# Lehre und Wehre_St. Louis Missouri_M rz 1860_S74
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

74 The Diligent Practice of the Catechism in Lutheran Times of Old.

bring a child to the point where it knows how to give account of its faith according to the measure of its age; and once this goal is reached, it is then to be examined at confirmation and to make its confession, and, once it has thereby proved itself fit for the Sacrament, is to be admitted to the Holy Supper." Through such a handling of confirmation, the dear people of old were kept from the rationalistic error of regarding it as the capstone of learning; rather, the confirmed remained continually in the care of the Church, which carried on their instruction in the Catechism by preaching and examination. In those days one knew nothing of so-called confirmation classes, but only of the weekly examination held once or twice; nor was one content to hold, at confirmation, a single examination over the whole Catechism, but this was done on several Sundays, as, for example, the General Articles prescribe: "Between Easter and Pentecost the parish pastor shall hold a great examination with all who are of age, so that they may now go to the Sacrament."

4. On the Practice of the Catechism in the Home and with Adults.

Dr. Rudelbach says very fittingly: "The catechism exercises are, as it were, the living connecting link between church and home, and lead the one over into the other. This great purpose of theirs our godly forefathers had in view when they sought by every means to promote the greatest fruitfulness and spread of these exercises, and set at their head Augustine's principle: 'What preachers are in the church, that parents and heads of households are to be to their household members in their household churches.' If anywhere, then in the manifold provisions on this subject the true marrow of a Christian, godly disposition lies open to view."

The headings of most sections of the Small Catechism, "as a head of household is to set them most simply before his household," likewise formed here the foundation of all provisions relating to this. Thus in the Electoral Saxon Visitation Articles of 1557 heads of households and their wives were briefly given instruction as to how they should teach their household to pray, namely in this way, "that on several hours during the week they themselves, or through their children, should recite and read aloud the sections of the Catechism; but where they themselves were unlearned, and had no one in the house who could teach, they should give something to some poor boy at school, who should at certain times recite or read the Catechism to their household, and teach them spiritual songs." In the General Articles of 1580 these provisions are repeatedly impressed anew, and further explained to the effect that "parents shall recite to their children and household not only the chief parts, but also the exposition of the Catechism, though piecemeal, before and after meals; likewise they are to admonish them, when they rise up and when they go to sleep, to practice this together." In the Ernestine princely edict of 1642 it is further especially impressed upon the preachers that they, from the