Laudet Dominum

A few weeks ago, I posted an open question on the failure of catechesis to attract and hold our children and young adults. It received some wonderful comments, and I thank those who commented here on the blog, on Facebook, Google+, and other social networks.

As I have reflected more on this question and on the responses received, I think we missed the mark. The major focus of the comments was “get the parents involved.” Yes, if the parents are involved, the kids are involved, but I think the problem goes far deeper. As I look at our culture here in the United States (I can’t speak for other countries as I’ve never spent any significant time there), we’ve obviously moved into a post-Christian society. The United States was founded on Christian principles and had a strong Christian identity, but much of that is sloughing off. The Christian virtues are no longer being held up as ideals, except where they agree with the relativist and individualist “virtues” being promoted today.

This leads to a major problem for catechesis: we’re making assumptions that aren’t there. We’re assuming the parents are Catholic just because they were baptized Catholic, raised Catholic, possibly even married in the Catholic Church. We’re assuming that the kids are being brought up in a Catholic home where the faith is at least present in a rudimentary form. We’re assuming that the culture we live in is steeped in Christian virtue, even if it seems to have gone astray, and will provide some form of Christian foundation for the children. In short, we’re assuming that the children and their parents have been evangelized.

(Sidebar: I’m not going to get into the canonical status of Catholics, whether or not they’re members of the Church. This is more about if Christ is a part of their lives. For many Catholics who received the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, the answer is a resounding “no”.)

As I’ve been reflecting on the religious education issue, I keep coming back to this conclusion. The children are not learning the Catholic faith and the parents aren’t involved because they do not view the faith as something relevant to them. They do not understand the importance of the salvific work of Christ, and do not realize that the teachings of the Church are literally a matter of life and death eternally. They may have heard the saving Good News preached by Christ and passed down through 2000 years of Church teaching, but it’s no more important to them than hearing about the plot line of Harry Potter novels.

The problem, as I see it, is that we are teaching what the Church teaches, but we are not showing them those teachings alive in our lives. We are not expressing through words and actions the beauty of Our Lord’s message of love. We are not using catechesis to draw the children into a relationship with Jesus, but rather talking about Him. We’re missing the mark and talking over their heads instead of reaching into their hearts.

Now, I want to be clear: this is not an either/or situation. We need to be evangelizing and teaching, both at the same time. We need to teach about Jesus as we’re developing a relationship with Him. I’ve seen RCIA programs that get this wrong as well. They focus solely on the spiritual aspect – prayer, devotions, communal gatherings, etc. – without developing the intellectual appreciation for the Gospel. We need to reach both the head and the heart. The problem with catechesis, as I’ve seen it in many places, is that it stays in the head without also moving the heart.

So, how do we do this? Perhaps on this feast of St. Luke the Evangelist, we would be well served to reflect on how the early Church evangelized at a time when the name Jesus was completely unknown. On an individual basis, they began with prayer and fasting. The Eucharist was the center of their lives. Then, after being fortified by prayer and fasting, they went out and proclaimed the salvation promised by Christ. As an example, look at St. Paul preaching to the Athenians in front of the altar “To an Unknown God” (Acts 17:16-34 – Written by St. Luke, of course!).

In many ways, our culture today is similar to the Greek culture of St. Paul’s time. We have many gods and many altars, though not as obvious as the Greek pantheon of gods. Our gods are TV, money, power, possessions, sports, work, and far more. The God of all creation, our Heavenly Father, and His Son Our Lord Jesus Christ are as unknown as They were to the Athenians. Just as St. Paul and all the Apostles went around proclaiming the Good News of salvation, we are also called to bring others to Christ, even those who may attend Mass and religious education.

To sum this post up: what’s wrong with religious education? We are if we’re not actively evangelizing our children and their parents!