I am very excited that I finally got a new book from Amazon.com. It took them forever as I ordered last year in Nov. and long story short, I finally got it. The book is by Eamonn Keane and is called "A Generation Betrayed." It is all about how, according to the author, two people are responsible in large part for many people growing up not knowing their faith... including myself.I mean God bless the people who tried to teach me about my Catholic Faith when I was little, but, as I said at one parent meeting, the only thing I remember was a little girl that I thought was very beautiful. There was no substance to anything we learned. I seem to recall arts and crafts, which were big in the 70's/80's as many of you remember. And while these were nice to bring home to Mom, they did nothing to tell me about my Mother in Heaven.
This in large part is why I am thankful to be working here at St. Jude. I hated Religious Education when I was little because it was pointless in my experience. I don't even know if we had textbooks then, I think we just had well meaning parents or something.
For me, this is why I aim to help the children at St. Jude to actually learn their faith. Of course, one of the problems for many parents is that they, like me when I was young, find their faith secondary or less important than the many things that are going on in their lives. This is precisely why WE are a generation betrayed. We were essentially taught, for various reasons, that Religious Education was something that we didn't really need to put effort into, after all it was such a "hassle" to have to go to an extra class each week! Rather, if someone had cared about my soul, then they would have put the effort in to teach me about what it means to respond to Jesus Christ and to live according to the teaching of the Catholic Church which is the Lumen Gentium - the Light of the Peoples of the world.
We adults must recapture the Rel. Ed. that was not given to us in our childhood (if it wasn't), and by taking it up then we can pass it on to our children. If you are ready to make your Catholic Faith the most important thing in your life, then you are ready to return to Jesus what he gave for each of us on the cross. Let me know what I can do to help!
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1 comment:
You are right on again, Tomas. I was brought up in the Lutheran Church and I remember making macaroni pictures of Jesus. As an adult in confirmation it was a bit more advanced, but still not much more than feelings about the resurrected Jesus being my personal savior. Apologetics? None. Church history? Martin Luther and that was it. And Saints or women of the bible - forget it. Our Blessed Mother was mentioned at Christmas.
Going through RCIA was an enriching experience, and it really opened my eyes to how much more there is to learn about my faith.
I have to admit, tho', that I've got a long way to go. I've been in a few situations where I have not been able to explain my Catholic faith. But, thank God, many more situations where I HAVE been able to explain things. So I'm encouraged to continue my education, and still excited to learn more. And I know you're doing a tremendous job in RE. Don't let up, Tomas, don't "settle" and don't compromise. You are on the right path, brother!
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