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Home  / News & Publications /  Michigan Catholic News / 2009 /  A day to honor those who teach us about the fullness of Christian life

by Robert Delaney and Kristin Lukowski of The Michigan Catholic
Published September 18, 2009

Kristin Lukowski | The Michigan Catholic Children at St. Stephen/Mary participate in discussion during the "Amigos de Jesus," "Friends of Jesus," program Sunday mornings.

Detroit - Wherever people are learning the faith-that's catechesis.

Whether it's a room full of squirming kids, the Scripture readings at Mass, an adult Bible study group or the family gathered for the daily readings at home - that's catechesis.

As the Church celebrates the work of religious education this Sunday, Sept. 20, designated Catechetical Sunday by the U.S. bishops, this year's focus is on "Catechesis and the Proclamation of the Word."

Although many Catholics might be surprised to learn catechetics isn't just about classes for kids, but also - and even more so - about education of adults, that is in fact what Church leaders are saying.

If stressing the link between understanding the faith and Scripture sounds like it might have more to do with adult religious education than children's there is a good reason for that.

Kristin Lukowski | The Michigan Catholic Socorro Rodriguez teaches the Gospel to children at St. Stephen/Mary. They learn the readings at their own level and discuss them afterward.

"The bishops have emphasized that the primary concern is for adult religious formation," says Maureen O'Reilly, director of the archdiocesan Office for Faith Formation/Catechetics.

And O'Reilly goes on to explain that the concern about adults understanding their faith is not only for their sake, but also for the sake of their children. She says effective catechesis of children depends not only on trained catechists providing instruction at the parish or Catholic school, but also upon parents who are knowledgeable about their faith teaching in the home.

As the writer of a Catechetical Sunday reflection piece for the U.S. bishops summed up some recent remarks of Pope Benedict XVI: "Succinctly put, what we have to do is to take the Bible out of the library and bring it back into the living room, the place where the family gathers."

Parents are teachers of the faith

At St. Stephen/Mary, Mother of the Church Parish in southwest Detroit, Resurrectionist Bro. Armando Bravo emphasizes that such "proclamation of the Word" should be done, first and foremost, by the parents. Even though he's the parish's director of religious education, parents promise to be teachers of the faith when a child is baptized.

Kristin Lukowski | The Michigan Catholic Bro. Armando Bravo, CR, shows the children's Bible the younger students use in the catechetical program for St. Stephen/Mary Mother of the Church, Detroit.

"We try to make them feel and understand how important it is for them to be catechists," he says.

This year, he's expecting 200 children in the Saturday-morning religious education program, up from last year's 140; part of that increase can be attributed to children coming from St. Hedwig Parish, which doesn't have a bilingual program like St. Stephen/Mary. About 20 catechists, most certified, help keep the groups small and under control.

Bro. Bravo says he would like to have more catechists and to get them all trained through topics offered through the year. "They like to do that, and they have a passion they put in their teaching," he says of the volunteers. "That's why we need people in the Church who have a passion for catechesis."

We need more catechists

The children's religious education program, which starts next weekend, is Saturday mornings for children in first through eighth grade. The biggest group this year is the 7-year-olds, who are making their first holy Communion. "Our numbers are increasing," Bro. Bravo says. "My only concern is we need more catechists to help us."

This time of year, catechists are doing final prep work on the program, making sure materials and activities are lined up. A typical Saturday session starts with prayer, with each group contributing something, before they split off to discuss what they learned in church the week before.

The younger classes use an illustrated children's Bible, "Amigos para Siempre," "Friends Always"; they might learn prayers or about the Ten Commandments, while older students might learn more stories from the Bible, and how to use their Bible.

Bro. Bravo says catechists teach prayers in Spanish, since it's likely children pray with their family in Spanish at home. The children learn the Our Father and other prayers, but they also learn how to make their own prayer.

"We have to reach them," he says of the children. "They're the future of the Church."

In addition to their Saturday program, a children's Mass program, Amigos de Jesus (Friends of Jesus), meets during 11 a.m. Mass for the children to learn about the readings and Gospel to their own level.

Parents also meet throughout the year to discuss topics such as prayer and Church community, and are asked to contribute hours to the programs or the 500-family parish, whether it's helping keep the area clean or assisting with the program.

Keeping teenagers involved

One of the goals of St. Stephen/Mary's program is keeping teenagers involved, as they lose many after confirmation in the eighth grade. "We tell them confirmation is not graduation," Bro. Bravo says.

They're working on a program for girls celebrating their quinceanera, a 15th birthday and coming-of-age celebration, which helps keep them involved in the parish community, too.

The idea is to remind the young women that it's not about the dress and the party and the limo, but also for giving thanks to God.

"It's important to reach the children at a young age," he says. "Once they're finished with confirmation, we lose them. We encourage them to see how important the Church community is for them."

A plan to help busy adults

O'Reilly has high praise for how St. Daniel Parish in Clarkston presents information about its catechetical programs in a way that allows busy adults to explore programs that fit their schedules in a no-pressure environment.

Aug. 29-30 was the parish's Welcome Back Weekend, a reworking of its traditional registration weekend for children's catechetical programs.

Robert Delaney | The Michigan Catholic Cheryl Smith, director of adult faith formation at St. Daniel Parish in Clarkston, stands in the narthex of the church, where information tables were set up for Welcome Back Sunday.

Recognizing that faith formation is not for children alone, information about classes for both adults and children was made available in the church's narthex on tables marked with signs bearing the names of the days of the week, explains Cheryl Smith, director of adult faith formation at St. Daniel.

That way, parishioners were able to browse the opportunities for both themselves and their children, based on which days they thought might be open, taking cards they could return to the parish if they decided to sign up, but without any fear of being roped into anything that might not work out.

"We did not have anyone standing behind the tables, and there were no sign-up sheets," Smith says.

"Also, we want to convey the message that this is your parish seven days a week, not just on Sundays," she adds.

Altogether, St. Daniel offers more than 40 adult and children's faith formation opportunities, including Bible study and religious education classes, youth groups and retreats, Smith continues, adding that the response to the new approach has been tremendous.

"People were very up-beat and cheerful about the whole set-up," she says.

And Smith points out that adults who are well-formed in their faith not only are able to share that faith with their kids, but also with co-workers and adults they encounter in their lives.

Hymns as catechesis

Michelle Baines has her certification as a catechetical instructor from the Archdiocese of Detroit, but has never worked as a catechist as such. Nevertheless, she says she has been able to use her catechist formation in her work as music director at Corpus Christi Parish in Detroit.

Baines

Hymns that are appropriate to the Scripture readings for the day reinforce the message, she says: "I start out with the Scripture, and then find hymns with words that go along with the Scripture."

Sometimes, she says, she finds ones that not only deal with the same themes, but even quote some of the exact same words.

Corpus Christi, in northwest Detroit, has a congregation that is a mixture of ages and races, and Baines says they use both the "Breaking Bread" and "African American Heritage" hymnals.

On a typical Sunday, the hymns might include a mixture of hymns, say an 18th-century hymn by Charles Wesley, a spiritual from the 19th century, and a contemporary Gospel hymn. They might be either Catholic or Protestant in origin, so long as they conform to Catholic theology, she explains.

Baines' early religious experience, until her early teen years, was in Protestant churches, so she has memories of attending Baptist, Lutheran and non-denominational churches. A Protestant practice she says she would like to see more of in the Catholic Church is getting children to memorize hymns.

If the right hymns are chosen, that practice is an effective form of catechesis, Baines says.