"Let's Just Stop Catechizing Children!"

In Part 1 of my series of rants and ramblings on the state of religious education in the Catholic Church in America, I confessed where I was coming from and tried to explain my negative attitude while at the same time not making people in the official trenches feel hopeless. I hope I accomplished that. I also noted that I WAS in the trenches myself, and that my husband and I are catechizing our little corner of the parish the way the Church meant them to be catechized. In the home. 

So now I want to turn to what I think is actually happening in the parishes, based on my reading and observation, and maybe get to some ideas of what we might do better…or stop doing…or do over. We’ll see…

For the past 30 years at least, the way faith formation appears to work in the average parish is that we spend most of our time and resources on gathering children, as early as possible, into groups and catechizing them according to the general developmental state of that age group. Most parishes in this country use the model of the average American school, plugging in the Sacraments to the general age level that the diocese suggests: baptism = infant; Confession and Eucharist = Second Grade; Confirmation = all over the map but usually high school. Add to these programs Youth Ministry (which may be more catechetical than social, or not). 

If you look at an average Sunday bulletin, the majority of information, especially in the fall and spring, are about faith formation of children and School news. Next, we usually have all the parish ministries: lectoring, choir, social justice, pro-life ministries (which isn't always grouped in with social justice) and fellowship (I am sure there are others I am forgetting). 

We happen to be a part of a parish that has lots of opportunities for Adult faith formation, but for many parishes the least amount of time and resources appears to go to Adult education in the form of RCIA, marriage preparation, other marriage help (marriage encounter, Retrovaile). 

I decided to search out some statistics to see how this structure is working for the Church. According to statistics I found (which seem to ring true with my experience in parishes) more than half of the parishioners are not involved in any of these activities and this particular survey says that 14% are involved in "education or evangelism". I am assuming that this statistic applies mostly to people who are doing the educating and evaligizing, not receiving it. 

I also found a study quoted in this article which says that in the space of ten years there has been a 42% drop in infant baptisms, a 51% drop in adult baptism and a 45% drop in Catholic marriages. Other studies confirmed that somewhere between First Communion Preparation and Confirmation Preparation there is some drop off in attendance. And by the time those Confirmed kids get to college 85% of them have stopped going to Sunday Mass (according to the FOCUS website)

The book I reviewed last month confirmed this grim picture and especially focused on the fact that only a small percentage of those people involved in their parish life are what the author called “intentional disciples”. 

So why is this? I am sure much of it is due to the surrounding culture. Not only do we encounter immorality on TV, in popular movies and music, but we also encounter an attitude that denies objective truth and transcendent realities. The modern mind believes nothing really MEANS anything so you are free to make your own meaning. 

You could also argue that the content of our catechesis is anemic. That was certainly the case when I was growing up (though my elementary school was an exception). But, I think we have greatly improved that situation over the past 20 years. It’s not perfect, but textbooks and catechist training has greatly improved from the hippie peace, love and macramé days. 

So why are things so much worse? I would argue that the real problem is in THE WAY WE CATECHIZE. I mean the STRUCTURES used at the parish level (and driven by the diocese) to pass the Faith on to each generation. 

To begin with, we think too linearly (is that even a word?). We think we need to start with the youngest and move through the ages up to adult. If we get them when they are young, as the adage goes, we will make faithful grownups. Kinda like school. 

In a nutshell, the current model looks something like this (for the moment, I will leave aside the Catholic school aspect): 

Step 1: A child is brought for baptism and parents take a brief course/rehearsal 

Step 2: A certain percentage of those parents bring the child back at about age 6 or 7 and child is put in grade level class. They pass through a class or two and receive Eucharist and Confession. Some continue for awhile after that if there is time in the child's schedule and parent doesn't have to fight too hard to get them there.

Step 3: A certain percent of the parents who went through step 2 bring their child back in time to get Confirmation. A small percentage of those kids get involved in some youth program until High School gets too busy. 

Step 4: A HUGE percentage of the kids confirmed go to college and stop practicing their faith. 

Step 5: A fraction come back and want to get married in the church. 

Step 6: A smaller fraction of that group begin step 1 again. 

This is what the numbers show. We are no longer spinning our wheels. We are sliding backwards. 

This structure is based on the assumption that the best place to catechize the next generation is in the parish hall. And if we only had better textbooks, and thoroughly trained catechists we could transform the parish. 

And parents get this idea that it’s the job of the experts in the parish office to catechize their kids and get them ready for the sacraments. They treat the parish Faith Formation office like a school. “I hand my kids over to you and you educate them. It is my job to get them there and help them with their homework and support the school as much as I can. It is your job to do the rest.”

The problem is that the Faith is not passed on this way. Especially not to children. You don’t become an intentional disciple of Jesus Christ without a personal connection to someone who loves Him and has earned your respect. For children that is primarily their parents. 

So, I propose we need to look at the this completely differently. Parents are so crucial to the faith of the child, but we practically ignore them, especially for those early years when they are meant to be laying the foundation of faith for their young children. 

Here are my ideas: 

Focus on the core, what Blessed John Paul II called “the primordial sacrament”, marriage. The family. The parish is made up of families (not just parents with kids, but marriages without children, and adults in post-marriage (widowed), pre-marriage (single looking to marriage), broken marriage (divorced separated), or those called minister to all the others (discerning vocations, single for life, etc.). If the sacrament of marriage, as foundation of the family, is at the center then everything radiates out from there. 

One way to do this is to take advantage of threshold moments by making personal connections and providing support, social contexts and educational opportunities. 

Threshold moment #1 is the Sacrament of Matrimony. Getting married in the Catholic Church is like making a public declaration of faith in God and the intention to follow Him and His Church.* Lets take them at their word and help them make real connections to their parish. I am thinking of mentoring families (many parishes use this idea for marriage prep, so how can that carry over to the first years of marriage as well), retreats meant for newlyweds, learning opportunities, personal invitations to Mass and other liturgical events. 

Threshold moment #2 is the Sacrament of Baptism. When a couple bring their baby for baptism they are making a commitment, again, to the Catholic Faith. Lets take them at their word and begin immediately to prepare them to bring their baby to Faith. I am thinking connecting them again with mentor families, helping them to form personal, long lasting relationships with other families. Maybe classes in child development from a faith perspective. The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd comes to mind as well. 

Threshold moment #3 First Sacraments. If we have done a good job with the first two thresholds, we should have many more families ready to take this on. Those that haven’t been tuned in for the first years of their child’s life will get the idea quickly that it is their job to pass the Faith on to their child. We just need to help THEM do it. 

I know that most parishes really strive to make the parish a “family friendly” place, but I think they often miss the mark. Imagine if more parishes had frequent celebrations of the feasts and seasons of the year that were both liturgical and social, but less about entertaining kids or raising money for the school. What if every parish had a big celebration on the feast of their name saint that included a liturgy (Mass, processions, singing and decorations) as well as lots of great food (with fun connections to the saint or his life) and some entertainment for all ages (music, a play about the life of the saint)? What if other major feasts were treated in the same way—again, less about raising money and kiddie fun and more about real interaction between the grownups in the parish. 

As you can tell, I am in agreement with Joann McPortland over at Patheos when she said "Let's stop catechizing children." Of course I am in favor of children BEING catechized (as is Joann), but the current school-like format that completely absorbs all the parish funds and energies is NOT working. We need to focus on the grown-ups. 

* I have a mental blog post about this. It is tentatively called What if Getting Married in the Catholic Church was Like Joining the Marines. 

Confessions of a Catechist (Part 1)

NOTE: I wrote this a few months ago, but it sat on my computer because I wasn't sure if it was relevant. But then a firestorm was lit over at Patheos about religious education and I got my courage. This is only a part of what I wrote and it is still long. Sorry. For a list of all of the Patheos blog posts about this subject look at this post and the links at the end of it. 

I hated barbies. 

But I loved baby dolls and playing school. 

I always wanted to be a teacher.

Of course, I always wanted to be a mom too, but being a teacher was more in my control. 

So, in about my second or third year at Long Beach State I set out  to be a teacher. It worked well for me because I could basically continue my eclectic choice of classes, get a degree in "general education" and then get my teaching credential. 

My first job was as a third grade teacher in a public school. One of the big truths I learned about my role as a teacher was taught to me during my first set of parent teacher conferences in that third grade classroom. Each child in my class, with their strengths and weaknesses (as well as I could see them), their attitudes towards learning and towards me, was clearly a reflection of their parents. Each kid began to make sense when I met mom and dad. I learned that I could not overcome any learning difficulties without the super involved help of mom and dad, and I was not in any real way responsible for the learning success of my students. 

The public school experience lasted three years, then I decided to follow my new found interest in my Faith and teach at a Catholic School. There I taught second grade, which meant preparation for First Holy Communion. It was the early nineties.

This is when I first encountered the situation in parish catechesis. I had to work with the DRE (didn't even know what that meant at the time--Director of Religious Education) for the Parish. My first big battles were over Communion in the hand and the song every kid in the parish sang at their First Holy Communion. 

First, I had a student, a boy, who was known by all to be, shall we say, active. His mother felt that he would struggle to receive reverently if he was to receive in the hand. She wanted him to receive on the tongue. Final "ruling": for the sake of conformity at the First Communion ceremony, he would receive in the hand. Then he "had a choice after that". I did not agree but it wasn't my decision to make. 

Second battle: The song sung at the First Communion Mass was some song about peace that never mentioned God, let alone the Eucharist. It was a nice song, I guess. But not, in my opinion, appropriate for First Holy Communion. So, I found a song that went like this: 

I love you Jesus

And I lift my voice

To Worship you,

O my Soul, Rejoice

 

Take Joy, My King

In What you Hear

May it be a sweet, sweet, sound

In Your ear. 

(not sure where I found it and I have never heard it outside that school or my home-my kids sing that song each night as part of their bed time prayers.)

I lobbied for it and it was changed. At least as long as I was there. 

My experience at the Catholic School showed me that the Faith was not being passed on very well and I thought that clearer, more faithful textbooks were the answer. 

So I left my teaching job and headed east to Stuebenville, Ohio to get my Master's Degree in Catholic Theology and certification in Catechetics and, so I thought, to write textbooks.

There I learned my Faith the way I probably should have before I graduated from 12 years of Catholic school. With an MA hanging on my wall, I basically had an adult level understanding of the Faith. 

My teaching experience along with my catechetics training made me a perfect candidate to teach methods courses. For a year I taught undergraduate religious education majors the methods of passing on the faith. Most of these students would go into youth ministry or some sort of parish catechesis. Some would be Catholic school teachers. I really have no idea how much my teaching helped these young people since I had very little contact with anyone after that year. But I do know (from talking to my fellow graduates) that many of them would go out into parishes and feel very isolated and alone in their adherence to the Faith.

From there I went to a job as a DRE for some small Catholic Schools in another state. I was responsible for training the teachers and for helping to integrate the Faith into the daily life of the schools. 

I know we did some really good work while I was there. We came up with a written curriculum plan (I have quite a few copies left if anyone is interested) and we designed our own plan for training the teachers as catechists. Many of the teachers had very little training in teaching the Faith, their focus and experience had been teaching all the other subjects. So we had to bring their knowledge of the Faith up to at least the grade level they were teaching, with hopes of taking it further. And we had to help them distinguish between a subject that was purely academic (math, science, etc) and one that was meant to transform the learner into a true Disciple of Christ. But so many of them, like the catchists in our parishes, had been virtually unchatechized since their own sacramental preparation as a child, and did not truly understand discipleship. They were sincere in their desire to pass on the Faith, but wholly unprepared to do so. 

Over the years between getting my M.A. and being a DRE I had also done some teacher training at the diocesan level, and there I ran into a larger number of people whose real issue was not bringing Christ to the kids in their class, but their own problems with Church teaching. I often felt myself in a hostile environment, not because of the teaching methods I was passing on to them, but because of the content of the Faith they were meant to pass on.

I remember my catechectics professor saying that anyone under the age of 50 had to be entirely re-catechized. That was 15 years ago. I doubt we have successfully recatechized any significant number. 

If I sound negative, I don't mean to be. I really try to be hopeful, especially about the Church. And I was hopeful then-- excited, in love with the idea of really transforming catechesis and lighting a fire in the heart of children and their teachers.  

But I also knew what any savvy catechist knows--if the parents are not actively supporting what you are doing, you are fighting a losing battle. 

I began to see in retrospect that the only really reliable way to pass on the Faith was through the family. We succeeded in the school a little more than the parish faith formation programs simply because of time. It was a mathematical equation. 30 hours a week (in school) could not entirely counteract 168 hours (at home). It might influence it, though. Certainly, 2 hours a week (in parish religious ed) could rarely do either. Even a great parish faith formation program or a great Catholic school is a supplement. 

After I left my job at the Catholic school to get married and have children, I still had my hand in professional catechesis (not necessarily paid, just me going out and speaking or writing because I have training that other people want to legitimately tap into). I did some talks for volunteer parish catechists and a little bit of writing. 

Wherever I went, though, I ran into catechists who struggled with feelings of uselessness and hopelessness. They knew that very few of their students had the support at home to grow in their faith, and that those that did would probably be doing just as well without the CCE class--not that they didn't enjoy it, just that the family life of some was supportive in such a way as to make a 2 hour weekly class practically unnecessary. 

By the time my kids were born I had a very strong aversion to spending my time this way. I wondered why I would want to sacrifice time with my kids to plan and deliver a talk on catechetics to an audience that was either mostly un-interested (if not hostile) OR to folks that were fighting a losing battle in the trenches of parish faith formation? I thought "Sure, I could give them some hope, but someone else without small children could do that just as easily". 

So, for the past decade I have been focused on catechizing my own children. 

And for a long time now, I have had a sinking feeling in my gut that we are fooling ourselves about the success of our programs of catechesis. Now I am trying to be realistic about this one part of the institutional Church (catechetical programs) at this point in time.  

To be clear, I am not without hope. There are many things for which we can rejoice in the Church today. For example, there is a resurgence of religious vocations in some sectors. The Sisters that run the schools that I used to work for are a perfect example. Also, more and more lay folks are producing more and more great materials to facilitate conversion and help people know and understand the teachings of the Church. Perhaps this is why it is so frustrating to watch the institutional Church…the official Catholic bureaucracy...spin their wheels with the same approaches to evangelization and catechesis. 

I have had to really examine this gut feeling of the futility of the vast majority of faith formation programs. I don't like to offend people, I don't want to make someone feel hopeless about their work as a catechist. I don't want to discourage those who so generously give of their time. For me, this is not about the people who catechize; it is not about the content or in-class methodology (though those may need tons of improvement). It is about structures, "programs", bureaucracy, policies. 

In examining my thoughts and feelings about Parish catechesis programs I began to wonder about the thoughts of my former colleagues “in the trenches”. And that led me to the book I reviewed last month. But in the process of that survey of current thoughts on the subject, I began to realize that far from being “out" of the trenches for the past decade, I have been truly IN THE TRENCHES. We, my husband and I, have been experiencing catechesis of children in the way that the Church intends its. 

In the Rite of Baptism for infants, the Church has some strong words for parents: 

You have asked to have your child baptized. In doing so you are accepting the responsibility of training him (her) in the practice of the faith. It will be your duty to bring him (her) up to keep God’s commandments as Christ taught us, by loving God and our neighbor. Do you clearly understand what you are undertaking?

On your part, you must make it your constant care to bring him (her) up in the practice of the faith. See that the divine life which God gives him (her) is kept safe from the poison of sin, to grow always stronger in his (her) heart.

[Parents] will be the first teachers of their child in the ways of faith. May they be also the best of teachers, bearing witness to the faith by what they say and do 

And so we have taken our three baptized babies and made it our constant care to bring them up in the practice of the faith, guarding and growing the divine life that we ASKED the Church to instill in their souls. 

I am not claiming we have done it all right. Our kids are not saints yet, but then again neither are we. But we are working it out, in fear and trembling. And we have learned some things about bringing children to Faith. 

We have learned that we do not APPLY faith to our children like sunscreen, it is God Who moves in them. 

Our job is to help them see that God is moving in them. 

Our job is to bring them into HIs presence as often as possible (Mass, Adoration, Confession, prayer at home, recollecting Christ throughout the day, living the liturgical year)

And our job is to help them understand Who He is, why He created them and what He wants from them. In short, how to be truly happy in this life, and the next. 

None of this takes a Master's Degree in Theology or training as a catechist to do. All that does is sometimes help to answer questions without having to look them up first...sometimes. Rather, it is done through love (no one loves our kids more than we do) and grace (no one else has the grace of a sacrament--Matrimony--to help them raise our children).

Frankly, no one else is better at training our children in the practice of the Faith. 

No one but my husband and I. 

Not the RE teacher, not the DRE, not Sister Mary Wonderful, not the Pastor. 

Not even Pope Francis. 

Not even St. Francis. 

VLOG: Transubstantiation: It Looks Like Bread, But It is Jesus!

I know I promised a Steps Into Sin Part II video and that footage remains on my computer, un-edited. There was more momentum behind a new VLOG to help A get ready for her First Holy Communion. 

And here it is: 

UPDATE: I realized that I forgot to include the sentence that came out of this lesson that I have been whispering in the ears of my children at Mass since the oldest was a baby: It looks like bread, but it's Jesus. I thought it deserved to be in the title of the blog post, even if I didn't get it into the video in the quite the way I would have liked. 

Book Review: Forming Intentional Disciples by Sherry Weddell

I finally finished this book. It wasn't the one (in my stack of books) that I thought I would finish first. 

I highly recommend it to anyone who does anything at their parish (CCD teacher, administration, parish council, welcoming committee, donuts, etc.) Actually, even if you don't do anything, I highly recommend reading it. There is so much valuable information on the state of the Church right now and what God calls us to do about it. 

That being said, I have a very mixed reaction to the book. For one thing, some of the statistical information (it is not dry stastitic-- the numbers are very well presented) will make you sad----or maybe even frustrated and angry. 

Yet, the focus on DISCIPLESHIP is so important and so hopeful. 

But, I am getting ahead of myself. The way that I came to this book is an interesting story (at least to me!) and may explain my reactions. 

I was surfing one day looking for discussions on one of my favorite topics, Sacramental Preparation. I found a discussion of the age of Confirmation (an issue I love to go on and on about) and I scanned the comments to see where I fit into the discussion. 

I have been out of the world of parish/school catechesis since my kids were born and part of the reason I backed away (aside from the obvious motherhood aspects) was a growing dissatisfaction---even feelings of hopelessness---about the way catechesis plays itself out in parishes. So, for a decade now those thoughts have developed and morphed. But I wasn't sure whether I had drifted so far from my former colleagues that we were no longer on the same page. 

Back to the online discussion. I found a comment that went something like this: If we move the age of Confirmation back, we will lose these kids at a younger age (since so few kids remain active in parish life after Confirmation) and will essentially see the end of catechesis for children at the parish level---the programs will die. 

And my gut reaction was to say--Okay! Let them die! Lets start over with something that works. 

At the root of my reaction is a belief that the grace of the Sacrament of Confirmation is needed earlier in life and so waiting until the teen years means that kids are faced with overwhelming challenges without the grace needed.

In addition is the firm conviction that parents are "the primary educators" of their children for a reason---the atmosphere of the home is the best place to foster a relationship with God, especially in a child. Children do not often take the content of a 1-2 hour class and transform their lives with it. Yet, this is the goal of Catechesis: transformation in Christ. 

I have felt for a long time that CCD-type programs are only successful if they build on a strong family life--in which case they are almost not necessary. 

Thus my reaction to the fear that parish level catechesis for children will pass away if we give kids the Sacrament of Confirmation too early. And of course the flip side of the argument is that we must postpone such a crucial sacrament of initiation in order to be sure those programs remain full and active. 

But…back to the book. I found myself wondering about the background of the commenter in this case. So I googled her. Then I found she had a blog. Then I found she wrote a book. Long story short, I bought her book. 

The commenters name was Sherry Weddell and her book is called “Forming Intentional Disciples”.

So I started this whole mental journey in disagreement with the author on a point of strategy…not a point of Faith. And this is where I still find myself. Though I am less confident in my own approach than I was when I first stumbled upon her comment in the Confirmation discussion. 

I have a negative gut reaction to the multiplicity of parish “programs” aimed at Catechesis. Part of that comes from a conviction that “programs” do not bring about conversion. 

Personal relationships with people who know Jesus Christ bring people into personal relationship with Jesus Christ. 

After saying “yes!” and “exactly!” through most of the book I was hoping to read something like “So lets scrap all these “programs” and get to know Jesus!" But that is not how Sherrie concludes her book. 

To be fair, I have on my mind children’s catechesis and she has on her mind youth and adult catechesis. We may not be so far apart after all. 

Yet, I need not agree with everything in a book to enjoy it and get a lot out of it, right? 

I highly recommend you read it…then come back here and discuss it with me. Lets see if we agree. 

VLOG 2: The Steps into Sin Part 1

My first VLOG: Sin and the Baptismal Garment

I have been meaning to do this for so long, and so today I just jumped in with two feet and recorded a lesson that I did with my kids. We added some silly graphics and words to explain and here it is.

Enjoy!

The Age of Need

This week a little girl at our parish received her First Holy Communion. Next to me sat my little seven year old girl who will wait another year to receive. Because that is the rule. She must go through the process. She must be in second grade. She must have her two years in the system. Instead of focusing on the sweet girl across the aisle and her special day, I found myself brooding over what we (the bureaucratic arm of the Catholic Church) have done with Sacramental preparation. We have taken the basic requirements for eligibility and made them burdensome to the young and innocent. 

So what is actually required for reception of the Sacraments of Confession and Communion? There is a developmental component and there is a catechetical component. 

First, the developmental piece of Sacramental preparation. 

The Age of Reason is the term used to describe the determining age for First Holy Communion and First Confession. Most people see it as a term of "readiness"; although this is true, it is not its primary meaning. It is actually a term of "neediness".  

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia Age of Reason is the "period of human life at which persons are deemed to begin to be morally responsible."

In other words, it marks the point at which the child is capable of sin. 

Of course, anyone who has entered into a battle of wills with a two or three year old can attest to that child's ability to "make wrong choices", to "break rules" or to wreak havoc in any number of willful ways. But we also know that they are often just responding to a desire or felt need. 

Case in point: 

(sorry for the ads…can't help it)

This very cute kid is capable of much mischief, but he isn't sinning….yet. 

Many of us also know five year olds who can plot and plan a similar heist that they know full well is wrong. Knowing it is wrong, and choosing to do it anyway, is the definition of sin. In other words, the five year old has reached the Age of Reason.  

When a kid has reached the Age of Reason we are NOT saying that he is WORTHY of the sacrament. Or READY for the sacrament. 

What we ARE saying is that he is morally responsible for his sinful actions, and thus in NEED of the remedy, the Sacraments. 

There is nothing magic about turning  seven that makes a child "morally responsible". That development happens gradually and at different times for different kids. You can't MAKE it happen anymore than you can MAKE a baby able to roll over on day 150, or a toddler able to speak on his first birthday. Most parents see that they provide the nurturing environment and the child will do these things when they are ready. 

This is also true about reaching the Age of Reason, yet we treat kids as if their moral culpability can wait. We don't leave the 4 month old laying on the couch because "He won't reach Rolling Over Age until 5 months." And we don't ignore the words of the 11 month old because he hasn't been enrolled in the Talking Class yet. 

However, we leave the already sinning child to develop habits of sin without the remedy to fight the sin problem. We allow them to feel shame, hide that shame, and learn not to bring it to Confession right away. We leave them without the means to fight their blossoming sin problem. 

It seems to me that the developmental character of the milestone we call "Age of Reason" calls for an individualized approach to the reception of the sacraments. In my opinion, the default preparation for First Sacraments should begin with the parent presenting their child to the parish priest when that child reaches the Age of Reason. 

"But, most parents won't/can't/don't know how to/don't have time/don't care/etc.?"

"Present them to the priest? And THEN what?"

I hope to answer those questions soon. 

What do you think about the Age of Need? Do you know a kid who needed Confession long before he was allowed to go?

Whisper Catechesis

A, posing with the new family car. Seriously. We sold the mini-van in favor of this ...umm...yellow thing. 

Dear Kids,

We are now in the midst of preparing A for her First Confession and First Holy Communion. I should be clear though. We started all of you on your First Sacramental preparation when you were just babies. We always considered your early catechesis to be a catechumenate of sorts, a preparation for life in the Church. A liturgical life. A sacramental life.

Of course we had to start small, so step one was getting you Baptized. Then, step two was taking you to Mass often. And step three has been the main part of your catechesis so far in your young lives. I call that step "Whisper Catechesis." 

Starting when you were just babies I began whispering in your ears during the Mass. Sometimes it was my own prayers I whispered. But there are also lots of little phrases that have grown over the years. 

For example, at the moment of consecration I usually whisper "It looks like bread, but its Jesus". At the moment, A has her own response to that phrase: "It looks like Jesus to me!" she always says back to me. 

We have also used some of the great moments we were blessed with while living in the UK. For example, when we went to Rome (each of the times, but especially the first) we focused on the tabernacle. We stopped in every church we passed (which is a lot) and we looked for the tabernacle and practiced our genuflecting, bowing, sign of the cross and any other liturgical movement we could think of. That is also when we started our "Tabernacle Prayer". It has had some variations over the years, but it usually goes something like this: 

O Jesus, I know you are truly present in this Tabernacle. Some day I want to receive you in Holy Communion. Please help me to be ready. 

Sometimes Whisper Catechesis has turned into theological discussion. Although I try to be sensitive to those around us, I also try not to miss those moments when questions arise. We have discussed the nature of the Trinity ("Does God have a brother?"), Heaven and Hell ("What is final dalmation?"--no that is not a typo), and many others.  We talk about what is going on at the Mass, why the priest is doing certain things. Of course, sitting in front has facilitated that, but it has also made the "whisper" part really crucial. 

This week A has been doing some narrations from the Faith and Life book, and this has led to discussions about why Jesus was baptized since He is God and doesn't have any sin. A also wanted to know if Jesus took on all of our sins on the cross, does that mean He sinned? What great questions! 

I hope when you are grown and reading this, you are still asking questions like that. 

That is all for today…I must get upstairs and see what mischief y'all are up to now. (See? We are Texans now so we can say "y'all")

Love, 

Mama

WHAT IF....First Communion Edition

Guiseppe Sarto...future Pope Pius X. 

"... the fact that in ancient times the remaining particles of the Sacred Species were even given to nursing infants seems to indicate that no extraordinary preparation should now be demanded of children who are in the happy state of innocence and purity of soul, and who, amidst so many dangers and seductions of the present time have a special need of this heavenly food." 

 Decree of the Sacred Congregation of the Discipline of the Sacraments on First Communion August 8, 1910   Pope Pius X

Within a month of the 100th anniversary of this important document my two oldest received their First Holy Communion. At the time I attributed to Pope Pius X the extraordinary circumstances in which my six year old was invited to receive for the first time. I didn't, however, realize that the year 2010 marked 100 years since Pope Pius X had opened wide the doors to young children to approach Jesus in this intimate way. 

We are currently reading about this amazing man's life in The Farmer Boy Who Became Pope by Walter Dietelm. Just a few days ago we read about the promulgation of the document on First Holy Communion and the author suggested that children should celebrate this day in a special way. Of course the best way would be to attend Mass, which we hope to do today. We may also add a special dessert and maybe a craft or coloring page. 

Most of all, this anniversary gives me another opportunity to reflect on the wisdom of the Church, specifically in the person of Pope Pius X, in correcting the error of making children wait until they have jumped through so many hoops--think of St. Bernadette of Souburous who was made to wait until age 14 for her First Holy Communion because she could not articulate the teaching on the Trinity! 

Though this was done in an effort to safeguard the sacrament, as the Holy Father said at the time: 

It happened that children in their innocence were forced away from the embrace of Christ and deprived of the food of their interior life; and from this it also happened that in their youth, destitute of this strong help, surrounded by so many temptations, they lost their innocence and fell into vicious habits even before tasting of the Sacred Mysteries.

I can't help but think of our times--the 21st century-- when he speaks of "so many temptations" and "vicious habits". Do we risk the innocence of our children when we make them wait until they have reached a certain age, or grade level, or until they have been enrolled in at least two years of our precious parish programs? 

What if we truly believed in the power of this sacrament? What if we truly believed Jesus when He said "Let the little children come to me"? What if our priests said to parents "Bring your children to me when you see that they understand the difference between Sacramental Bread and ordinary bread and desire to receive Jesus in this way"?

I can hear all the DRE's crying out in objection here. But...but MOST parents won't/can't/will fake it/need to be forced to jump through hoops...

Why do we make policy based on those who abdicate their responsibilities....therefore punishing those who take their job as primary educators seriously? I am not talking about homeschoolers---I mean those who see that their child's growth in faith is in large part the responsibility of the parent. The First Communion class of 20 kids taught by someone else's mom should be the exception, not the rule!!

What if I could bring my six year old daughter to Father and say "I believe she is ready to make her First Confession and then go to Communion" and he would say "Lets meet next week and see what we can do." WHAT IF? 

THAT should be the norm. In my humble opinion. 

Oh...and also in the humble opinion of Pope St. Pius X who quotes the Roman Catechism in his document:

"At what age children are to receive the Holy Mysteries no one can better judge than their father and the priest who is their confessor. For it is their duty to ascertain by questioning the children whether they have any understanding of this admirable Sacrament and if they have any desire for it."