The Second Vatican Council said the liturgy is the most important place for teaching and catechesis in the church. The seasons of lent and easter are the most important times for teaching and catechesis. In the liturgy Jesus, the Bread of life, feeds us with his wisdom.

The easter season is a time for mystagogic catechesis, when we recognize the presence of the Risen Christ in the sacraments, in the church and in the signs of the times. The Second Vatican Council extended the celebration of the easter season.  In the past, the mystagogic catechesis took place for one week after Easter and was focused on the newly baptized. Now in the church’s liturgy mystagogic catechesis takes place, not for just one week, but for 50 days until the feast of Pentecost. It’s not just for the newly baptized, but for the whole Christian community. 

However well we may remember the questions and answers of our catechism or what we learned in theology courses, we’re lifelong learners.  We’ re also forgetful listeners.  We’re living in a changing world which we desperately need to understand, not just through the lens of politics, but  in the light of faith. For those reasons, we follow our liturgy year by year, season by season.

We have to continually study the mystery of the church. That’s true these day with the election of our new pope. The media coverage of this event  has been massive, whether its television,  YouTube, the New York Times. Six thousand journalists covered the pope’s election. It was a big story, but lens of politics, usually the dominant lens of the media, couldn’t  cover it all. 

It seems to me the readings in our liturgy these days offer a better coverage than anything the media might offer.

 Our gospel today speaks of sheep recognizing the voice of the shepherd. Doesn’t it seem these days that the world itself was listening for the voice of a shepherd? Our readings from the Acts of the Apostles these days describe a church breaking out from the confines of Jerusalem to speak to the world a message of life.  Doesn’t that seem to be a picture of our church these days?  In Acts, Peter appears so humble, a poor man yet ready to accept the task of bringing a wisdom, ancient and new, to a world so powerful yet so broken. Is that Pope Leo following in his footsteps?

We need to keep listening for the wisdom that is our daily bread in our liturgy The Good Shepherd still speaks.