Catholic Exchange

When People Won’t Believe

Written by

Allan Wright

in

As an adjunct professor at a Catholic University and as a teacher in a Catholic High School for over twenty years, I have found the truth is that not every student will respond to Christ or the teachings of the Catholic Church. That truth hurts, especially for those who know the pitfalls of trying to negotiate this life without faith, without Christ.

I still tend to take my students' rejection of Christ and the teachings of the Church personally. There are those who will think that I am losing my passion at winning the arguments with my students or that I just need to get them reading the Catechism or have them spend time in adoration and that will straighten them out. I beg to differ. My biggest testimony is that I'm still on the job.

Hearing criticism from well-intentioned people who have never taught the faith to students, never volunteered for teaching religious education at church yet who are quick to disparage Catholic educators and Catholic high schools and institutions used to get me very upset. I'd say to myself; "If they only knew the battles teachers face everyday, if they only knew that often the parents don't care and if they only knew one hundred other obstacles to handing on the faith, their tune would change."

Catholic educators know that if there is no parental faith foundation, the battle is multiplied one hundred fold. Parents will support their children in band, sports, performing arts, math, English and science because they feel these things are important. Try asking for the same commitment in religious education. (Pause for laughter)

So what do I do? Feel frustrated or defeated? Not me.

Mother Teresa reminds us to be faithful, not successful, in following God's call in our life. I feel comfortable in letting go of those who may not be converted or believe or follow the teaching of the Church while still loving them because that's what I see Jesus doing.

While my students and their families are in my prayers and while I've done my part in presenting the truth in a clear manner, I must let them go, not in failure, but with the confidence that God's word has been sown faithfully and His will be done.

Whether it's the people who walked away at the Jesus' teaching on His body and blood or the son in the parable of the Prodigal Son or even the rich man who went away sad because of his many possessions; Jesus didn't call a committee, He didn't yell louder, He didn't chastise their parents, He didn't call for vengeance, and He didn't blame their teachers or the society. Jesus let them go.

Jesus looked at the wealthy man with love and let him go. The Father of the Prodigal Son let the son go in freedom and welcomed him on his return. Those who refused to believe in the teaching on eating His body and drinking His blood lost out on the greatest gift God ever gave, the gift of Himself; body and blood, soul and divinity.

Those in any sort of Catholic education know the many joys and challenges. As a teacher of Mother Teresa's Contemplative Sisters, I know the joy of having students whole-heartedly committed to Jesus, so being with them for an hour each week is pure joy. I have brought over 50 students to spend an hour in prayer and adoration with Mother Teresa's Sisters and while most all of them agree they liked the experience, no instant, radical conversion takes place.

I also have given presentations at eighth grade Confirmation retreats where there is no follow up, no discipleship and absolutely no high school programs or youth groups for them. What happens to a kid then? Where the family should be the 'domestic church' this is sadly missing.

I've read in the introduction of a popular 'Theology of the Body' author that he blames his Catholic school teachers for failing to teach him the Church's teaching on sexuality yet his parents don't get a rebuke? I find that strange. Whose primary job is teaching the faith anyway? Was it their fault or his parents' or was it that he was not in a position to receive what the teachers were saying?

In the end I am a man of hope! I know what God has done with and through me and what His desire is with all of us; namely to bring us to Himself. The only appropriate response to love is love, as Venerable Catherine McCauley, Foundress of the Sisters of Mercy, reminds us. So I will continue on with perseverance and joy as another school year comes to a close and thank God for the opportunity of being able to pray with and for students, for the grace of being able to share God's word with them and with thanks that it is God Who still speaks in the silence of the heart as He uses ordinary people like you and me to complete and fulfill His will on earth.

Comments

  1. Guest Avatar
    Guest

    I am a DRE in recovery from the catechetical year which just ended, planning for the next one, so thanks for this article. I get so discouraged and disgusted with the endless stream of article blaming everything from promiscuity to irreverence in church on the "poor catechesis" children receive in their parishes. The kids who bother to show up actually probably get quite good catechesis in the hour or so allotted each week to the process. They would get even better at Mass, but apparently families are so time-consumed they can give only an hour a week to God, and Mass takes second place even to CCD, which is not a high priority to begin with. Our mantra is "parents are the primary religious educators of their children" so most of us have glommed onto the idea that if we educate parents we have a prayer of something filtering down to the children, so we have mandatory "parent meetings", which are even less attractive than Mass and CCD. The only "Catholic" events that are well attended are sports contests between rival Catholic high schools. I vote we use powerpoint to project CCD lessons on the walls at basketball games, and have the marching bands teach the rosary in formation at halftime for the football games.

  2. Guest Avatar
    Guest

    Thanks for this article!  I am a LIFE TEEN high school catechist & taught Confirmation for 2 years.  This reflection reminded me of a homily our pastor once gave on the parable of the sowing of seeds.  Usually people interpret that gospel to talk about what type of soil we should be in to properly receive the Gospel.  He had another spin on it – regardless of the type of soil, the sower still sows the seeds & waits.  He tries wherever he can, even with the unreachables.  I've seen even the edgiest & cynical of teens warm up to Christ.  I've also seen parents make excuses for their teens … "how can you expect them to go to Confirmation every Sunday night … don't you understand that my daugther is an honors student in her junior year?"  Our DRE used to say to teens who asked how many Confirmation classes they can miss and still be confirmed.  Her response was "How many volleyball practices can you miss and still be on the team?" 

  3. Guest Avatar
    Guest

    I am an engineer who converted to the Faith when I was 22 years old and then volunteered to teach CCD at my parish. I quickly realized that teaching CCD was not the best way for me to spread Christ's Kingdom.

    Why? Well, for exactly the reasons that the author mentions: Most of the parents of my students did not take them to Sunday Mass regularly, much less teach them the Faith at home, so I saw that it was a losing battle for me to try to teach them for that short one hour a week.

    So, it is very true that parents must be the primary educators of their children, especially in the Faith, and that is why we need more adult catechesis in our parishes, so that we can teach parents, who do want the best for their children, what our Church teaches, and then they can in turn pass it to their children.

    One excellent apostolate that serves the Church in adult catechesis is FAMILIA, a Regnum Christi ministry where men and women (separately) get together in small groups and read different encyclicals throughout the year (Familiaris Consortio, Humanae Vitae, Fides et Ratio, and more).

    May God bless your efforts to teach the Faith! I think that it is still a vital work that you do, and that the seeds you are planting will bear fruit in many of your students lives, even if you are not the one who gets to see the harvest.

    St. Joseph's Vanguard and Our Lady's Train

  4. Guest Avatar
    Guest

    You articulated many truths about catechesis. 

    I think Satan will use pride as the downfall for some teachers.  You are correct to realize that only the Holy Spirit converts souls.  We're just his tools.  Also, that seeds germinate over various time periods. 

    While it can be a frustrating to try and give people a gift they don't seem to want, what joy there is when the present is unwrapped and cherished as the Pearl of Great Price.

    Thanks for your hard work in the vineyard of Christ among souls…especially of the young.

  5. Guest Avatar
    Guest

    "Mother Teresa reminds us to be faithful, not successful, in following God's call in our life."

     

    I like that. I am like Fox Mulder on the X Files — I want to believe.

  6. Guest Avatar
    Guest

    To Janedoe: Fox Muldar is a good place to be–at least you're open to whatever truth God reveals to you.  Next step?  Try Indiana Jones.  Seriously!  Remember in the third movie, something about the Holy Grail, and he comes out of a rock to find a great gulf he needs to cross to reach the Monastery?  Remember that there's no visible way across but he remembers something about a path, so he throws a bit of dirt out into the abyss?  Most of it falls away, but some of it……..

    That's what faith is: taking a step when there's no visibile path for your foot to fall on.

    God bless your journey.

  7. Guest Avatar
    Guest

    I have taught Religuous education for about 6 years today ( spread out over a 15 year period) and to some extent I understand what this teacher is saying and in another very serious way I want to disagree strongly.

     

    I really believe in planting seeds and in the secular world that is exactly what needs to be done.  At a 'catholic high school' I'm less convinced but never having attended one myself I am going to remain silent on that issue.  Planting seeds is good and conversion is the work of the holy spirit.

     

    However, and this is where I want to disagree.  there is no excuse for 'poorly cathecised' catholics being confirmed.

     

    I suppose this is the distiction between a 'religuious ed' program some other venues like 'catholic school' but the goal of religious ed is supposed to be preparation for the sacraments.

     

    If the teacher and the pastor know a childs parents have not taught thier child to go to church regularly and to participate in the community.

    When they are asked as part of the right of confimation 'do these studen't know what they should to be brought confirmed'  If they answer yes they it is a LIE. 

     

    We really need to stop giving sacraments to students who are truely not prepaired to recieve them and whose PARENTS refuse to teach them what they need to know in order to be catholics.

     

    If I child isn't going to church most sundays because the parents won't take them and not making confession at least one a year they should not be confirmed.  If the RE program fails to require this of the parents they are lieing to themselves and the bishop when they claim the student has been taught the faith.  It is that simple. the first step to ending 'poor cathecisis' is to stop ignoring the problem.

    Of that much I'm convinced.  Parents need to be helped and held responsible to living out thier faith and teaching to thier kids.  Providing them with one more 'class' they can ship thier kids off to is useless.  Espcially if there is not even a machanism to fail students who do not learn the material.

     

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