Catechism Archives - Amazing Catechists

Making Recitation a Tool for Success, Part II

Introduction

Recitation, referred to in the catechetical tradition as “catechism,” is a powerful tool, albeit not the only tool, for passing on the faith to young children. Discover my first article arguing for the necessity of its restoration. In my last article on recitation, I examined the first installment of the series Making Recitation a Tool for Success, Part I. That article reviewed the practical steps to initiating recitation within the catechetical classroom. This article will round out the practical tips to making recitation a success in its execution.

Recitation as an Immediate Assessment

The cumulative recitation experience at the beginning of class provides the Catechist with an immediate assessment of their child’s attitude for that day, their overall abilities, and current level of comprehension. The overall recitation should

be the class standing up and reciting a rhythmic harmony. Yet, in each class there should be a few questions that focus on a particular grouping of students in the classroom. For example, the Catechist might have a question that is just for each row, another question that is for boys, and another for girls.

Catechists may notice issues with a student during the group recitation, but the above examples of smaller groups will make it more challenging for a struggling student to hide it from the Catechist. Take note of any students not participating, not saying it proficiently, or overly distracted. Their struggles may be due to stressors at home or in school, but they might also inform the Catechist that the child has learning challenges or is falling behind in class.

You will not know all that is going on with a student from recitation, but it will provide you an idea of who you need to keep an eye on or follow-up with.

Recitation as a Foundation

Conducting recitation is not the same as a lesson. This tool will help your lesson and future lessons. It will provide the class with common vocabulary; everyone will be able to speak the same language and hopefully it will be a language that matches the Church. This is necessary in our age when many kids grow-up without many of the same cultural staples of Catholicism and mechanisms that helps one become accustomed to words like: Mass, Eucharist, Consecration, Confessional, Genuflect, Sacrifice, etc. Many of us have experienced the challenge of students that refer to the Eucharist as the “bread and wine” or confuse “Confirmation” with “Confession.”

Some Catechists struggle with needing to cover too much in the limited amount of time for sacramental preparation. Some communities have students entering into sacramental prep needing the basics as well. Where do you start? What do you do if there is not enough time? Rely on recitation to cover some of the foundational elements in order to ensure the core elements for sacramental preparation are covered.

The Struggle to Make Recitation a Habit

Whether its recitation or any other catechetical component, a once a week catechetical gathering is not sufficient to offer the ideal formation experience. Recitation requires habitual use to actualize its potential. It is a struggle to only have recitation drills once a week. The challenge is to attempt ways to get some or all of the students to review their recitation at home.

Let parents know about the importance of recitation. Provide them a copy of your recitation questions and invite them to review them 1-3 times a week outside of class. You can also provide children a notebook and ask them to copy the new recitation phrase for the week a handful of times in their notebook outside of class. Students can also review their recitation with not just parents but also godparents or siblings; relatives can sign a paper to witness to the practice at home.

Communicate well and communicate often with parents. Let them know what you expect and how it will impact the end of the year event (see below).

A Closing Recitation Event

Invite parents, godparents, and clergy to enjoy a formal last recitation to end the year. Think of it like a RECital or performance of the year’s cumulative recitation. Try to create a true celebration spirit for those attending to see their child showcase their mastery of catechetical formulas and increased memory capacity. The benefits of such an event include:

Students will have a chance to discover a sense of accomplishment towards their hard work.
Parents and members of the community get to see an example of something that the kids worked on during the year.
The buildup towards this annual event may inspire some of the parents and students to review it outside of class and help cultivate the habit.

While I am passionate about the importance of recitation in catechesis, I am under no impression that recitation alone is what these kids need. It is simply a component that assists their overall catechetical formation and child developmental skills.

Making Recitation a Tool for Success, Part 1

By Brandon Harvey

Introduction

I have previously written about the importance of restoring the use of recitation within Religious Education Programs, referred to in the catechetical tradition as “Catechism.” With the near disappearance of this essential tool within the contemporary educational systems, both public and private, and current catechetical programs, most of us have not experienced a mentor utilizing the tool of recitation in a skillful manner. For most of us, it sounds like a relic of the past that stirs up a wide array of reactions. It is my hope to offer a few words on how to use recitation well.

Initial Habits for Successful Recitation

Recitation begins with the Amazing Catechist. The catechist must know the content of recitation. If the children are asked to memorize their recitation, they need to see that it is possible by seeing the mastery commanded by their guide and mentor in the catechetical enterprise. The catechist also needs to prioritize the use of recitation so that the children will be given a chance of making it a priority for themselves. Lastly, the catechist must properly plan for the classroom and designate the appropriate amount of time for recitation.

Recitation must become a habit that children come to expect in each class. Recitation is not like a craft, trivia game, or showing a video. These things can be used during some classes but are not typically found in all classes for the given year. Recitation is needed for every class. The habit of recitation creates a sense of universality, a sense that regular use of recitation is normative, and its absence is unnatural to their experience.

Catechetical recitation should have a degree of formal solemnity, or ceremony, within its place in a class. The way the catechist calls students to the beginning of recitation, standing, beginning, the rhythm, handling problems, and concluding should have a feel of joyous ceremony. This will create a healthy environment for enriching their ability to memorize and recite.

Introducing Recitation

Recitation possesses the ability to strengthen a child’s memory, provide essential content and vocabulary for the day’s lesson, give them catechetical formulas that will remain with them for years to come, and allow catechists to see how their students are doing. How should the new recitation for the week be introduced? After reciting the recitation from previous weeks, since part of the power of recitation is its cumulative nature, the new recitation is offered at the conclusion of the previous weeks, “Now I will introduce our new recitation.” For example, the new recitation for a class of 1^st graders might be:

Catechist: “Who made the world?”

Class: “God made the world.”

Catechist: “Who is God?”

Class: “God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”

Each catechist needs to find their own way for introducing the new content. I find that it is helpful to simply have it written on the board when the class arrives. Repeat it several times together. Then begin erasing a word or two while continuing to recite it together. For example, the board may look like the above points and then slowly erase the word “God”, then “made the”, and then finally “world.” Doing the recitation in rapid succession will motivate them to retain the original phrase within their minds while observing the remaining words to be found. I know other catechists that simply put it on the board and do not erase it. Others give it to their children on a sheet of paper.

Conclusion

The more a catechist perfects their artform of teaching and guiding recitation, the easier it will become for the catechist and students. This will allow recitation to move smoothly within a class, allow more time for the subsequent catechetical lesson that often follows, and allow the potential of “catechism”/recitation to be actualized within our classrooms and programs.

A Case for the Restoration of Catechetical Recitation

By Brandon Harvey

Over the last fifteen years I have heard numerous individuals share about their experiences as the “last real Baltimore Catechism Generation.” Some express that the formal catechism recitation, comprised of a question and answer dialogue, was a positive influence on their faith life and provided them sound doctrinal formation. Others have a somewhat negative view of their experience and felt that the catechism recitation monopolized their classroom experience. Interestingly though, they do have one positive thing to say about the use of recitation: “I will never forget what I learned.” The famous example being:

The Catechist: Why did God make you?

The Class: “God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him for ever in heaven.”

This dialogue recitation was not only found in Catholic catechetical classrooms but also is a hallmark of the Classical Education Movement that has been seeking to restore the essence of an authentic education. The name for this dialogue or echo between teacher and class has also been called “Catechism.” For now, let us remain with the title “recitation.”

I seek to suggest that it would be in our best interest as Amazing Catechists, either at home or in a classroom, to carry out the restoration project of bringing back the Catholic recitation. I am not suggesting that this be done as the sole means of educating youth but that the use of recitation should once again become part of our catechetical process. The question and answers of recitation can easily be integrated into the opening of class or the closing of class. The reason for its restoration is that it works.

The traditional characteristic of the younger grades, what we call Grammar School or Elementary School, was the emphasis on memory work. The emphasis on memory work was aimed at cultivating a child’s memory capacity and at the same time teaching them something. Small children can do it, and the last couple thousand years have demonstrated that it fits well with the developmental stages of small children. They like to repeat and imitate. They are a sponge and can handle unusual amounts of information if it begins simple and grows in complexity. Recitation for a small child is like exercise. The more a person exercises, the easier it becomes and the more complicated routines can then be adopted.

Within a few short minutes I have seen 1^st communicants be able to answer questions like:

Who is God?
What are the two parts of Scripture?
Name the four Gospels.
Who is Jesus?
What are the Old Testament types of Baptism?
What does John 3:5 say about Baptism?
What does Romans 6 say about Baptism?
How does Confirmation complete Baptism?
How does Confirmation help with the reception of Holy Communion?
What is the Manna in Exodus 16?
How does the Lord’s Prayer connect with Manna?
What does Jesus say about the Eucharist in John 6?

The benefits for the child are beyond this article and deserve an entire book to do them justice. I have chosen to simplify and provide the nine most common fruits when recitation is done well and consistently:

Recitation teaches children to organize a body of knowledge in a systematic way.
Recitation demonstrates to a child how the new lesson of a given class fits within the greater body of knowledge of the Catholic Faith.
Recitation teaches children new and proper vocabulary to help them formulate the concepts they will learn in class.
Recitation provides students the opportunity to grow in confidence for speaking in front of others.
Recitation provides all students in a classroom the same base knowledge to build from in the catechetical lesson.
Recitation motivates the child to develop their memory capacity and their speed and ability for recall.
Recitation provides a body of knowledge that will be ingrained in their long-term memory for the years and possibly decades to come.
Recitation encourages teamwork when done in a classroom setting since the class answers together.
Recitation develops a sense of confidence through the year’s mastery of recitation.

Besides being a time-tested approach to learning for smaller children, especially within a Catholic environment, recitation also provides many helps for the Catechists. Classroom recitation provides the most immediate assessment of a student’s or students’ abilities and their current status in the process of formation. Unlike True and False questions or multiple-choice questions, recitation does not allow for guessing. You either know it or you do not. A catechist does not need to wait until the end of the unit quiz to know if a student grasps the content. They will know immediately. The process of conducting recitation will be discussed in my next article.

The importance of recitation, and the fact that it should not monopolize the classroom experience, is best expressed by turning to L.M. Montgomery’s classic Anne of Green Gables. The orphan, Anne, has arrived at her new home at Green Gables. Marilla asks Anne if she knows who God is. Anne responds, “God is a spirit, infinite, eternal and unchangeable, in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.” The narrator explains that Anne’s answer was prompt.

Anne then explains that she learned it at Sunday school before being adopted. “They made us learn the whole catechism,” likely referring to a sort of recitation, “There’s something splendid about some of the words.” The role of this catechism recitation had a big impact on her vocabulary, her memory, her recall, and her worldview. However, Anne does not yet know how to be a person who prays to God and follows God. For this reason, Marilla immediately seeks Anne’s religious instruction.

Just as in the example of Anne of Green Gables, catechism recitation can have many benefits but must be accompanied by something more within the classroom. The catechetical recitation and catechetical lesson work together to create something grand: a child formed in the way of Jesus Christ. Anyone would be hard pressed, once they know the different approaches to conducting recitation, to find a good reason to not restore catechetical recitation to its proper place.

Image Credit from Wikimedia Commons: Jules-Alexis Muenier: Catechism Lesson

God Even Works Through Unworthy Souls

By Lisa Mladinich

The Crucified Christ, Francisco de Zurbaran (1598-1664 Spanish)

I have known many priests and a few bishops throughout my almost 59 years of life in the Catholic Church, and all of them have been good men. In fact, some of them are counted among my dearest friends, and the witness of their lives is a continuous inspiration to me in my walk with God. The current scandals are torture for them, as they suffer the degrading and humiliating backlash that comes with such revelations.

But while most priests are sincere men who have sacrificed the comforts of ordinary life to help us and draw us into heaven, it is also true that there are wolves among them, causing terrible harm to the Church. There is much of worth being said about this in other places: about how we can respond, how we can help purge the guilty from their powerful perches, and how the laity can and must be a part of this process.*

But I would personally like to focus on something that is just as important for parents and catechists to understand, especially as our children and our students start to ask hard questions:

We can and should have great hope in Christ, through the sacraments of the Church, in spite of the unworthiness of some of its ministers.

It’s horrific when our shepherds betray our trust and do grievous harm to those they are ordained to serve. It is the worst kind of betrayal: setting themselves up as examples and guides in the spiritual life and then abusing their access and influence to exploit innocent victims. Our disgust is both appropriate and understandable, and swift legal action should be taken against every one of them. Their victims should be treated with tireless and committed care and consideration, wherever we find them.

I met one of the victims, not long ago, and her suffering was palpable, but a simple teaching of the Church was a great help to her.

About two years ago, after giving a presentation to a gathering of Catholic women, an attendee approached me and asked to speak privately. Flushed and emotional, she confided something dreadful: a priest had harmed her, years before. She gave me no details, but she was traumatized and deeply hurt by what had happened, trapped in an agonizing struggle between her love for the Church and her legitimate fury at the way she had been used by one of its ministers.

I expressed my sincere sorrow, sympathy, and disgust, but as we talked, I could see that she had been unable to start the necessary process of healing her own life. She had not even considered the possibility of forgiveness, so her wounds were still as raw, at that moment, as if the offense had just occurred. Her own authentic and much-deserved freedom was being held ransom by her choice to live in bitterness.

(Full disclosure: I myself suffered a sexual assault in college, though it had nothing to do with the Church. The perpetrator was a trusted friend, someone who callously took advantage of me in a moment of vulnerability. As a result of that lived experience, I was able to truly empathize and be present to this dear lady, with both a sense of sisterhood and a desire to challenge her–for her own sake.)

As we talked, an important and related issue surfaced. She adamantly denied the validity of the offending priest’s sacramental ministry. He was unworthy, clearly. He had lived a double life. He had betrayed, not just her, but countless people who had come to him to be nourished in the sacramental life of the Church. His leadership was false, she pointed out, so his duplicity had voided any good that might have come from his priesthood.

But that’s not necessarily true. I’m not God, so I don’t have the ability to weigh the ultimate fruits of any life, including my own. But I do know something that all Catholics should know, and I offered it to her in a spirit of encouragement.

Here goes: It is Jesus, not the priest, who makes all of the sacraments efficacious (CCC 1120). I’ll say it another way: the priest’s worthiness has no bearing on the validity or spiritual value of the sacraments themselves. Therefore, a priest who has just committed a murder, for example, can validly baptize an infant, consecrate the Host, anoint the sick, confirm a new Catholic, marry a couple, or even give absolution in the confessional! In each case, because of his ordination, the priest stands in persona Christi (in the person of Christ). Therefore, it is Jesus who baptizes, Jesus who consecrates, Jesus who marries, Jesus who anoints, and Jesus who forgives (CCC 1088). As long as the sacramental actions are done in the correct way by a validly ordained priest, they are completely valid, efficacious, and beautiful. Isn’t that incredible?

In other words, right after betraying Jesus, Judas could have validly consecrated the Host and provided the Holy Mass for himself and others! He could have baptized and absolved, and his actions in persona Christi would have blessed and nourished the souls of the people he served. His worthiness would not have been an impediment because it is always, always Jesus who acts, in every single sacrament.

I guess we shouldn’t be shocked that the Church has such great trust in Our Lord’s power to overcome evil. Jesus brings redemption from our suffering, just as he purchased eternal life for each of us from his own gruesome, scandalous death. Our Lord even brought a thief who repented at the very last minute with him to heaven, and some of our greatest saints started life as champion sinners.

As I explained this teaching of the Church, the suffering lady protested, her hands coming up in a defensive pose, so I spoke these words to her, very gently: “This should give us all great hope because even when we ourselves are unworthy, God can still do great good through our lives, too.”

I watched her eyes widen in amazement, as she staggered backward. I steadied her by lightly grasping her arms, and she teared up as her eyes took on a warmth that had not been there before. She was shaken, but the beginnings of gratitude flooded into her expression, as the liberating reality of this truth took hold.

The gist is that God can work through all of us, in spite of our sins, in spite of all the ways that we betray our love for him and for each other. Yes, we need repentance and sacramental healing to truly walk with the Lord and live our best lives, and criminals should be prosecuted and removed from active ministry. But Jesus can bring beautiful fruit from even the darkest of circumstances.

“SACRED HEART OF JESUS” (DETAIL) BY CHAMBERS

He can overcome our sins, resurrect our lives, and make all things new (Rev 21:5).

He can redeem our past, at any moment, and fill our lives with hope (Joel 25:2).

The weight of unrelenting bitterness and unforgiveness seemed to abate, as the wounded lady was graced with a vision of hope in Christ’s mercy. In Christ, she was alive, and through Christ she had truly been strengthened by the Sacraments that He gave so lovingly to the Church. No unworthy priest could take that from her. We parted warmly and I never saw her again, but to me, it was an unforgettable encounter.

I hope this teaching brings peace and courage to our readers and to those we teach and evangelize. In the midst of an extremely hurtful and complex crisis, let’s all pray hard and stay close to Jesus in his Word, his sacraments, and in grateful friendship with our many, many good priests. Our beloved church needs us to be strong, well-informed, and ready to boldly and compassionately minister to those who are reeling from these terrible revelations.

Be assured of my prayers. God bless you all.

*Here are some great pieces that address the laity’s potential role in the housecleaning to come, by one of my favorite writers, Elizabeth Scalia, and this link will bring you to a superb article by Dan Mattson, regarding a common thread that runs through the vast majority of the Church’s sex scandals.)

Enjoy Pat Gohn’s latest podcast episode about the crisis and a new book by Alexis Walkenstein about a wonderful bishop who lived out his mission faithfully: Fulton J. Sheen.

MAC Notes For Praying With Children

By Lisa Mladinich

It was a great joy to present some ideas about praying with children, this past Friday (February 16), at the Mid-Atlantic Congress, in Baltimore. It touched my heart very much to be in Maryland (Mary-land!) surrounded by dedicated people of faith.

I want to thank all of you who attended for your warmth, your attention, and most of all for your commitment to bring the Faith to others, no matter how difficult that task may seem. But we know that God is faithful, and what we plant He waters.

Please feel free to ask questions in the com boxes and I’ll add more material, as needed. Here are the bullet points, reading resources, Catechism quotes, Scriptures, and other elements of the talk:

The Annunciation, by Henry Tanner

I began by talking about the fact that we are all made for supernatural experiences and interactions. It is natural for us to experience the supernatural! From the beginning of our lives to the moment we enter heaven, we are accompanied by a guardian angel, a pure spirit so unique that it is a separate species from all other spirits (according to Catholic angelologists). This mighty being beholds the face of God in heaven and attends to our souls with perfect dedication and love.

I shared two prayers from my new book, Heads Bowed: Prayers for Catholic School Days. The first is from Week One and was written for the adult preparing for the school year (there are two weeks of preparation prayers), and the other is from Week Nine of the children’s prayers and provides a prayer lesson on the same topic: Angels!

Here they are:

Holy Angels, you surround us with your prayerful and protective presence at all times, and I thank you. I ask that you watch over our classroom throughout the coming year, filling it with your praises to God and guarding it diligently with your holy presence and your powerful prayers. Draw down from heaven every grace and blessing we need to heal our wounds, repent of our sins, and offer our sufferings in union with the cross of Jesus Christ for the good of souls. Amen. (Week 1: Theme: Strength in Weakness)

Dear Jesus, St. Anselm taught that from the moment we are created in our mother’s womb, God gives us a guardian angel to watch over us. We are precious to God no matter how small we are. Even though we are hidden away for a little while before we were born, God always sees us and loves us! After we are born, God’s angel stays with us throughout our lives and guides us safely to God, when we die. Our angel will not leave us or stop praying for us until we are ready to enter into the joy of heaven! Amen. (Week 9: Theme: The Unborn)

Nothing is more natural than teaching the Faith through prayer. We do this naturally when we are raising our own children. We call out the attributes of God, express our trust in His mercy, and use a language of love that helps each child feel they are a part of something beautiful and true.

Every one of the almost 300 prayers in my book is a short catechetical lesson, as well as a prayer. The collection spans about 10 months of school days, plus special occasion prayers, a glossary of challenge words, and a scriptural reference for each week. The traditional dedications of the days and months, the liturgical seasons, virtues, and mysteries of the Rosary, are also woven into the prayers, so that young children experience them simply and older children and adults have more to interest them.

More notes:

We ourselves express an amazing nature that will be perfected, in heaven. On earth, we possess five senses that help us to access the intangibles of heaven, and after the Resurrection of the Dead, our glorified senses will be even more amazing! That’s why the Church is so wise about beauty, which is a gateway to truth and goodness–to God Himself.

Body and Soul: One Human Nature: CCC 365

The unity of soul and body is so profound that one has to consider the soul to be the “form” of the body: i.e., it is because of its spiritual soul that the body made of matter becomes a living, human body; spirit and matter, in man, are not two natures united, but rather their union forms a single nature.

When Jesus entered into time, He sanctified it. And when He took on human flesh, he sanctified that, too. That means that every moment of our lives is holy and our lives have meaning and purpose from our earliest biological beginnings to the very end of our natural lives. It is all His! Every moment is precious. The world tells us otherwise, discarding the helpless unborn and the elderly, which is the darkest kind of ignorance, masquerading as sophistication.

Note: Those who have been lied to, indoctrinated, pressured, and wounded by these evils (i.e., post-abortive women and families) are tenderly loved by God and need only seek His healing love to be restored and strengthened, to be given new life, and to carry out their true purpose in Him. Check out Rachel’s Vineyard for loving support in finding healing.

Never doubt the dignity of your own soul. God, who contains the entire universe and all of heaven–the angels, saints, holy souls, our beloved who are living and those who have died, the stars and planets, every layer of creation–this God abides tenderly and devotedly in our souls. Within our souls dwells the Holy Spirit, by virtue of our baptism, and each time we receive Jesus in the Eucharist, we become tabernacles of His holy presence. That Presence has an impact on the world around us, as it radiates through us.

St. Therese of Lisieux said, “How great must a soul be to contain a God.”
Jesus said, “If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” (Jn 14:23)
When the Lord is with us, we are empowered to live the adventure of our own lives, to fulfill the unique calling of God to our individual souls!
God wants to make a masterpiece in our souls.
Learning and teaching the Faith is a key to that wondrous transformation in Christ.

“For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope.” Jeremiah 29:11

Learning our faith a little at a time draws us closer to God and empowers our mission.

As we move through our lives, studying our faith, we “scratch” at ideas that may be familiar, but perhaps we don’t fully understand, yet. The Liturgical year takes us round and round the treasure map of our faith, and we scratch a little every year, going deeper into the treasury of grace and knowledge that feeds our walk with Christ. If we keep scratching a little at a time, we uncover treasures that change our lives, light our souls on fire, and make it impossible for us to keep our excitement to ourselves.

I absolutely love Dr. Edward Sri’s book, A Biblical Walk Through the Mass: Understanding What We Say and Do in the Liturgy. He takes each piece of the Mass, scratches and digs deeply into the origins and biblical connections, and unearths the treasures within. He begins with the very start of the Mass:

“On the one hand, from a Scriptural perspective, the words ‘The Lord be with you’ remind us of the high calling we each have. As God’s children, we each have a particular mission to fulfill in the Father’s plan…each of us has a role that no one else can play…these words also assure us that we have access to a higher power that can support us through the trials and challenges of life and help us be faithful in whatever task God has entrusted to us.” (p. 26)

Dr. Sri goes on to explain that when God says, “I will be with you,” or an angel says, “The Lord is with you,” he is saying that we need not fear anything. He describes some examples: Moses, Joshua, Gideon, Mary. Each is empowered to accomplish the impossible, in friendship with God.

When we hear the priest say, at Mass, “The Lord be with you,” we should hear the voice of the Lord saying to us:

I will equip you, I will provide for you, I will defend you, and I will give you victory.
Through the gift of Himself in the Eucharist, Christ strengthens us.
Our heroes are heroes because they trusted in the power of God.
Prayer and study change us, opening us up to God’s grace (LIFE).
When we persevere in prayer and sacramental life, we become radiant witnesses.

Pope Paul VI famously wrote: “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.”

We all want to be radiant witnesses, but I sometimes feel, working with children, that I’m ill-prepared or uninspired, so I pray, “Lord, light me up! You are my wattage!” And He never lets me down. If I walk out of class feeling like a failure, I say, “Lord, I don’t know what I did in there, but I know You did something!”

The amazing Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen always prayed before he taught: “Lord, send me Pentecostal fire!”

But to become Radiant Witnesses, we need sacramental healing and cleansing: confession. Here’s the fun commercial I do at all my talks. When you do this for your own presentations, have fun! Sell it! Make them laugh. It will help them remember.

Feeling tired? Rundown? Discouraged? Feel like Jesus hasn’t been answering your prayers, lately? Well, how would you like to get back in the game so fast it’ll make the enemy’s head spin? Get some religion, get your groove back? Let the light of the Lord shine right through you and out to the world? Well, you’re in luck! Because right now you, my friend, can get back in the race with some sanctifying grace. Discovering the elation of reconciliation. Free at last! Free of charge, at a Catholic parish near you, where a priest is waiting to take your call. Get back in the game. Get back to confession!

Why It is Important to Pray With Children

Adults humbly approaching the throne of God is a powerful witness.
Recognizing something greater than ourselves is an important reality check.
Respecting authority in childhood—leads to exercising healthy authority as adults.
Praying together gives children a blueprint for prayer—they mimic to learn the language of love.
They realize they can have a relationship with God, Our Lady, the saints, angels, and the Holy Souls.
They are reminded that they are made for supernatural encounters.
Prayer empowers them to enter into the mystery—and the paradoxes of a life lived for God.
Memories and habits of prayer, soaked in love, become rich in meaning and take root for a lifetime.
An intimate relationship with God is an indispensable means to achieving their life’s purpose with clarity.
The habit of prayer strengthens them to stand against dark influences and live for God.

Pixabay

Working prayer into our lessons and lessons into our prayers

Here, I shared some ideas about the naturalness of prayer as a way to teach, and lessons as a way to incorporate prayer, beginning with the Sign of the Cross–again, based on a lesson from Dr. Sri’s book. I began with this excerpt, however, from an EWTN interview with author and editor, Bert Ghezzi:

Bert Ghezzi (from EWTN interview):

The sign of the cross is: a confession of faith; a renewal of baptism; a mark of discipleship; an acceptance of suffering; a defense against the devil; and a victory over self-indulgence.
When you make the sign, you are professing a mini version of the creed — you are professing your belief in the Father, and in the Son and in the Holy Spirit.
When you say the words and pray in someone’s name you are declaring their presence and coming into their presence— that’s how a name is used in Scripture.

The ancient version of the Hebrew letter “Tav” looks like a cross (or an X)

Dr. Sri talked about “signs” in the Bible:

Exodus 12: Passover: the Israelites were spared because of the lamb’s blood on their doorposts
Revelations 7:3: the saints in heaven have a seal on their forehead
Ezekial 9:4: those marked with the TAV were spared the wrath of God.

St. John Chrysostom said this about the Sign of the Cross:

When, then, you make the sign of the cross on the forehead, arm yourself with a saintly boldness, and reinstall your soul in its old liberty; for you are not ignorant that the cross is a prize beyond all price.

Consider what is the price given for your ransom, and you will never more be slave to any man on earth. This reward and ransom is the cross. You should not then, carelessly make the sign on the forehead, but you should impress it on your heart with the love of a fervent faith. Nothing impure will dare to molest you on seeing the weapon, which overcometh all things.

All of this to say that when we “scratch” below the surface and find treasures, we cannot help but share them and that passion ignites a fire in children.

Pixabay

Creating a Prayerful Environment for Children:

No phones, please. The addictive quality of cell phones and other electronic devices is very real and should be prohibited in class.
Basic discipline should create a safe environment for the shyest children. Don’t let alpha kids take over. Be forgiving but firm.
Your own example of faith and reverence is contagious.
Beauty! As we know, our souls are touched by beauty. Use it as much as you can: sacred art, candles, music, Easter and Christmas cards! God speaks through beauty and touches our hearts when nothing else can.

Meeting Them Where They Are

Learning styles and developmental issues can be understood easily. Lots of information is available online.
They remember how you made them feel, so ask Jesus to act through you and speak through you with the love only He can give.
The grace of forgiveness and second chances: show mercy, while maintaining order.
Children’s memories and associations: sometimes they surprise us with weird connections. They are making memories, as they connect their own ideas with the new ones. Don’t despair that they don’t seem to understand. They’re working on it.
Communication and cleaning up messes: be sensitive to the children’s feelings. You don’t know how much you may matter to them or how God may be touching that child by your witness, without your knowledge. If you think you may have done something insensitive, circle back and make amends.
Prayer Basket keeps the community strong: get the names of all their loved ones on cards that go in a basket for weekly prayer. They stay connected with the community of the classroom that way, even when they are not able to be present.

First Through Third Grade

A decade of the Rosary takes five minutes! Inviting Our Lady into the classroom makes everything better. And Sister Lucia, one of the seers of Fatima (and many saints) have said, “…there is no problem that cannot be resolved by the recitation of the Holy Rosary.” It is a spiritual weapon par excellence!
Intentions clarified: make sure the children understand what they are praying for. Invite feedback.
Marching to hymns of praise gets their wiggles out and provides a liturgical feel as you transition to the next activity.
Spontaneous prayer is important. If a child brings up a worry or concern, pray on the spot.
Throwing their prayers up to God. I have them close their eyes and hold out their hands, palms up, giving God everything on their hearts and then making a tossing motion, giving it to him to take care of.
God can make good come out of any bad thing, can bring beauty from ugliness, and hope from despair. Keep weaving this into prayer with them.
Name saints! I research the children’s names at the start of the year and weave those saints into lesson time.
Trips to the Church are essential: entering reverently, blessing themselves with holy water, and genuflecting with their eyes on the tabernacle (greeting Jesus silently in their hearts) can be practiced ahead of time, in class. I love to walk through the Stations of the Cross with them, having the boys say one half and the girls the other, and then switching halfway through (We bless thee oh Lord and we praise you; for by your holy cross you have redeemed the world). Talking about the altar as a table for a holy meal, a place of sacrifice (the Lamb of God), and connecting it all to the sacraments gives them more connection to the Mass.
Sacramentals: have them reverently practice venerating blessed sacramentals: i.e., a crucifix, a sacred image, a relic, a medal.
Living a moment in Scripture: I act out Bible stories with my kids after I read them aloud, so they get to experience in different ways: they hear the story, see the pictures, and then “live” it for a few short minutes. Every learning style is covered, this way, and it helps them remember. It’s all very easy and loose. For more information, see my booklet, Be An Amazing Catechist: Inspire the Faith of Children.

Fourth Through Eighth Grade and Beyond

See above, plus…
Cultivating silence: their lives are noisy. Give them opportunities to experience silent prayer.
Spiritual bouquets for the Holy Souls: these powerful allies in purgatory need our prayers and pray for us with great impact when we pray for them. Establish this relationship early. It benefits the Church and many souls.
Adopting a mission or ministry: choose something where they can receive progress reports and other kinds of feedback, so they see the impact of their prayers and a way to help out when they are old enough.
Relationships with saints: through their name saints, the liturgical year, and martyr stories, children can be intrigued about the saints and want to know them better and learn from them. Also, namesaintgenerator.com is a great online resource. Have them pray to the Holy Spirit, then click the interface to choose a saint. They should study the saint’s life and pray, “Teach me what you know,” for a set period of time.
Eucharistic miracles: true accounts abound and are fascinating to tweens and teens: see this website: http://therealpresence.org/

Scroll down to these images for more information.

Incorruptibles: these somewhat strange miraculous occurrences fascinate teens and tweens.
Adoration: teens often find a personal relationship with Christ in front of the Blessed Sacrament. I even take very young children and tell them that Jesus is waiting for them, His arms loaded with gifts of grace. They should silently tell Him about their day, share their hopes and worries, and pray simply, “Jesus, I adore You!” With older students, we memorize the Anima Christi for after Communion and for Adoration:

Soul of Christ, sanctify me
Body of Christ, save me
Blood of Christ, inebriate me
Water from the side of Christ, wash me
Passion of Christ, strengthen me
O good Jesus, hear me
Within Thy wounds hide me
Suffer me not to be separated from Thee
From the malignant enemy defend me
At the hour of my death call me
And bid me come to Thee
That with thy saints I may praise thee
Forever and ever
Amen

Special liturgies that involve them in the planning, reading, and music, help them to understand the Mass and their role as contributing members of the community.
Conferences can do what we can’t. Chastity, TOB, the Real Presence, Vocations–youth speakers have a powerful calling to reach the hearts and minds of teens and tweens. Do whatever you can to get your middle and high school students to appropriate events.

Remember, what we plant, He waters!

Here’s my resource list! Let me know if you need anything else. I’m happy to help!

Published Resources:

Heads Bowed: Prayers for Catholic School Days, by Lisa Mladinich (Liguori Publications)

Be An Amazing Catechist: Inspire the Faith of Children, by Lisa Mladinich (in English and Spanish, from Our Sunday Visitor)

Be An Amazing Catechist: Sacramental Preparation, by Lisa Mladinich (in English and Spanish, from Our Sunday Visitor)

A Biblical Walk Through the Mass: Understanding What We Say and Do in the Liturgy, by Edward Sri (Ascension Press)

The Happiness of Heaven: The Joys and Rewards of Eternal Glory, by Fr. J. Boudreau, S.J. (1870) (TAN reprint)

Champions of the Rosary: The History and Heroes of a Spiritual Weapon, by Father Donald Calloway (Marian Press)

What Matters Most: Empowering Young Catholics for Life’s Big Decisions, by Leonard J. DeLorenzo (Ave Maria Press)

Prayer for Beginners, by Peter Kreeft (Ignatius Press)

Free Online Resources:

AmazingCatechists.com

Article on praying with children: http://amazingcatechists.com/2018/02/teach-kids-pray-5-simple-steps/

CatholicMom.com (my puppet scripts)

https://catholicmom.com/kids/puppet-ministry/

MyFirstHolyCommunion.com (Tarcisius)

http://www.myfirstholycommunion.com/portfolio-view/st-tarcisius-boy-martyr-of-the-eucharist/

TheRealPresence.org

http://therealpresence.org/eucharst/mir/a3.html

SaintsNameGenerator.com

http://saintsnamegenerator.com/

Fisheaters.com (tour of the church)

https://www.fisheaters.com/churchbuilding.html

Is Finger Yoga Safe?

By Lisa Mladinich

Israeli Stop Sign (Wikipedia Commons)

Today, a reader asks whether it is safe to use something called “Finger Yoga,” so I did a quick search and found an informative article by Susan Brinkmann, at one of my go-to resources, Women of Grace. You can read it here.

In its essence, Finger Yoga is the practice of using specific chants and finger positions, ostensibly to generate energy and spiritual awareness. In what seems like trendy PR, some also claim it helps with healing and weight loss. Unfortunately, like all yoga, the aim is to enter an altered mental state that leaves its users vulnerable to dangerous spiritual entities.

While its practitioners are very likely good folks with only the best intentions, the spiritual dangers cannot be overstated. With exorcisms on the rise all over the world, we need to be savvy about avoiding any practice that places our souls in jeopardy. I know from experience that this statement alone will elicit a firestorm of condemnation from certain quarters, but the facts remain: yoga is not just exercise or a practice of self-awareness, no matter how Christianised or modern it may seem; it is a pagan spiritual practice with the potential to invite unknown entities to enter our souls.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus, by Pompeo Batoni Photo Credit: Lisa Mladinich

This EWTN video features brain researcher, Adam Blai, on the topic of Exorcism: How to Keep the Doors to the Demon Closed.

For Catholics interested in reading further, the Pontifical Councils for Culture and Interreligious Dialogue produced JESUS CHRIST, THE BEARER OF THE WATER OF LIFE: A Christian reflection on the “New Age”, which can be read free at this link, online.

On this lovely autumn Friday, my prayer is that all people will turn away from pagan and New Age practices to embrace with great faithfulness the Heart of the One through Whom we are made, in Whom we have life, and Who loves us more than we can fully comprehend: Our Lord, Jesus Christ.

(See also: Yoga: It Stretches the Bounds of Belief, by columnist, Mary Ellen Barrett)

Catholic Halloween! It’s our feast, and we’re going to enjoy it!

By Lisa Mladinich

Catechists and parents, Halloween is a Catholic feast that not many of us know the history of–or how to truly enjoy it–so I’d like to recommend a resource for celebrating with our children, whether in our Catholic schools, homes, parishes, or homeschool networks. I talked about it on Relevant Radio, this morning, with Glen Leverenz. (Listen here.)

This self-published resource (sorry about my poor photography) was created by two brilliant women in the Immaculate Heart of Mary homeschool network, here on Long Island, and it’s called, Celebrating Catholic Halloween. It was written by Patricia Bissex; graphics were provided by Lynn Mary Wilson. I’ll give ordering information at the end of this post.*

This magazine-sized, roughly 40-page booklet includes not only the history and delightful traditions of All Hallows E’en (including begging for soul cakes on the vigil of All Saints Day) but helps us and our children to embrace the majesty and beauty of our traditions as a Catholic family: a family that never stops loving each other, even after death.

Celebrating Catholic Halloween provides:

A deeper appreciation for the Feasts of All Saints (November 1) and All Souls (November 2)
Historical context for understanding the development of trick-or-treating, based on the Catholic tradition of begging for soul cakes on the vigil of All Saints (October 31)
Religious customs and the importance of praying for the Holy Souls
Fascinating symbols from nature (and food!) that reconnect us to the beauty of our faith
Lessons in various academic disciplines, including lovely catechetical games, activities, word games, traditional liturgies, coloring pages, crafts, recipes, litanies, processions, vocabulary lists for various levels, recommended resources, prayers, insights into related sacramentals, and simple but beautiful songs for increasing the joy and reverence of your celebration.

With this simple but value-packed resource, you will be empowered to help children and adults experience the thrill of learning about the lives of the saints and the Holy Souls in purgatory–their family and friends in the Communion of Saints.

A final note and prayer request:

In the traditional calendar of the Church, Mondays are devoted to the Holy Spirit and the Holy Souls, so I’d like to close on this Monday morning by asking for prayers for the soul of Carmella R. Kosinski, a wife, mom, and teacher, who died last week. She is the very beloved mom of John Harper, the host of Morning Air, on Relevant Radio. He treasured and cared for her in his home, for years. Please say a Hail Mary or an Our Father for her soul and ask the Holy Spirit to comfort John and his family.

I’ll close with two beautiful and powerful prayers for the Holy Souls in Purgatory:

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May their souls and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.

This one is from St. Gertrude the Great and is believed to release 1,000 souls from purgatory at each recitation:

Eternal Father, I offer You the most precious blood of thy Divine Son, Jesus,
in union with the Masses said throughout the world today,
for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere,
for sinners in the universal Church, for those in my own home,
and in my family. Amen.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that our prayers for the Holy Souls not only helps them to get to heaven faster but enables them to pray for us–and their prayers are powerful. These are friends we want to have and want our children to know and love.

958 Communion with the dead.

“In full consciousness of this communion of the whole Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, the Church in its pilgrim members, from the very earliest days of the Christian religion, has honored with great respect the memory of the dead; and ‘because it is a holy and a wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from their sins’ she offers her suffrages for them.” Our prayer for them is capable not only of helping them, but also of making their intercession for us effective.

Please share your favorite All Saints and All Souls resources, including prayers, lessons, and activities, in the com boxes!

* Order Celebrating Catholic Halloween, $25 postage paid: make check payable to Lynn M. Wilson, P.O. Box 432, Huntington Station, NY 11746

RESOURCE: The Three Things Divorced Catholics Need to Know, by Mary Lou Rosien

By Lisa Mladinich

With The Three Things Divorced Catholics Need To Know, author and catechist, Mary Lou Rosien, has created a superb and simple guide for Catholics going through the pain and confusion of divorce. I’ve never been through a divorce, but it’s important to understand what so many of our loved ones are going through, so we can be both guides and safe harbors during a most trying experience.

This booklet is a treasure because it not only spells out Catholic teaching, but this faithfully-Catholic author has been through it all herself–divorce, annulment, and remarriage–and writes with understanding, personal stories, and a passion for lifting others up out of the muck of conflicting and often false information.

In the Introduction, Rosien shares the following about a desperate period after her husband demanded a divorce, when she backed away from thoughts of suicide:

“I also knew, deep down, that the pain is an emotion. Emotions are not accurate in predicting the outcome of situations. Emotions change, and that is the thought I clung to in my darkest moments. I held fast to the family members I loved and committed myself to living so I would not be the cause of any more pain.”

“When the depression lifted, I was able to see my life as it was, and I made the decision to live my life in joy.” (p. 6)

Rosien brings wisdom and encouragement to this important topic, unpacking–in plain language–what the Church teaches about divorce, pitfalls to avoid, making decisions, the annulment process, rediscovering joy in Christ, how the Church can help, and much more.

The Three Things Divorced Catholics Need to Know is highly recommended for all Catholics who are facing this issue in their own lives or in the life of someone they love. Each chapter includes well-documented teachings, an inspiring quotation, questions to ponder, and a prayer to use privately or in group settings.

This outstanding and affordable resource is available through Our Sunday Visitor.

INTERVIEW: All In: Why Belonging to the Catholic Church Matters

By Lisa Mladinich

I’m all in.

As a revert to the Faith whose utterly broken heart and crumbling life were restored, renewed, and completely transformed–through the healing love of Jesus Christ, the mysterious and life-bestowing sacramental life of the Catholic Church, the tender maternal intercession of Our Lady, and newfound friendships with inspiring saints–the Faith means everything to me.

That’s why I was thrilled to get my copy of catechist and retreat leader Pat Gohn’s new book, “All In: Why Belonging to the Catholic Church Matters,” and what sparkles in its pages does not disappoint.

I asked Pat a few questions, so you could meet the author yourself, before you rush out to buy copies for your own nourishment and for everyone in your life–especially those you love who are separated from the Church. –Lisa Mladinich

Pat Gohn

Interview with Pat Gohn about her new book, All In: Why Belonging to the Catholic Church Matters which becomes available today, March 3!

Why did you write this book and whom did you write it for?

It’s a book I wrote for all Catholics. But I especially had those in mind who have felt discouragement or disappointment in the Church. I live in the Archdiocese of Boston, where many have left the Church, or have a kind of weakened or wobbly association with it, in the years after the church sex abuse scandals. I don’t deny such pains and heartaches exist. I have felt them deeply. In this book I offer where I can put my trust, and how I can be a confident Catholic, despite the negativity and the grievous sins, if you will, of the Church. And how going deeper with Christ and the Church keeps me there.

What are some typical barriers to understanding the beauty and power of Catholicism?

We do not have a proper understanding that we are the beloved of God. I spend much of the opening portion of the book trying to connect readers with what it means to know The Beloved (who is Jesus) and what it means to be beloved.

The rest of the book contains chapters that show where I place my trust, thanks to the Beloved… because each of these things we discover in the Church flow from his love.

The book discusses the miracle of the Incarnation and how it relates to Church. It also touches on the Fatherhood of God and the beauty of our baptism. It also discusses the motherhood of the Church and the meaning behind St Cyprian’s famous quote: “No one can have God as Father who does not have the Church as Mother” (CCC, 181).

There’s also a lot of food for thought on some of the teachings of the Church, such as loving our enemies, which seems impossible, and the implications of our social teaching on the dignity of the human person. Yet, these are confidence boosters that shine light on just why belonging to the Church matters.

While I’d rather talk about confidence builders than barriers… there are three things that come to mind, which we need to work on… and I think this book helps people think about some of these things.

Icon, Public Domain

The first is our own lack of faith, the second is sin, and the third is learning to understand Jesus’ opinion of the Church, in the face of all the naysayers. But as I mentioned, coming to a place of belovedness goes a long way to help open the door of one’s heart to the Church. Through this understanding, our faith comes alive!

Why is that true? When we have faith, it becomes a light for us to see things in a new way – with the mind and heart of the Holy Spirit. Faith is new eyes to see. So that’s why the new evangelization is so key to our work as catechists… we need to reintroduce the faith and re-ignite the passion we have for Christ and the Church before we can share it with others.

Where faith is lacking, so is trust in Christ, and also trust in the Church. I try to share my own stories of faith and struggle in this book and try to lead the reader to understand that Jesus Christ is faithful, reliable, and lovable. We can take him at his word. What he says and does has credibility. For when we come to love what Jesus loves, we will come to love the Church and her teachings.

The second barrier is sin. Sin dulls our minds and lulls us into thinking that nothing can be done for us. When exactly the opposite is true! Sin deforms… but grace transforms!

Grace gives us confidence to change! Graces let us begin again! That’s the motto of the saints – they know they are loved sinners, and they don’t quit! They stayed opened to grace! Because grace helps them to live more in tune with Christ and the Church. What’s more, the lives of saints show us that we need to stay connected to the Church. Saints didn’t leave the Church even when there was trouble in the Church. Instead, many of them helped to bring about reform and renewal.

Finally, I’d like my default position to be the same as the one Jesus has. Jesus loves the Church. His opinion matters most to me. Other people’s negative opinions are no match for the love Jesus has for us, his Church. More about this in the book!

What are some cultural/societal messages that can derail the faith of young Catholics?

The primary negative message that derails young people is not having parents who are active, faith-filled Catholics.

Basilica of the Sacred Heart, University of Notre Dame, by Matthew Rice

The long-term study at Notre Dame on Youth and Religion says that young people need parents who are believers, as well as other faith-filled adults in their life, for their faith to stick. Read the findings here. That’s not a subject in my book, but I throw it in at no charge, as it’s something we catechists need to be aware of. More than ever, we must evangelize and catechize families.

I’m hoping some parents will be reading my book, so they better understand the Church and the beauty of her teaching–so they can pass that on to their children. I’m a firm believer that parents will naturally share the good things in life with their children. If parents discover their own belovedness as children of God, and begin to live it, their homes and families will be transformed.

What are some steps that disillusioned Catholics can take to reengage and reexamine their connection to the Church?

Nothing really helps until we begin to strengthen our connection with Jesus. I give tips on how to pray in the book. And I encourage readers to ask for the grace to make a new start.

Each chapter in my book offers three challenges for readers to better appropriate the content: Pray. Learn. Engage.

Under “Pray” you’ll find ways to pray over the subject matter, using Scripture and other suggestions. Under “Learn” you’ll find more reading material from magisterial documents and related texts to help the reader go deeper with the content. It might be reading something from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Compendium of Social Teaching, or the lives of the saints or similar. Under “Engage” you’ll find activities and exercises to help readers make an act of faith, or an exercise to experience some aspect of Church life or Christian service.

What are some insights that helped you find God in suffering?

That Jesus suffered for me, and is with me in mine. If you don’t mind, I’d like to share an excerpt from ALL IN to talk about how I had long ignored the price of Jesus’ blood that was shed for me on the Cross. It also taught me about the power of grace. But it was something that did not make much sense to me as a young person, because I did not truly experience suffering until I was older.

[Excerpt]

Sin deforms. Grace transforms.

How can we be so confident in this potent power of grace?

Where does this grace come from?

From the blood Jesus shed for us on the cross.

Jesus died for our sins.

Jesus died to release us from the chokehold of sin—the blockade to receiving all the gifts he wants to lavish on us.

On the cross, Jesus smashed to bits every sin, fault, failing, and vice that arrests us, taunts us, or defeats us. We no longer have to suffer being chained by invisible shackles. His sacrifice releases the graces we need to be freed from sin and death and shame.

There is power in his blood.

Again, the beloved disciple captures this truth: “the blood of Jesus . . . cleanses us from all sin” (1 Jn 1:7). By the merits of Jesus’ cross, we are redeemed.

A large part of my early years with Jesus was spent reveling in the Divine Friend. I was remiss in not fully appreciating how important Jesus’ death was for me personally. Of course Jesus wanted to give me his love, and I wanted to give him mine in return. But I didn’t want the cross. It was too hard, too terrible.

When I went on a retreat as a teenager and got to know Jesus, I was all about his friendship and love. It filled a void in me that only Jesus could. The benefits of my healed heart, coupled with the friendship of Jesus, and the friends I had in the local church made me feel rich indeed. Yet I had not fully considered the depths to which Jesus descended to bring me that love.

I needed maturing . . . I took Jesus’ love for granted and did not realize that by ignoring the role of his suffering and death for me, I behaved like Easter Sunday happened without the pains of Good Friday. I might as well have been Peter denying Jesus to his face, not realizing the necessity of his cross for my redemption.

For years, I missed the full impact and truth of what Jesus had done for me. It also affected my reception of Holy Communion. I saw it as holy food that Jesus gave me as sustenance—and it is that and more. It is also a sacrifice provided by his suffering and dying for me.

Crucifixion by Murillo Bartolome Esteban

Suffering in my own life changed all of that. I didn’t know real suffering until I got older . . . physical suffering, emotional suffering, and spiritual suffering. The list of my own pains was long; the lists of sorrows that family and friends suffered were even longer.

For me there was a traumatic birth and a tough initiation into motherhood, a move out-of-state that affected me deeply, and several friends lost to cancer. There was the demise of a strong church community that fell apart over the sex abuse scandals. There was the break-up of good friends’ marriages. Who could have predicted the traumas of 9/11, and the wars that followed? So much pain and loss.

One little phrase from the Church’s Evening Prayer begs Jesus that we believers might “see in your passion our suffering.” By uniting my suffering to Christ’s passion I would survive. By the merits and graces of his cross I would thrive.

By grace I have been saved.

Once again, the Incarnation plays an indispensable role in our salvation.

The Incarnation unites the God of heaven to humanity, to earthly people of dust.

We are made of dust, the Bible says (see Gn 3:19). Yet the Father God loves the very dust we are.

As a father has compassion for his children,

so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him.

For he knows how we were made;

he remembers that we are dust. (Ps 103:13–14)

The Father sends the Son, and Jesus sanctifies our dust and makes it holy. The dust we are, thanks to God’s compassion for us, is made for more. I think of Pigpen, the character from the Peanuts comic strips. Pigpen could not avoid dust and dirt, yet he also made peace with being dusty. Sometimes we’ve grown a bit too accustomed to the mess we are. We become complacent, settled in our own dust.

Pope Benedict taught that we are made for more.

“Man was created for greatness—for God himself; he was created to be filled by God. But his heart is too small for the greatness to which it is destined. It must be stretched. . . . This requires hard work . . . but in this way alone do we become suited to that for which we are destined.”[i]

We are made for transformation.

Enter Jesus, the dust-loving God-man whose power redeems us, and quite literally, dusts us off and breathes new life—the destiny of eternal life—into our dust.

This is God’s plan of sheer goodness! This is not merited, nor earned by us. This truth and goodness I’ve come to know, at last, is that my glorious Lord lowered himself to enter my dusty, musty, rusty, crusty existence so that he might raise me up. What dignity I have found in this love, this mercy, this grace.

Sheer grace.

[End of excerpt]

Public Domain via Wikipedia Commons

What has been a source of wisdom for you, in times of questioning?

There’s a little phrase that Jesus uses after he teaches about marriage… that “what God has joined, we must not separate.” (See Mark 10:8-9.)

I believe in those words not only when it comes to marriage, but to the many other things that God has joined together as well. For example, God has joined himself to the Church in a supernatural marriage… he is bridegroom, and we the Church are the Bride. What God has joined, we must not separate.

God has also joined himself to the sacraments, and to the living Word of Scripture. We must not separate him from these things. Not that we truly could, but when we do so in our minds, we treat these things as empty and no longer appreciate their power. Sometimes we separate ourselves from the Church… the Church of our baptism, where God joined us to the family of God. Again, in doing so, we’re taking matters into our own hands… we’re separating what God has joined together. We’re disrupting the relationships that God has designed and ordained for us. And we miss so much when we do.

I believe that Jesus’ strong, unbreakable connection to us in the Church is something we need to vividly see. And when we do see it, I think we might think twice about separating ourselves from the Church.

NOTE: To receive a free, printable .pdf of this interview, please email me directly: lisa@mladinich.com and put “All IN” in the subject line.

[i] Pope Benedict XVI, Spe Salvi, 33.

http://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20071130_spe-salvi.html

Newman: Patron of Adult Faith Formation

By Father Juan Velez

[Originally posted at CatholicLane.com]

Adult Catholics have many questions such as: What is the Church’s doctrine on communion for married Catholics who after a civil divorce have entered into a second union? Is Jesus truly present in the Holy Eucharist? What is wrong with IVF?

These and many other questions that confuse Catholics indicate the need for deeper adult faith formation in our country and throughout the world. The degree of misinformation about religion and society has only increased with its easier access via cyberspace networks. So often writers misquote Cardinal Newman’s “to grow is to change” without conveying his understanding of growth in continuity. Catholics are swayed by beliefs and practices that are contrary to the faith, which many try to pass as authentic Catholic teaching.

John Henry Newman (1801-1890), English convert from the Anglican to the Catholic Church, whose feast day falls on October 9th, could be considered the patron of adult faith formation, as I propose below.

Newman lived in a nineteenth century England which was marked by modern technological development and an industrial revolution – with a consequent rise in materialism and atheism. He understood well the materialistic and relativistic culture, which is why he is able to speak to our times. He also defended the harmony between faith and reason that is so much lacking in our society. Our time prides itself in scientific advances and looks to science almost as a god. Like St. Josemaría Escrivá and St. John Paul II, Newman taught lay people to strive for holiness in their work and daily pursuits, whether in universities, factories, or fields, finding the harmony between faith and reason.

Blessed Newman, beatified by Pope Benedict XVI on September 19, 2010, offers us a deep understanding of the Church’s tradition, teaching office, and true development of doctrine, countering the prevalent and simplistic approach to growth in doctrine.

With regard to change, or what he called development in doctrine, he wrote: “(It) is indeed sometimes said that the stream is clearest near the spring. Whatever use may fairly be made of this image, it does not apply to the history of a philosophy or belief, which on the contrary is more equable, and purer, and stronger, when its bed has become deep, and broad, and full.” He explained that, for this to happen, authentic development must be in continuity with the past.

Newman is the person to whom we can turn for developing a better program for adult faith formation (RCIA) and continuing education, especially in parishes, but also at Newman centers in our universities. When adults really study and learn about the faith they discover its beauty and inner logic; they are motivated to go deeper, and they become capable of transmitting it to their children and co-workers.

Knowledge of the faith is attractive and engaging. It leads to a growth in friendship with Christ. As a result we are able to evangelize and to teach it to family and friends. Newman had many friends and cultivated friendships with people, and he realized that through genuine friendship one can have a healthy influence on others.

The study of the Catechism and the Gospels in parish adult formation can be supplemented with some selections of Newman’s writings on the Trinity, the Incarnation, the Scriptures, the Sacraments, as well as on the moral life, taken from some of his books, such as Development of Christian Doctrine and Grammar of Assent.

His novel Callista, about a young third century Christian convert, serves as a moving example and guide for apologetics today. In it we can see how the heroine is attracted to Christianity by a deep desire for happiness. Soon she begins to read the New Testament, discovers the person of Jesus Christ, and starts to listen to her moral conscience speaking to her of right and wrong. The Church’s doctrine makes things clear for her, and in the sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist, she finds union with her new Love.

Adult faith formation and continuing education should include the study of the lives of saints, and their writings. It should also include Church history, for example, The History of the Church by Peter Armenio (from the Didache series). For more detailed studies there are the works of Philip Hughes or Christopher Dawson.

But accepting the Church’s moral teaching requires more than doctrine, or better a doctrine that becomes part of one’s life. Christian formation is a path that entails growth in virtue and the habit of daily prayer. The writings of saints like St. Theresa of Àvila, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, and St. Francis de Sales are fundamental guides along this path. Here, too, Newman serves himself as a guide. In addition to his sermons, in particular the Parochial and Plain Sermons from his Anglican period, he offers beautiful meditations and prayers composed as a Roman Catholic (Meditations and Devotions).

Just as there are patrons for all types of endeavors, we need a patron for adult formation, and Blessed Newman is just that person. However, first he would need to be canonized – which we hope will take place in the near future. In the mean time, the United States bishops could obtain permission from the Holy See to celebrate throughout the country the memorial Mass each year on his saint’s day, October 9.

[Editor’s note: see Blessed John Henry Newman, Ora Pro Nobis.]

Fr. Juan R. Vélez, author of Passion for Truth, the Life of John Henry Newman (St. Benedict’s Press, 2011). He writes at www.cardinaljohnhenrynewman.com