Archive for February, 2008
Last night, I had the pleasure of doing a Lenten reflection on the Mass with the good folks at St. Bruno parish on the southside of Chicago. The very hardworking and talented DRE, Lois DeFelice, organized the evening and had the confirmation class join us for the presentation. They were so well-behaved and attentive that I just have to send along my compliments to them, to their catechist, and to Lois…you can all be proud!
Lois has a little “thing” that she does at the end of every session with her young people. They can’t leave until they tell her one thing they learned! It is a very effective tool for making sure that the young people engage themselves in active learning and listening so that they can incorporate what is being presented and articulate it to others. Way to go, Lois!
My thanks to the folks at St. Bruno. On a very chilly evening, the warmth that you generated in that church with your hospitality and loving spirit was genuinely appreciated!
Here’s something you might be interested in. The Archdiocese of Chicago Office for Catechesis and Youth Ministry sells “Know Your Catholic Faith” folders. Here’s the description:
Pocket folders custom designed with Catholic prayers and the parts of the Mass printed inside and on the back. Buy them for your catechists, students, or persons in a special program. Available in English, Spanish, and Polish.
The folders (2 pockets, no clips, 9 x 12)) are available for 75 cents each. They are very practical and provide so much helpful information about our Catholic faith. They can be used with people of all ages.
For more information, click the following:
http://www.catechesis-chicago.org/resources/Products.htm#FOLDERS
After a tough night last night with my 8th graders, just 5 days before their Confirmation, I felt very much in need of some words of encouragement this morning. Thankfully, our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI offered the following words a few days ago speaking to parents, teachers, priests, and catechists about the importance of education:
VATICAN CITY, FEB. 25, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Although it is difficult to educate the children and youth of today in goodness, it is not impossible, says Benedict XVI.
The Pope said this Saturday during a ceremony held in St. Peter’s Square to present families, teachers and young people with the letter he wrote Jan. 21 to the Diocese of Rome concerning the vital importance of education.
In his remarks the Holy Father recalled how “education has never been easy, and today it seems to be becoming more difficult than ever.”
This means, he continued, that a lot of parents and teachers “renounce their duty and do not even manage to understand the true nature of the mission entrusted to them. There are, in fact, too may uncertainties, too many doubts circulating in our society and in our culture, too many distorted images propagated by the social communications media.”
Nonetheless, the Pontiff said, “we feel supported by a great hope, a deep trust,” that even in modern times “it is possible to educate in goodness.”
Addressing parents, teachers, priests and catechists, Benedict XVI encouraged them “to joyfully shoulder the responsibility with which the Lord entrusts you, so that the great heritage of faith and culture — which is the most authentic treasure of this our beloved city — may not be lost in the passage from one generation to another, but rather be renewed and strengthened, and become a guide and a stimulus on our journey toward the future.”
The Pope called on parents to remain firm in their love for one another and to show “a coherent witness of life” in order to help new generations “clearly distinguish good from evil and, in their turn, to build solid rules for life that may support them through future trials. Thus you will make your children rich with that most precious and lasting inheritance which consists in the example of the daily practice of faith.”
“Your task,” the Holy Father told teachers, cannot “be limited to supplying notions and information while ignoring the great question of truth, especially of the truth that can be a guide in life.”
He added, “In close association with parents, you are entrusted with the noble art of forming the individual.”
Witnesses
The Pontiff then encouraged priests, religious and catechists of Roman parishes “to be trustworthy friends in whom [children and young people] can reach out and touch Jesus’ friendship with them. At the same time, be sincere and courageous witnesses of the truth that makes people free and that shows the new generations the way that leads to life.”
Pointing out how education is not just the responsibility of educators, Benedict XVI reminded children and young people that they too are called “to be participants in your own moral, cultural and spiritual development. It is up to you, then, freely to welcome in your hearts, minds and lives the heritage of truth, goodness and beauty that has accumulated over the centuries and that has its cornerstone in Jesus Christ.
“It is up to you to renew and develop this heritage, freeing it from the many lies and distortions that often make it unrecognizable and provoke diffidence and disillusionment in you.”
On this difficult journey, the Holy Father told young people, “you are never alone. Not only are your parents, teachers, priests and friends near you, but above all is that God who created us and who is the secret guest of our hearts.
“He enlightens from within our intelligence, he orients our freedom to the good, which we often feel to be fragile and inconstant. He is the true hope and the solid foundation of our lives. To him, most of all, can we entrust ourselves.”
The Holy Father was speaking about education in general, but certainly his words can be applied to religious education. Indeed, educating young people today “seems more difficult than ever.” I know last night seemed “more difficult than ever” and I left as many of us catechists do from time to time, wondering whether I have gotten through to them about the importance of faith in Jesus. On the “eve” of their Confirmation, I trust in the power of the Holy Spirit to ignite the flame of faith within them and to open their eyes to the presence of Jesus in their lives.
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of presenting to about 150 high school teens and their group leaders at St. Francis Xavier in LaGrange. Our topic was Living the Mass and we had a very engaging experience together.
One of the parts I most enjoyed was speaking about the Lord’s Prayer. Here’s what I did:
- I recently purchased a replica of the Declaration of Independence (it’s poster size and only cost $9.95 from American Family Traditions Store).
- I asked how many had seen the movie National Treasure (2004, Nicholas Cage) and probably two-thirds raised their hands.
- I mentioned that in that movie, Cage has to “steal” the Declaration of Independence to save it from others who intend to do likewise but for the wrong reasons.
- I then unfurled my replica and told them that I beat Nicholas Cage to the punch!
- I asked them who it was that we declared our independence from (England/Great Britain) and who it was that was the ruler of England (King George III)
- I explained that our country is founded on the notion that we are politically, economically, and socially independent from the King of England who once reigned over us.
- I then explained that everytime we pray the Our Father, we, in essence, are making a Declaration of DEpendence on another King: our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
- I emphasize the words “thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven,” drawing attention to the fact that Jesus used the word kingdom to describe God’s reign.
- I then talked a little bit about how traditionally, a kingdom is a geographical area (with boundaries) over which a king reigns and within which that king’s will reigns supreme. Likewise, the role of the king is to protect his people, especially those who are vulnerable.
- In Jesus, of course, we have a King whose kingdom has no boundaries and whose reign is not located in a geographical area but within us. In the Lord’s Prayer, then, we declare our dependence upon Christ the King, praying that his will be done in our lives and everywhere as it is in heaven.
- The Lord’s Prayer, then, is in fact our Declaration of DEpendence!
I like to use props when I teach because I think that they engage the imagination of kids. I realize that catechists can run up costs, at times, purchasing materials for their lessons. Some materials can be reimbursed by the DRE however, I like to keep a lot of my “props” for other presentations, so I tend to pay for them myself. I consider these purchases part of my stewardship.
Anyway, another aspect of bringing in something like the Declaration of Independence is that it makes for interdisciplinary learning (there’s a mouthful!). That simply means that the lesson makes connections between the various “disicplines” or subject areas - in this case, between religion and American history/social studies. It never hurts to think about subjects that kids are learning about in school and then see how you can make a connection to the practice of our faith. The more connections they make, the better the chance of them retaining the information.
Looking forward to Monday, it will be the first time in a while that I’ve had an entire period with my students! It’ll be nice to have a solid block of time with them again. This Monday is the confirmation assessment that I’ve alluded to before. It will be very interesting to see how well the young people can recall basic information about their faith. I also look forward to talking with them about their upcoming Confirmation. Unfortunately, I will be out of town on the day of the celebration but I will certainly be with them in spirit. I hope they look forward to the day as an opportunity to grow closer to our Lord. Have a great weekend!
Saint Patrick’s Day will fall during Holy Week this year for the first time since 1940. This means that there will be no Mass in honor of St. Patrick on March 17 which is the Monday of Holy Week (according to the U.S. bishops’ Secretariat of Divine Worship).
Many Catholic bishops are asking for even more sensitivity to this overlap by urging parades and festivities to be scheduled outside of Holy Week. Many cities and organizations are doing just that. However, in Columbus, Ohio, the Shamrock Club is going ahead with its March 17 parade. The president of the club cites the following:
“It’s not a sin to celebrate your Irish culture.”
and
“Actually, you’re born Irish first and then you’re baptized.”
In both cases, he is technically correct but spiritually wrong. It is not a sin to celebrate your culture. It’s a matter of timing and of priorities. The word “holy” means to be “set apart for God’s purposes.” Holy Week is thus a time that we set aside from our usual practices to enter more deeply into the Paschal Mystery of Christ. To insist on celebrating Irish heritage during this week is to miss the profundity of the Paschal Mystery in our lives.
Likewise, when we place anything, including our cultural heritage, in a position of more prominence than our relationship with God, we are skewing our relationship with God. What is sin other than the skewing of our relationship with God and others?
Most importantly, the idea that we are born Irish (or Polish, or African-American, or Puerto-Rican, etc.) first and then baptized is chronologically correct. However, it misses the entire point of baptism. In baptism, we are born again, recognizing that our true heritage is as children of God. This is why St. Paul said,
“for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.” (Galatians 3:26-28)
As in many cases, this is not a case of the Church asking us to say “No” to something as it is asking us to remember what it is that we have said (and must continue to say) a greater “YES!” to.
Being Irish (or any other ethnic background) is nice, but it’s not our source of salvation.
Catechists, let’s be sure to plan any recognition of St. Patrick’s Day with our students BEFORE Holy Week so that Holy Week is truly holy: set apart for God’s purposes.
There’s a popular children’s book featuring Grover from Sesame Street titled There’s a Monster at the End of This Book! I remember reading this book to my daughter when she was little. Throughout the book, loveable furry Grover begs the reader not to turn the page for fear that there is a monster at the end of the book. At the end, Grover says, “oops, I am so embarrassed” because the monster at the end of the book is none other than Grover himself.
Children are afraid of monsters. But then, so are adults. Oh we may not believe in gigantic furry creatures with claws, be we are afraid of human monsters…those seemingly less than human people who hurt, maim, and kill other human beings. When good people die senselessly, we look for the monster. We’re still looking for the monster(s) responsible for the JFK assassination because we can’t believe that a little twerp like Lee Harvey Oswald could be responsible for such a heinous deed. People are still looking for the monsters responsible for Princess Diana’s tragic car crash. In the aftermath of the killings at Columbine HS and at Virginia Tech, you could almost feel a palpable sense of relief in the American psyche when it was revealed that the young men responsible for those killings were such social misfits: clearly monsters waiting to attack.
Now, we have Steven Kazmierczak who killed 5 people and injured numerous others at Northern Illinois University last week. Authorities still don’t really know what set him off. Indications are that he struggled with some mental illness but so do countless millions of Americans. We will keep searching until we dig up something that shows us he was a monster so that we can all relax knowing that there is a huge chasm between creatures like him and ourselves.
However, we are not finding any evidence that he was a monster. What he did was monstrous but the frightening reality is that Stephen Kazmierczak apparently was not all that different from most of us. Something pushed him over a line that most of us do not cross but that we all brush up against in our lives. I say all this because I have heard that some people’s bright idea of how to “solve” the problem of campus shootings is to allow students to carry concealed weapons. The people who advocate this believe in monsters. They believe that “normal” people will be able to protect themselves with concealed weapons should monsters appear on campus. They don’t realize that they will simply be putting guns in the hands of more people like Stephen Kazmierczak - people who are basically normal until something pushes them over a line and they can easily reach into their holster and use their weapon to release their rage.
There are no monsters at the end of this story. Just ourselves. Let’s not arm ourselves with the weapons that make it so easy for normally law-abiding citizens to cross that line.
The following thoughts are from George, a young catechist from out West, who sent me an e-mail sharing some of his thoughts about being a catechist. Let’s pray for this thoughtful young man and for all of our young catechists and potential catechists out there!
As you already know, being a teenager has its ups and downs. Most of the time, I am faced with the challenge of finding scholarships for college and finding time for friends. My academic schedule is rigorous; I have five advanced/difficult courses in my seven period schedule. Added on to that, I have to find the time to plan two different lessons for my CCD kids (the primary plan and the secondary plan). Finding time to do all of these things have been difficult, but I have managed well. The holy spirit has guided me along this process, and I am glad that things are going well.
One of the things that really hurts me on the inside is the fact that many teens these days don’t have a strong religious base. When I lecture to the eighth grade confirmation class, I stress the fact that being scrutinized about believing in God shouldn’t lower a person’s religious beliefs. I have had many times where my fellow classmates at the high school will criticize me for being a religious education teacher. I am not an athlete, nor am I a popular kid at my school. My classmates find it entertaining to basically mock me about my love for Jesus and his preachings. In fact, I don’t even stress that I am a religious education teacher; when a kid asks me what I do on Wednesday afternoons, I tell them the truth. I pray for those kids often, knowing that the holy spirit hasn’t guided them yet and that God has a plan for me that will be rewarding in the future. I just wish it could come sooner sometimes.
After reading your book, I truly believe that the holy spirit wanted me to write this email to you. It is basically an email of thanks. Your book, without a doubt, comes from what you believe in the deepest parts of your heart. In my community of only 5000+ people, I have great difficulty in finding adults who can mentor me and encourage me to continue my actions. As with many teenagers in the United States, I feel as if the little things that we do never get recognized. In fact, I am only one of two high school helpers in my religious education program; the other high school helper is my aide in the fourth-fifth grade class. With this lack of peer/adult support, it is very difficult to keep my efforts alive in wanting to be a mentor/catechist. However, as I mentioned earlier, the holy spirit continues to be with me, so the fuel to my fire is still burning bright.
George, may that fire keep burning brightly!
I thought you might enjoy this reflection.
http://www.theinterviewwithgod.com/
It is with great sadness that I provide a link to my 4/16/07 post that followed the Virginia Tech shootings. In that post, I offered some strategies for helping children to cope with disaster. In light of the shootings at Northern Illinois University yesterday, I’m aware of the fact that some of us catechists may find ourselves in a situation where it would be prudent for us to speak about the incident.
My thoughts and prayers go out to the Northern Illinois University community and to the families of all who have been affected by this enormous tragedy.
I offer a few thoughts from a book by Fr. Richard Hauser, S.J., titled Finding God in Troubled Times:
Where is our God in suffering? We Christians do not have a fully satisfying explanation for why the world contains so much suffering. But we have something better: we have the power to deal with the suffering. We know where our God is during suffering. Our God is with us - in all the senseless accidents and ruptured relationships and interior brokenness of our lives. And we cannot claim to be living a fully Christian life until we believe and live this dimension of the gospel, trusting God’s presence and power working through our own “thorns in the flesh,” Gethsemanes, and Calvarys.
Click here to watch an interview with Fr. Hauser about the topic of finding God in troubled times.
