„Język, który odsłania”. Funkcja fatyczna języka w przestrzeni katechetycznej

Abstract

Research on religious language is an important contribution to the development of catechetics, which deals with scientific reflection on the education of Christians and initiating them into the living faith of the Church. Religious language is not a separate type of language but consists of the ability to communicate with others in such a way that they understand the truths concerning eternal life. An important task in this process is performed by catechesis, through which the proclamation of faith can touch people in their daily existence. Thanks to catechesis, Christians not only have a better understanding of what a symbolic, narrative, and doctrinal language is, but they also learn how to think in this language. The present article is devoted to the phatic function of language in catechesis. This function concerns the possibility of establishing connections and deepening the ties between participants in catechetical discourse and during the upbringing process. The author tries to justify the importance of the phatic function in the catechetical space and indicate its importance in the implementation of various catechetical tasks. The paradigm of Jesus’ pedagogy shows that catechesis is primarily about the language of encounter and the language of events, based on which God can continue the history of salvation. Catechetical language allows people to understand how human existence reveals God’s presence. Building mature bonds is not easy in a situation where society does not have the appropriate social competences. Thus, there is a need for well-thought-out catechesis, communicative catechists, and new ideas for the use of language in the catechetical space that reveal God’s kingdom among people.

Keywords

• the phatic function of language
• religious language
• language in catechesis
• liturgical language