Dorian Speed, Author at Amazing Catechists

Review: Be An Amazing Catechist – Sacramental Preparation

Lisa Mladinich provides clear, helpful, and uplifting support for catechists, from beginners to those looking to learn more about how to reach out to their students. Be an Amazing Catechist: Sacramental Preparation is her follow-up to her first publication, Be An Amazing Catechist. It’s an equally useful resource tailored to religious educators who are working to prepare children and adults for reception of the sacraments of initiation.

I had the honor of speaking with Lisa as she compiled suggestions for this booklet, and I can attest that she is very focused on sharing concrete tools to help catechists meet the needs of a wide variety of students. Sacramental preparation can be an especially challenging task, given that many kids show up for religious education only when it’s time to receive another sacrament, and are there at the behest of a family member but don’t attend Mass or have a basic knowledge of our faith.

The booklet provides both practical suggestions – with proper respect given for tried-and-true techniques like memorization and rote learning – and advice for how to connect with reluctant learners and inspire them to form a relationship with Christ.

Lisa manages to be encouraging without glossing over the real challenges of preparing children and adults to receive sacraments they may not fully understand when they walk in the door for that first class. In particular, her chapter on the Sacrament of Reconciliation addresses the fears and apprehension that can accompany a penitent’s first (or…subsequent) reception of the sacrament. And her advice for working with teenagers in preparation for Confirmation is genuinely optimistic and inspiring without glossing over the challenges that young adults face in today’s world.

This booklet would be a great gift for DRE’s to bestow upon their teams of catechists, either as a kickoff for the year or as encouragement once the first few classes have gone by and the needs of a particular group of students have become apparent. Slim enough to be read through in one sitting, but packed with substantive advice, it would also make a great backbone for a diocesan workshop or professional development for Catholic school teachers (because, regardless of what subject you’re teaching, you are catechizing the students.)

I highly recommend this booklet and Lisa’s first volume as well, and look forward to more of her writing! To learn more about Lisa’s motivation for writing this booklet, check out this interview with Donna Marie Cooper O’Boyle in which she talks with Lisa about her background and her hopes for how her writing can motivate those working “in the fields.”

Disclaimer: I was sent a sample copy of this book by Our Sunday Visitor.

YOUCAT (Catholic Youth Catechism) – Great for Evangelization; So-So for Teaching

By Dorian Speed

The YOUCAT (Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church) isn’t perfect.

If you are looking for a textbook to use with your devoutly orthodox teenager, this may not be for you.

What this book is great at, in my opinion, is putting Catholic teaching into plain English for young adults who may never have encountered the Church outside of the negative media coverage and “transgressive” artists like Lady GaGa. This book speaks to the culture at a time when the Church is deeply counter-cultural. It’s been argued that this means some difficult teachings are couched in language too fuzzy to convey the seriousness of sin. I can see that, but I also think the intention behind the YOUCAT is that it can be tucked into a back pocket and pulled out during a casual discussion with a friend who may have questions about Catholics – not that it function as the-only-catechism-you’ll-ever-need.

With any text that’s designed “for the youth,” there’s always a risk of pandering to the reader in an attempt to make the text stylistically appealing. I think the YOUCAT gets it just about right. You can check out pdf sample pages via the Ignatius Press website; the font choices, size, and feel of the book are modern and attention-grabbing without coming across as cheesy or soon-to-be-dated. I love the winsome stick figure illustrations at the bottom of each page (hint: it’s a catechism AND a flipbook) that draw the reader’s eye to focus on the meaning behind the text. The book is small enough to be portable while still dense with information.

So, why another version of the catechism just For The Youth? Well, that was my original question, but I think this book definitely meets a need. It succinctly explains essential Catholic teaching in a manner that is accurate but not too wordy, and it provides the relevant Scripture references and citations in the official Catechism of the Catholic Church. The margins offer clarification of definitions and quotes from Scripture, the Catechism, and the lives of spiritual leaders throughout our history as a church. In the past, I’ve used the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults as a classroom text with high school students, and while it was more readable than the official Catechism, I would use the YOUCAT instead, given the opportunity. It’s not that the lingo is hip-for-the-teenz or anything, but its tone and conciseness are just a bit more appropriate for young people.

I was particularly impressed by Pope Benedict’s foreword, which speaks forthrightly to the hearts of to young people.

You need God’s help if your faith is not going to dry up like a dewdrop in the sun, if you want to resist the blandishments of consumerism, if your love is not to drown in pornography, if you are not going to betray the weak and leave the vulnerable helpless.

And hear how directly he addresses the pedophilia crisis and the impact it may have on evangelization:

You all know how deeply the community of faith has been wounded recently through the attacks of the evil one, through the penetration of sin itself into the interior, yes, into the heart of the Church. Do not make that an excuse to flee from the face of God! You yourselves are the Body of Christ, the Church! Bring the undiminished fire of your love into this Church whose countenance has so often been disfigured by man.

The layout of the book feels very “Internet.” There are little arrows next to major terms that feel like they should be hyperlinks; I would love it if this were eventually available in a pumped-up e-book form or if there were a web version of the text that allowed for users to click around from one section to another or learn more about the saints and Biblical figures quoted.

Having said that, there are problems with the book – there are a few photographs that are inappropriate (or, in the case of one photo with a random hand gesture, possibly offensive in some cultures). The primary controversy about the book has dealt with its treatment of sexual sin, specifically masturbation and homosexual acts. My personal opinion is that these sections are written such that a reader who disagrees with the Church and doesn’t know the background to these teachings will not instantly be put off by a “these are mortal sins, end of story” response. I think they could have been written better, but I don’t think they are so vague as to leave the reader unclear about Catholic teaching. To me, this book seems very focused on initiating a conversation with young people – Catholic or not – and some of the Church’s more countercultural teachings are presented in a “it’s difficult for people to understand why the Church teaches such-and-such” manner.

So, again, it’s not for everybody. But the orthodoxy of a book itself can be bolstered or hindered by the person leading the discussion. I’ve sat in on classes with super-orthodox texts which were presented as “okay, that’s what the Church says, now what do you think? Let’s talk about our feelings.” On the flip side, a person could easily clarify in a conversation the parts of the YOUCAT that may, to some readers, seem unnecessarily vague. I feel like the positives of this text outweigh the negatives, but I do look forward to a revised version that addresses these concerns.

Bottom line, I wouldn’t “not recommend” it – I’d just say that you should consider the reader before purchasing it.

Some parts of this review are consolidated from earlier blog posts about the YOUCAT. I wrote this review of YOUCAT for the free Catholic Book review program, created by Aquinas and More Catholic Goods, your source for Baptism Gifts and Oplatki Christmas Wafers. You can read more about Aquinas and More’s decision to stop carrying the YOUCAT here.

Tiber River is the first Catholic book review site, started in 2000 to help you make informed decisions about Catholic book purchases. I receive free product samples as compensation for writing reviews for Tiber River.

Catechist Chat: Let Teens Pick and Choose

By Dorian Speed

At his (fabulous and new!) website, Patrick Madrid posted about young people and the Mass. You’ll want to read in full, but here’s a snippet from a priest’s comment on the subject:

Young people do not want a Mass the reflects the world, but a Mass that reflects heaven, which is other worldly and mysterious. Drums, guitars, clapping, etc., do not reflect heaven, they reflect a rock concert.

I am in total agreement here – well, at least, about the appropriate music for Mass.

But there are lots of kids who really, really, really like Praise and Worship music at Mass. Lots of adults, too. It hasn’t been my personal experience that Praise and Worship music doesn’t work to get teens to Mass; it just doesn’t work to get all teens to Mass.

I’m not trying to launch some apocalyptic showdown of chant-versus-guitars here. My point is that we need to be okay with the fact that teenagers, just like every other demographic…well, aren’t one big demographic.

If a teenager likes youth group, loves LifeTeen, and is on fire for retreats – awesome. And if not? That’s okay, too.

Give kids a menu to choose from as far as how they’ll be involved in their faith. That autonomy is what they’re hoping for, as they enter adulthood, anyway.

The best youth ministry programs already accomplish this – they offer a wide variety of ways for kids to share and grow in their faith.

But I’ve also seen families – and religious educators – try to “force” kids to fit a certain mold of what an Active Catholic Teen looks like – you know, the ones from the pictures in the youth Bibles?

See, I’m an expert on teenagers, because my own children aren’t in their teens yet. (heh) What I hope to do with my own kids as they enter their teenage years is to allow them to decide, to a certain extent, how they’re going to be involved in our parish beyond what I consider the minimum (Mass attendance and some form of religious ed – either Catholic school, if we decide to go that route, or CCD.) If they don’t cotton to the youth Mass but really enjoy volunteering at the food bank or Gabriel Project, that’s fine with me.

Isn’t that what we want for them as adults? To discover their unique charisms, and put them to use? How are we helping them to do so if we try to make all teens fit into a certain mold?

Screwtape on How to Tempt a Teenager

By Dorian Speed

The Screwtape Letters is a clever, thought-provoking text that can get teenagers (or adults) to examine their own moral development in a new light. I used the book with a class of ninth graders, as an introduction to a Morality class, and I’m going to be sharing lesson plans for the unit study.

Here’s what I posted about it at the time – you may have to squint to see through the dust that’s accumulated since 2006:

My freshman class kicked off the semester with The Screwtape Letters. I was worried it might be a bit over their heads, but I made a very detailed study guide for the first ten letters that has helped them to understand Lewis’ writing style. My husband downloaded a recording of John Cleese reading the first few letters, and I played them for the students to help them understand how to read the book. I confess, to almighty blog, that I utilized a pirated recording in my religion class. I do intend to purchase it someday…but this was a last-minute find. (EDITOR’S NOTE: HAVE NOT PURCHASED YET.)

Today, we had a panel discussion in which each student played the role of a “devil” and discussed the best way to tempt teenagers. Their assignment for the week was to write a letter in the style of Screwtape on the topic of how to tempt a teenaged “patient,” and to address the topics discussed in the first 10 letters, including
o how to use the patient’s relationship with his/her parents to your advantage
o the role of friendships in temptation
o how to manipulate the patient’s prayer life

For a first discussion, it went fairly smoothly. Interesting points – an argument over whether it’s best to totally isolate the teenager from friends (so that he’ll blame God for his loneliness) or to surround the teenager with friends who can lead him astray. There also was a discussion of teenaged love which I didn’t really follow and had to bring back on track. I would like to see them get more specific than “peer pressure is our best strategy,” because I think modern teenagers are taught from late elementary school to parrot such wisdom about peer pressure without a deeper examination of what that really means. But I would definitely say that the entire class was engaged in the discussion and looking forward to the next one.

Ooh – update! Check it out – you can download a recording of Ralph Cosham reading The Screwtape Letters from Audible.com for – whatever the monthly fee is? And this site claims to be a storehouse of copyright-free recordings, and contains the original John Cleese reading of Screwtape Letters.

Apparently, there is now a Focus on the Family audio production of The Screwtape Letters, with Andy Serkis (Gollum!) as Screwtape. Haven’t checked it out myself, but I think the more dramatic, less dry and British (which is my preferred style) rendition might actually be better in a classroom/small group setting. Here’s the trailer:

Keep parents in the loop with text-messaging

By Dorian Speed

(I know it’s supposed to be Ask a Catechist day, being a Wednesday and all, but…I forgot to schedule a guest poster for today. Mea culpa).

I’ve had more success with contacting parents via text-message than by any other format, even personal phone calls. I have a list of about 20 parents for my parish children’s choir, and I’ve tried all of the usual methods to keep them updated: sending home notes, e-mailing, calling them individually (which works, but takes a long time). Text-message blasts have been far more effective.

I use a free program called Handcent SMS on my Android phone to set up contact lists and email the entire list with one “blast.” I opted for an unlimited text-messaging plan because I knew I’d be sending out a few of these mass-SMS messages every month, and that can add up pretty quickly. I know that FlockNote is a more robust way of sharing information with a parish via multiple platforms, including text-messaging, although I haven’t had experience with it myself. And I know that there are lots of options out there for iPhones, but since I am (AND SHALL REMAIN, VERIZON, DO YOU HEAR ME) an Android user, I haven’t tried them.

What I would love would be to do the same thing with my high school students, most of whom have cell phones, but I am guessing that wouldn’t work with our Safe Environment guidelines.

Do you share your cell phone number with your students and/or their parents?

Start Sensibly when Studying Scripture

By Dorian Speed

I am pretty neutral on the subject of the historical-critical method of studying the Bible. So much so that I don’t even really consider myself qualified to offer my opinion on the topic.

But what I’ve noticed is that many textbooks about Scripture start off with “how we got the Bible” and include discussion of source criticism, that kind of thing. And it’s not that I don’t consider that valuable information – I think it’s good to talk about these things with our students so that they can answer questions (their own, or questions from other people) about where the Bible came from and how we interpret it.

I just think that for most kids – especially those who are not necessarily at CCD/Catholic school because of their deep and publicly expressed interest in learning more about their faith (a.k.a., “Grandma made me go”), starting off with the dry stuff about the priestly source and the canon of Scripture, etc., comes across as “basically, this is all made up, but here’s how it was made up.”

I mean, I PERSONALLY find this stuff fascinating – really. But, in my official capacity as Woman with Blog, I give you permission:

Skip those chapters. Or save them until the end. Here’s an activity I’ve used as a one-day overview of the four senses of Scripture, if you’d like:

Senses of Scripture – activity cards and directions

Senses of Scripture – student handout

There are two files – one’s a student handout, in which they read and summarize individual Scripture passages, then analyze the different senses of each passage. The other is directions for running the activity with your class, and activity cards that the students can “match” to the appropriate sense of each passage.
The best resource I’ve used is Mark Shea’s Making Senses out of Scripture, which explains the Catholic approach to studying Scripture in a simple, engaging fashion – it’s a book I’d love to have a class set of, actually. I need to double-check this, but I think the cards for the activity may actually have excerpts from his book (in which case, I need to edit those to reflect that – this is an activity I made several years ago and suddenly remembered).

Excuses for Evangelizing

By Dorian Speed

Great discussion in the comments from Sarah Reinhard’s guest post about getting kids (and families) to attend Mass. I think it’s a common theme among Catholics that we’re nervous or hesitant to invite people to join us at Mass. I’m no different – I think part of it is that, even though I’m a very extroverted, hand-flapping catechist with LOTS of ENERGY and IDEAS and EXCLAMATION POINTS!, I’m not one to talk easily about my interior life, whether that be my relationship with God, my marriage, my vocation to motherhood. I tend to guard very closely the things I value the most.

See, look what a great job I just did of rationalizing my non-inviting of people to Church! I could do this all day!

That’s where I think programs like Catholics Come Home or retreats (Christ Renews His Parish, ACTS, etc.) can be so helpful – not just in reaching out to the community in terms of advertising in an “official” sense on behalf of the parish, but in giving us an excuse to invite our friends and loved ones to join us at Mass.

“Hey, our priest this Sunday challenged each of us to invite three people to join us at Mass next weekend, and I wondered if you’d like to come with me?”

“Our parish is having this retreat thing, and I don’t really know anyone who’s going, but I’ve heard great things about it. Would you be interested in going?”

“The Word became flesh and told me I have to go out and make disciples of all nations, and I just wondered if you would be interested in coming to, uh, Theology on Tap.”

Wait a minute, that last one – shoot. It looks like, when it comes to evangelizing…there are no excuses.

(See what I did there?)

Why Catechesis Isn’t (just) Apologetics

By Dorian Speed

My Super Internet Friends Roy Petitfils and Marc Cardaronella are having a great conversation about resistance to faith, and how to handle it sensitively. From Roy’s post on the Four Types of Resistance:

1. Intellectual. Having a different point of view, disagreeing with one’s logic or reasoning and ignorance. This type of resistance is falsely assumed by most Christian apologetics and thus explains why so much “apologetics” and “evangelization” is so woefully ineffective. (emphasis mine) It is the least prevalent form of resistance in young people today.

2. Spiritual. Sin is a choice to step out of relationship with Christ. The more seriously and repeatedly we do this the more resistant we become to re-entering that relationship.

3. Physical. Many people, especially males experience, learn and process kinesthetically—touching, moving, creating and yes, even destroying. I’ve seen some pretty resistant young people open up while mixing cement in Mexico, riding horses or after I sent them rocketing to the clouds as a result of jumping onto a giant air pillow in mountain lake.

4. Emotional. Often resulting from an experience of disappointment or hurt. The blame was either consciously or unconsciously ascribed to God. Saying “I’m agnostic” or “I’m an atheist” or “Christians are just a bunch of hypocrites” are all symptoms of emotional resistance. These sound better than saying “I’m feeling disappointed because God…” or “I’m having some feelings about God and the Church I don’t understand.” or “I’m angry that God…” That level of awareness is rare in adolescence and even when it is there, it will likely not come out in a classroom, youth group meeting or confirmation class.

Great taxonomy, especially that first point – which is what I want to respond to.

I’m not sure what Roy means when he says that intellectual resistance is the least prevalent form of resistance in young people today, but I’m guessing his point is that we so often want to hammer away at evangelization with the help of our trusty apologetics toolbox. I mean, we’ve got all those books! The logic is laid out so clearly! If we can just get those kids to focus on what we’re saying, they will be stunned by the wisdom of our arguments.

But, of course, for the reasons Roy has outlined, more often we are encountering a group of kids who are, for all intents and purposes, covering their ears with their hands. “LA LA LA I CAN’T HEAR YOU!!!!”

I think this is so important to remember when we’re talking to kids about a “difficult” teaching – one that personally affects them. We can’t answer their questions in a vacuum. Even though we might totally follow the logic behind why, for example, abortion isn’t okay even in the case of rape, we can’t assume that all we need to do is lay out the arguments and our audience will accept them.

First off, we need to accept the reality that – as Roy pointed out – our listeners may have deep emotional scars that we’ll never know about, and that their past wounds are brought to the forefront when these sensitive topics are discussed.

And we always need to provide a context for whatever answers we’re giving them – not just “the Church teaches that sex is both procreative and unitive, and we cannot sever these two aspects,” but “Jesus talked a lot about marriage as an image for His love for the Church. What does that mean? Total self-sacrifice, total self-giving. And the way this applies to human sexuality is…” I’m not great at doing this without giving 15-minute Charlie Brown Teacher Voice answers to apparently simple questions, but I think it’s better than trying to answer all of kids’ questions piecemeal, thinking we can shoot down their objections one at a time and they’ll eventually see things our way.

Please read Roy’s entire post, because he expands upon all of this more eloquently, and then head over to Marc’s for more ruminations on the subject.

The Beatitudes, Marriage, and the Moral Floor

By Dorian Speed

When I’m talking with older kids about morality, I try to emphasize the difference between the Commandments and the Beatitudes.

I observed a terrific lesson about this in a class at St. Joseph’s High School in Greenville, SC, several years ago – I just wish I could remember what texts they were using. I think maybe the Dominican Series from Priory Press. Anyway, the teacher explained to the class that the Ten Commandments are the “moral floor” that we have to stay above, while the Beatitudes are like the “moral ceiling” we should try to reach.

That's quite a ceiling

I talk about this in terms of marriage – if I really love my husband, how am I going to nurture our relationship? What does it take to live out my vocation?

Well, to start with, I’m not going to cheat on him, steal from him, lie about him, be jealous of him – lots of “shalt nots” included in the Recommended Daily Allowance for our marriage. But that’s not what makes a good marriage – just the absence of doing bad things to my husband. Same with being a mom – although I certainly have days when “kept children alive” is all that’s crossed off on my checklist. I really show my love through the things I do that go above and beyond not-sinning-against-them. That’s what the Beatitudes are akin to – how we really grow in holiness; how we really cultivate a relationship with God.

I find that kids just “get it” if I keep coming back to this idea. Plus, it gives me the chance to talk realistically about marriage as a vocation, which I think kids need to hear about; so many of them either feel like marriage is BS because they’ve seen so many marriages fall apart, or have this very unrealistic “marriage is for soulmates” idea that real love means never having to suffer because you’re so happy all the time.

The Getty Guide to Imagery Series: a Goldmine for Educators

By Dorian Speed

We’re so fortunate to have a 2,000-year treasury of Christian art, and it would be a shame not to share it with our students, wouldn’t it? Art can point us towards a deeper understanding of Scripture or the life stories of the saints; it can move us emotionally in a way that words sometimes do not. You can pique kids’ curiosity and draw them into the story by sharing images with them.

Online, there are some terrific databases of images you can use in your class. Three of my favorites are:

Biblical Art on the WWW – searchable by topic, person, etc. Really cool set of images and links to images elsewhere
Olga’s Gallery – very comprehensive collection of images, often with annotation that can be helpful if you’re not familiar with the work or the artist
Web Gallery of Art – another very comprehensive collection, with links to the sites where the images are hosted.

While online sources are fabulous when you’re looking for a specific work of art, having books to flip through can give you a broader view of the life of a given saint or figure as portrayed in art. That’s why I absolutely love the Getty’s Guide to Imagery Series. I’ve reviewed two volumes of the series so far for Tiber River – Old Testament Figures in Art and Saints in Art. From the reviews:

With its many notes as to recurring themes and connections to the New Testament, this would be terrific to have on hand for a Scripture class at any level, as it provides beautiful art to supplement a lecture or to examine in its own right. Each image is reproduced in full color and is grouped with similar pieces based on their correspondence to a particular event or figure in the Old Testament. Significant events in salvation history are presented in approximate chronological order, with notes as to the geographic location, relative time of their occurrence, Scriptural references, and the region where a particular image or event was most popular.

For example, the story of Abraham’s encounter with the king and priest Melchizedek is represented by two paintings, each with notes about the event prefiguring the Last Supper. The section on this event includes an explanation of the circumstances leading up to Abraham’s meeting Melchizedek, and points out that Salem is the ancient name for the city of Jerusalem. Each painting has multiple notes that point out significant figures and techniques used by the artist to create the work.
Read more about Old Testament Figures in Art at Tiber River

and

The images collected in Saints in Art are not intended to act as a hall of fame for the most widely venerated saints throughout the world, but rather serve to show us the symbols and stories associated with various aspects of Christian history. Each image is shown in full and vivid color, with notes around its perimeter that identify significant parts of the scene. We learn to look more closely at these works of art and to understand that there is meaning to every small detail, and to enjoy “decoding” similar images.

For religious educators, this book would be a great resource for discovering new and unusual facts about saints, and for sharing with students to help them remember what made each saint unique. Some graphic scenes of martyrdom and occasional nudity would mean that this isn’t a book you’d leave around for kids to page through, but there are many, many images that could be appreciated by even the youngest art aficionado. I think it’s great to use visuals like these in teaching and learning about our faith, because we can come to better appreciate beauty as well as having another way to remember important events in the life of a saint we’re studying.
Read more about Saints in Art at Tiber River.

It seems like they’re always coming out with new volumes in this series, and I can’t wait to add some of the other titles to my collection. I highly recommend that you check them out, too.

I wrote these reviews of Old Testament Figures in Art and Saints in Art for the Tiber River Blogger Review program, created by Aquinas and More Catholic Goods. For more information and to purchase, please visit Aquinas and More Catholic Goods, your source for Baptism Gifts and First Communion Gifts. Tiber River is the first Catholic book review site, started in 2000 to help you make informed decisions about Catholic book purchases. I receive free product samples as compensation for writing reviews for Tiber River.

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