Religious Education and Spiritual Orphans

I read a really thought-provoking article last week that made me reflect more deeply on what exactly a religious education program can and can't offer families.  The article was critical of the Church for her "hero complex"--you know, the tendency for priests, DREs, youth ministers, Catholic school teachers and catechists to swoop in and attempt to evangelize and catechize a child who has little to no understanding of the faith,without really identifying and addressing the problem that kids are coming to them as "spiritual orphans."

If I had to make an educated guess, it is probably the fault of some well-meaning people from years ago who led a subtle or not-so-subtle campaign to tell parents: "You can't teach this!  The faith is difficult and hard to understand! The Bible? What do you know about the Bible?  You must send your child to religious education classes or Catholic schools so that we "professionals" can pass on the faith."  

Well, something awful happened. While so many people trusted the "experts," the faith simply slipped through the cracks of the generations. We as an institutional Church have discovered that 1 hour per week (or even several hours per week) plus Sunday Mass (if we're lucky) isn't enough to pass on a living, vibrant faith to the next generation.  There is a generation of parents and maybe even grandparents, who may be in the Church, but have never really had a life-changing encounter with Christ.

You see, the idea of "either/or"--where either the parents teach the Faith or they trust Father or Sister or the catechist--misses the point.

The family is the first Church, the Domestic Church.  Everything the family does: from prayer, training in virtue, to modeling forgiveness and acts of mercy, prepares the child for a fuller Christian life.  We as a parish education program promise to do all we can to support you in this role, but we can never replace you.

If you were one of these "spiritual orphans" growing up, and still don't have a lot of confidence in your prayer life, or in your knowledge of the teachings of Jesus and His Church, it is not too late! We are always offering opportunities for adults to go deeper and mature in their understanding and relationship to Christ. Also, as any CGS catechists will tell you, Catechesis of the Good Shepherd formation is a most excellent training to help you understand how to meet the needs and serve the spiritual potential of your little child or grandchild.

Opportunities and graces abound! Our Lord wants nothing more than for parents to become more serious in their role as primary educators of their children in the Faith. But as the old Latin saying goes: "Nemo dat quod non habet"--"You can't give it, if you don't got it!" So go and get it!