An Extended Quote

"A generation ago it was customary in Lutheran circles for pastors to devote two years to teaching young people Luther's Small Catechism. I once heard of a pastor in St Louis, Missouri, whose practice it was to divide those two years of instruction as follows: 'The first year,' he said, 'I have the students memorize the Catechism. The second year I tell them what it means.'

"I first learned of this pastor when I was a young man, and like others my age I guffawed. How ridiculous! The whole point of catechism instruction is to help young people understand the meaning of the Lord's Prayer, the Ten Commandments, the Creed. What is the value of having youngsters memorize the words of the Catechism without telling them what they mean? Now years later I realize that this pastor was much wiser than I. He knew that Christian faith was a matter of words, and that what counted most in the Catechism were the words." (from Robert L.Wilken. "Introduction", Remembering the Christian Past, p vii. Eerdmans, 1995.)

Get back to memory work and get back the gospel carried for a lifetime (and an eternity).

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