Both liturgy and catechesis must shape our Christian lives

When I was in college, I attended a catechetical presentation at a large suburban parish that covered various theological topics and teachings of the church. At the end of the presentations, we had the opportunity to attend Mass in the same parish. 
 
While the catechesis and talks were superb and faithful to church teaching, the same liturgy that was connected to this event was a considerable disappointment: ad-libbing, liturgical abuses, lack of reverence, and an overall carelessness that was entirely off-putting for me as a young man who was discerning a call to the priesthood. 
 
For a long time, I truly wondered how such excellent catechesis and exposition of church teaching could be followed by such an uninspiring celebration of the sacred mysteries in the same parish. In this parish, there was an evident disconnect between what was taught through catechesis and what was ritually lived out in the liturgy. 
 
While the catechesis was rich and faithful to the tradition of the church, the liturgy was sloppy, casual, and a significant departure from the tradition and sensibility of the Roman liturgy. Why was there such a wedge driven between liturgy and catechesis? 
 
It wasn’t until much later that I realized my experience was not uncommon and has been an ongoing issue in the last several decades. Even the General Directory for Catechesis has acknowledged that this rift unintentionally exists between liturgy and catechesis: “…the practice of catechetics testifies to a weak and fragmentary link with the liturgy: limited attention to liturgical symbols and rites…catechetical courses with little or no connection with the liturgical year; the marginalization of liturgical celebrations in catechetical programs.” 
 
In other words, we often learn about our faith as though it were an isolated academic exercise, instead of learning in order to live our faith. A primary component to living our faith is through the faithful celebration of the sacred liturgy. When we immerse ourselves in the mysteries (that is, the sacraments), we are joined in a completely unique way to the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is his Paschal Mystery. 
 
In his 1979 Apostolic Exhortation Catechesi Tradendae (On Catechesis in Our Time), Pope St. John Paul II points out the fundamental connection that must exist between catechesis and the liturgy: “Catechesis is intrinsically linked with the whole of liturgical and sacramental activity, for it is the sacraments, especially in the Eucharist, that Christ Jesus works in fullness for the transformation of human beings” (Catechesi Tradendae 23).
 
St. John Paul II goes on to say that catechesis and liturgy are bound up in one another – catechesis prepares one to celebrate the sacraments effectively, but the practice of the sacraments is also instructive because the liturgy is catechesis through ritual. When this union between catechesis and liturgy is broken, it results in the liturgy turning into “empty ritualism” in which we go through the motions. It also results in catechesis becoming a solely intellectual exercise that “fails to come alive” through the regular liturgical practice of our faith. 
 
Unfortunately, these observations of Pope St. John Paul II have become all too prevalent in our schools and parishes, especially when we fail to recognize the necessary connection between faithful catechesis and faithful liturgical living. 
 
It is pointless to push a child or adult through a sacramental preparation program if the learning that happens there is not nourished with a robust practice of the liturgical life, such as faithfully attending Mass and setting aside time for prayer. 
 
Likewise, it is pointless to engage in the liturgy if it is superstitious or if there is never an attempt to learn the signs, symbols, and truths that these rituals convey. This is a point that the early Christians understood well, as catechesis and liturgical ritual were experienced by them as one in the same. 
 
Therefore, a parish can offer the best retreats, the best catechesis and the best RCIA programs, but if the liturgy is not faithfully celebrated according to the rubrics and with the mind and sensibility of the church, it will be all for naught. 
 
Good catechesis must be linked to the proper celebration of the liturgy, because where one of these fails, the other will be lacking. Repeatedly being exposed to mediocre, sentimental and banal liturgy is a malformation of our Christian lives, even if we have good catechetical programs. 
 
Repeatedly being exposed to poor catechesis, even if the liturgy is celebrated beautifully, will result in pious misunderstandings and erroneous interpretations of the signs, symbols, and meaning of the liturgical rituals. 
 
Catechesis and liturgy must work together, hand in hand, to communicate the eternal truths of Jesus and his church, drawing the faithful deeply into our Lord’s Paschal Mystery. It is up to each one of us to demand that this is done as beautifully, faithfully and effectively as possible. The future faith and viability of the church depends on it.