I don't think so, but I always find that as I prepare for the Easter Vigil I love to fanagle the Easter Vigil Program. There are so many things to communicate about what the Easter Vigil communicates to us.
In fact, Holy Mother Church refers to the Easter Vigil as the "Mother of all Vigils" because it is upon this night that all of vigils flow. It is hoped that we could pack the Church that evening, as we prepare for the Easter Vigil!
I often wonder about parishioners who place so many other things before Mass. In a recent article it was reported that the Bishops of Ireland are encouraging coaches, employers and parents to remember the spiritual needs of the Children. You can find the article here . In America, and even here at St. Jude it often seems that parishioners often place so many other things in front of their obligation for Sunday Mass. Somewhat more striking is that parents place sports or other things in front of the Religious Education of the children.
Now I certainly understand the need for sports, so too I might add does the Holy Father and by extension Holy Mother Church. Nevertheless, the above mentioned article reminds us of something that we so often forget: the spiritual NEEDS of our children. We may WANT our children to succeed in sports; we may WANT for them to gain money and to set out on their own; we may WANT for them to become independant of the family; we may WANT for them to make us proud in their various sports and school activities.
Nevertheless, none of these things are NEEDS, rather they are merely wants. What is most important in our children's lives? We should be able to answer clearly and readily: "For them to know love and serve God in this life, so that they can be eternally happy with him in the next." Why is this so important? Because the opposite is placing our children on a slow road to rebellion and indifference towards the Holy Catholic Faith - and more importantly towards Jesus himself.
When we begin to show the kids that going to sports or extracurricular school activities is on par with Religious Education, we just make our salvation on of many options which we can engage in. Think of that?! ONE OF MANY OPTIONS!? Is Heaven one of many options? Well, in fact, there are two options. Heaven or Hell. For his part, God Almighty did not create us for Hell - namely separation from the the Love of God. Rather God made us for Heaven, but he will never ever force us there. We must respond, we must manifest our desire, so that we might go to heaven.
When we give our kids the notion that Religious Education is one of many options we are really manifesting how we ourselves see our Holy Catholic Faith. It becomes neither Catholic nor holy. Instead, it becomes what has been called "Cafeteria Catholicism," to wit Protestantism.
The Catholic Faith is demanding, but why? Not because we are being hindered by God from doing what we like, but because when you love someone you really desire to have a relationship with him or her. How much more then is it necessary for us to understand our relationship with the Divine Persons of the Holy Trinity? It is a true relationship because we have been brought into the family of God by the freegift of our baptism. God has given us new life in Jesus Christ, and yet how much do we show our gratitude for this incredible gift of the new life which frees us from sin.
As we quickly approach the Easter Vigil, I hope that many parishioners of St. Jude begin to think about coming to the Easter Vigil. It is an incredibly beautiful 2-3 hour long lovesong about God's love for each of us, and for the world. If we can begin to see the Vigil this way, then we begin to see every Holy Sacrifice of the Mass we attend in the same way. For Christ loved us so much that he stretched out his arms and showed us just how much he loved us upon the cross.
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As a teacher of Religious Education at St. Jude the things I hear from the children in class as to why they dont go to Mass make me sick. The things that come before Mass are so and excuse me for this, but they are idiotic. Mass is what our lives should revolve around and actually Mass does become one of "Many Options". I hope that people can see the true reasons for Mass and recognize the importance of taking their kids to Mass. I just wonder this, If their child was sick, would they postpone taking them to the doctor because they had to do laundry? Or becuase they had a lot of house/yardwork to get done? We are all sick. Sin is a sickness, and we need to go to the doctor to get the cure for this sickness. The Church is our cure. She offers us reconcilitaion, and The Eucharist. We need to take the initiative to show our children what life is about, and show them what needs to be done.
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