We may know certain facts about the Catholic faith — there are 12 apostles, 10 commandments, seven sacraments, three Persons of the Trinity. We may know about God and his plan of salvation. But do we really know him — personally, the living God? Do we know him in a relationship that shapes everything about us? Do we live deeply from our friendship with Christ in a way that makes all the difference in our lives? 

If you have a friend or loved one who is away from the Church, they likely need more than just additional information and facts about the Catholic faith. They need what the Church calls the kerygma.

The kerygma is the foundation of everything we believe and do as Catholics. It’s the Good News that “Jesus Christ loves you; he gave his life to save you; and now he is living at your side every day to enlighten, strengthen and free you.’” (Evangelii Gaudium, 146). Indeed, the kerygma is the core proclamation of the Gospel that converted the pagan Roman Empire and countless souls around the world over the last 2,000 years and that continues to transform people’s lives today. 

And the Church is calling us today to renew our encounter with Christ through the kerygma — the foundational divine love story — that is at the very heartbeat of our Catholic faith.

 

The Gospel: A Love Story 

When those original followers of Jesus shared their faith in Christ with others, what they said captured people’s attention. For example, after St. Peter preached to the crowds on Pentecost, many were cut to the heart and repented. Three thousand people were baptized in a single day!

Whatever Peter said worked. Surely, not everyone agreed. And some were even vehemently opposed to what the apostles proclaimed. But, at least from what we find in Acts of the Apostles, no one listening to Peter and the apostles was bored. No one yawned. 

Everyone who heard the message they proclaimed was captivated. Some might have been angry. Some might have mocked them. Others were moved to repent and be baptized. But all were drawn in to the dramatic story those apostles told and made a personal decision one way or another about how they would respond. 

 

The Kerygma

What was it that the apostles proclaimed? 

First, let’s consider what they didn’t do: They didn’t announce a long list of abstract doctrines. They didn’t focus on apostolic succession, papal infallibility and transubstantiation. They didn’t give a lengthy series of moral instructions. They didn’t hand out catechisms. 

Rather, they told a simple, basic, core message that summarized the story of God’s love. Indeed, the apostles’ initial proclamation was centered on the Person of Jesus Christ: that Jesus was the Messiah and Lord, the One who fulfilled the prophecies and God’s plan for the human family. And he did so by dying on the cross for our sins, rising again on the third day, and ascending to heaven. 

This basic message of the Gospel — the Good News of Jesus Christ — is known as the kerygma, which is based on the Greek word kerysso, meaning “herald” or “one who proclaims.” This kerygma was the core message that each of the apostles, as a herald (kerysso) of the Gospel, proclaimed to the world. 

Their proclamation was simple, concise and laser-focused. Later, the Church needed to expound on this core message of the faith. The writings of St. Paul and other early Christian leaders, as well as synods and councils of bishops, addressed various challenges and errors that arose in the Christian community. Over time, various teaching documents emerged, such as creeds and decrees from the bishops and popes, that were essential for responding to new questions and for ensuring that God’s people maintained the one true faith of the apostles. The Catechism arose from this tradition and serves as a common reference point for all believers. 

Following all these teachings remains essential today for being faithful to Jesus Christ. But if we don’t know the basic story of God’s love, our sin and his rescuing us and healing us — and not just knowing this intellectually, but interiorizing it and knowing it in a life-transforming way — then the many doctrines and practices of the Catholic faith are less likely to be received fully in our hearts and shape our entire lives. 

 

First Proclamation

This is why the Catholic Church emphasizes what it calls “First Proclamation” — the first proclamation of the kerygma. 

Announcing the core Gospel message of God’s love and the saving mission of Jesus Christ is called First Proclamation because it is ordinarily meant to come before the more in-depth, systematic presentation of the deeper mysteries of the faith. But, as Pope Francis pointed out, it is also called “First” because it is primary, foundational. 

The kerygma, therefore, is not just first in an ideal faith-formation sequence; it’s also of first importance, something we need to come back to over and over again. Priests in their homilies, parents with their children, and parish leaders in their catechetical ministries need to bring everything back to the kerygma. Whether they’re teaching about sacraments, saints or Scripture or even basic topics such as holy water, holy days of obligation or Holy Week — linking everything back to the story of God’s love is crucial to facilitate an ever-deeper encounter with Christ.

 

Too Basic?

We must be careful not to think of the kerygma as too basic: “Yes, I know God created me, loves me, died for me and has a plan for me. … I know that already. Can we move on to deeper things like the liturgy, the virtues or theology of the body?” 

The saints were lovingly overwhelmed when they pondered the most foundational mysteries of the faith. If we, too, are not in awe and wonder over the mystery of God creating us, his pursuing us even though we sinned against him, his becoming one of us and dying for us, and his sending his Spirit into our hearts to heal and transform us, then something is seriously broken in us. If we think all that is “too basic,” we are probably becoming lukewarm. We are in grave need of a deeper conversion. We need to more deeply interiorize the kerygma.

Editor's Note: This article is based on his newest book, What Do You Seek?: Encountering the Heart of the Gospel (Ignatius Press).