At today's Mass we read the beginning of the Gospel of St. Luke,4 who tells us that he has resolved to write down the life of Christ so that we may know the soundness of the teachings we have received. The obligation to know in depth the doctrine of Jesus, each according to the circumstances of his life, concerns everyone and lasts as long as our walk on earth continues. "The growth of faith and Christian life, especially in the adverse context in which we live, requires a positive effort and a permanent exercise of personal freedom. This effort begins with an appreciation of one's own faith as the most important thing in one's life. From this esteem is born the interest in knowing and practicing what is contained in faith in God and the following of Christ in the complex and varied context of the real life of each day "5. We must never consider ourselves sufficiently formed, we must never be satisfied with the knowledge of Jesus Christ and his teachings that we have acquired. Love always asks to know more about the loved one. In professional life, a doctor, an architect or a lawyer, if they are good professionals, do not finish their studies at the end of their career: they are always in continuous formation. The same is true of Christians. The sentence of St. Augustine can also be applied to doctrinal formation: "Have you said enough? You have perished "6.
The quality of the instrument - that is what we all are: instruments in God's hands - can improve, develop new possibilities. Every day we can love a little more and be more exemplary. We will not achieve this if our understanding does not continually receive the nourishment of sound doctrine. "I do not know how many times I have been told," remarks an author of our own day, "that an old Irishman who knows nothing more than to say the Rosary can be holier than I am, with all my studies. It may well be so; and, for his own sake, I hope it is so. However, if the only reason for making such a claim is that he knows less theology than I do, that reason does not convince either me or him. It would not convince him, because all the elderly Irishmen with devotion to the Holy Rosary and the Blessed Sacrament that I have met (...) were eager to learn more about their faith. It would not convince me, because while it is evident that an ignorant man can be virtuous, it is equally evident that ignorance is not a virtue. There have been martyrs who would not have been able to enunciate correctly the doctrine of the Church, martyrdom being the ultimate proof of love. However, if they had known God better, their love would have been greater "7.
The so-called "coalman's faith" (I believe everything, even if I do not know what it is) is not enough for the Christian who, in the midst of the world, finds every day confusion and lack of light regarding the doctrine of Jesus Christ - the only savior - and the ethical problems, new and old, that he encounters in the exercise of his profession, in family life, in the environment in which his life develops.
The Christian must know well the arguments that allow him to counteract the attacks of the enemies of the faith and know how to present them in an attractive way (nothing is gained by intemperance, discussion and bad temper), with clarity (without putting nuances where there cannot be any) and with precision (without doubts or hesitation).
The "faith of the charcoal burner" can perhaps save the charcoal burner, but in other Christians ignorance of the content of the faith generally means lack of faith, idleness, lack of love: "Ignorance is often the daughter of laziness", as St. John Chrysostom used to say8. It is of great importance in the fight against unbelief to possess a precise and complete knowledge of Catholic theology. That is why "any boy well instructed in the Catechism is, without suspecting it, an authentic missionary "9. With the study of the Catechism, true compendium of the faith, and of the readings that advise us in spiritual direction, we will combat ignorance and error in many places and in many persons, who will be able to confront so many false doctrines and so many masters of error.
Hablar con DIos