Strengthening Our Faith to Strengthen Our Children's



 

Dear Theophilus,

Kids say and ask the darndest things. That’s why we need to be ready for them when they have deep, penetrating questions about the faith. Because, if we’re not ready to answer them with the Truth, then they’ll go looking for answers in all the wrong places: the internet, television or the school yard.

I realized how important this is earlier this week when my 9 year-old son popped a big one from the backseat: “How do we know God exists?” Forgetting that he’s only 9 and not my high school religion class, I started into a discourse on St. Thomas Aquinas’ Five Proofs. When we pulled into the driveway all he could muster was a feeble, “My head hurts.” Even though I was ready for his question, I had forgotten how to answer it so he could understand. 

Although it’s important as a parent to be ready to answer our children’s questions about the faith, it’s even more important for Catholic Educators. 

A couple of weeks ago I was in the midst of preparing a workshop for Catholic high school teachers when I came across the following quote: 

However else the responsibilities of Catholic Educators are defined, the legitimate expectation of professional colleagues, of parents, of the church community and of the school board is that they say something about God. Msgr. Dennis Murphy (The Catholic Register, Aug 21-28, 2005).  

At the end of the day, this is the crux of Catholic education. This is the reason why parents send their kids to Catholic schools. This is our vocation as Catholic educators. I remember thinking this the first time I read this quote so many years ago, and was reminded that it remains pertinent even today. 

But are we ready to say something about God?

It has been my experience that many Catholic educators, especially those outside of the Religion Department, will shy away from the subject of God and His teachings through the Catholic Church. This is usually due to a feeling of insecurity in their ability to answer the big questions our students ask. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

The first step is getting Catholic educators the tools they need to comfortably teach Catholic doctrine. This could be done simply by getting a copy of the Youcat into the hands of every Catholic educator. They don’t need to read it from front to back. It can even collect dust on their classroom bookshelf. However, it will be there for them to blow the dust off when a student asks a tough question on what the Catholic Church really teaches about homosexuality, going to Mass on Sunday, or is Jesus really present in the Eucharist. I know that, for myself, the Youcat is my go-to resource when students ask questions I’m not comfortable answering on my own. 

 

Like with most things, the more we have, the more we want. I find that it’s the same with our knowledge of the faith. The question then is, where do we go next to deepen our knowledge of Catholicism?

Of course there’s a wealth of resources on the internet; way more than I could possibly list here without missing a quality Catholic resource. Some of my favourites include this online searchable catechism, Catholic Answers, Word on Fire, and the source of Catholic sources: The Vatican. If you’re more inclined to surf over to Youtube, two channels that I go to on a regular basis are Fr. Robert Barron and PatrickSullivan. 

Our Catholicism is also a communal faith. A faith where we are called together to witness to our faith to each other. Nothing strengthens our Catholic faith quite like being in a large group of Catholics all witnessing their faith together. Fortunately, there are a number of Catholic conferences where our faith can be fed. My favourite semi-annual conference in Toronto is put on by Catholic Chapter House, where I’ve heard such renowned Catholic speakers as Dr. Scott Hahn, Dr. Peter Kreeft and EWTN’s Marcus Grodi. Another conference I want to get to one day is the Defendingthe Faith conference in Steubenville, Ohio, which features these names amongst a who’s who of Catholic speakers. 

Of course there is a smattering of conferences for Catholic educators out there, but they seem to be few and far between. Although conferences geared toward the laity as a whole help us sustain our Catholic faith, it would be nice to have some more targeted to the needs of Catholic educators. There’s an internet survey for Catholic educators here to find out what they would like to see in Catholic Professional Development – please share it with the Catholic educators you know. Also, if you know of any conferences for Catholic educators (or for the laity in general), please share the details in the comment box below. 

Working together we can help one another strengthen our faith and enrich our knowledge of the Truth and beauty that is Catholicism. With the right resources, we can grow our confidence in our ability to answer our kids’ questions. We will be ready to say something about God.

Why I Can't Change the Church... nor would I



Dear Theophilus,

During a course on sacred scripture this summer, the course instructor started the class with a very interesting ice-breaker activity. “If you were Pope,” he asked, “what is the one thing you would change in the Catholic Church today?” The majority of answers were of either the gay marriage or women priests variety. When it came to my turn, I mumbled something about a return to a greater understanding of the sacred in the liturgy.

With hindsight, I think I would answer that question a lot differently if I were asked it today. I would answer it with a string of questions:

Do you attend Mass regularly?

If the answer is yes , then I would follow it up with this next question (if ever the reply were negative, then I would just jump to my final question):

Do you recite the Apostles’ Creed with the rest of the Congregation?

Then, do you believe with the conviction of your whole heart that what you are saying is true?

I would then get into the nitty-gritty:

So then, you believe in ‘One holy catholic and apostolic Church’?

Taking this sentence of the Creed apart, I would then want to discuss the nature of apostolic succession; that Christ entrusted the earthly Church to St. Peter (Mt 16:18), as well as the notion that the Holy Spirit would be sent to guide the Apostles and their successors until Christ’s return (1 Cor 11:2, 2 Thess 2:15, Acts 1:21-26, and 1 Tim 1:6, 4:14 and 5:22). Even more importantly, I would want to bring to light the notion of the definition of catholic (which you can read about here).

Coming to an understanding that Catholicism permeates Creation in its entirety, I would then feel compelled to ask:

So then, do you believe in ‘God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth’?

I’d ask this because, if you feel the Catholic Church can (and ergo should) be changed, then you must also then be calling into question the Creator, He who put the earthly Church into place. If you cannot believe in His Church, then how can you also claim to believe in a God that is Almighty?

The final question I would ask this person to reflect upon would be this:

If you cannot believe in ‘One holy catholic and apostolic Church’, since you feel it needs to be fundamentally changed; then how can you, in good conscience, teach in a catholic school or provide professional development for catholic teachers?

As for myself, when it comes to the doctrines of the Catholic Church – I wouldn’t change a thing.

Defending the Faith

Dear Theophilus,

I’ve come to realize that this whole exercise is as much about deepening my own faith as it is in defending the faith against those who attack it from both inside and outside the Church. It was only during my reading this morning that I came to understand how intertwined these two ideas are. Reading Reasons to Believe by Scott Hahn, I came across this quote from the First Letter of Saint Peter:

Always be prepared to make a defence to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence (I Pet 3:15).

Hahn goes on to explain that the best way to defend our apostolic faith is with sound logic based on faith and reason. We need to avoid the temptation to give quick, curt answers to our attackers; well thought out, logical and eloquent replies will not only earn their respect, but will also plant the seeds of Truth in the fertile soil of their minds.

How do we best prepare ourselves, then? By becoming more knowledgeable of the reasons behind why we do what we do.

When challenged with the question of why I believe what I do as a Catholic and I’m not 100% sure of the answer, the first thing I do is turn to the Catechism. Too cumbersome to carry around, I rely mainly on online searchable catechisms, my favourite provided by the Knights of Columbus. I like using the Catechism because of the concise language, as well as the references to scripture and papal encyclicals that are provided in support.

To build up my knowledge of the faith, I rely on the group of theologians called apologists. When I first came across the term apologist, I thought it meant that we had to apologize for being Catholic. I soon learned that it was the term given to Church thinkers who make it their business to defend the faith based on logic and reasoning. Some of my favourite apologists to date include Fulton Sheen and Karl Keating, who has an excellent web site in Catholic Answers. At present I am only beginning to get to know Scott Hahn.

In the end, being an apologist and defending the faith is not an easy path to take. In his most recent article in the Catholic Register, Michael Coren tells us that if we are not being attacked for standing up for what we believe as Catholics, then we must be doing something wrong. You can read the article here.

By professing the Truth, you will not make others comfortable; no one likes to realize that they are wrong. But by deepening your faith and building a strong foundation of reason, you will always be prepared to defend Catholic teachings with both gentleness and reverence.