” (Romans 6:18). We are no longer slaves under the
law but “in the new life (of grace) of the Spirit (Romans 7:6), who makes us
holy in the “Life in Christ.” By becoming the “children of God” (Romans 8:14),
it is fitting for Christians to pray with Jesus to his Father and call Him
“Abba! Father!” (Romans 8:15). Finally, we wait in joyful hope for the
“redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:23) as we enter into the eternal glory
with Christ.
St. Paul also used the narratio
in his First Letter to the Corinthians to teach the early Christians on the
Lord’s Supper. Again, he started the “Profession of Faith” with the economy of
salvation centered on Christ. “Indeed, even though there may be so-called gods
in heaven or on earth – as in fact there are many gods and many lords – yet for
us there is one God, the Father, from whom all things and for whom we exist,
and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we
exist” (1 Corinthians 8:5-6). As such, food offered to idols or other gods has
not turned evil because “no idol in the world really exist” and “there is no
God but one” (1 Corinthians 8:4). St. Paul’s teaching is in fact grounded on
“the monotheistic faith” of God’s people of the Old Covenant “to which (the
early Christians) have been converted” (c.f. Deuteronomy 4:35, 6:4; Wisdom
7:17. 13:1, 15:2-3) (Coogan 2010). Yet, the Mosaic Law should now be
subordinate to the Gospel of Christ (c.f. 1 Corinthians 9:8-14). St. Paul then
deepened his teaching from normal food to the spiritual food of Christ. He told
the Corinthians to “flee from the worship of idols” (1 Corinthians 10:14). And
Christians should prepare themselves well for the celebration of the Lord’s
Supper – the great Christian Mystery, examine their conscience, and celebrate
together regardless of whether they were rich or poor. It is because “in the
one Spirit we were baptized into one body – Jews or Greeks, slaves or free –
and we were all made to drink of one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13). The Church
is the Body of Christ (c.f. 1 Corinthians 12:12-31). St. Paul then went on to
teach his famous “Passage on Love” – “Love is patient … It bears all things,
believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians
13:4-6). It serves as an excellent guide for our “Life in Christ.” As for
“Christian Prayer,” St. Paul reminded those who could speak in a tongue should
“pray for the power of interpret” (1 Corinthians 14:13), since all the gifts of
the Holy Spirit are for the building up of the Church, and not for vainglory
(c.f. 1 Corinthians 14:13-19). Finally, as in Letter to the Romans, he invited
all believers to endure with hope for the final “victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57) at the end of time.
Works Cited
Coogan,
Michael D. The New Oxford Annotated
Bible: New Revised Standard Version with Apocrypha. N.p.: Oxford UP, 2010.
Print.
de
Cointet, Pierre, Barbara Morgan, and Petroc Willey. The Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Craft of the Catechesis. Print.
The General Directory for Catechesis. Vatican, n.d. Web. 17 Jan. 2017.
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