After moving to California about three years ago we struggled to find a “home.” We hopped between three different parishes for a while and never seemed to find many friends. Now that we’ve settled in a parish and begun to get involved in the community we have met many great people who we look up to and have befriended. One of these couples approached us and asked if we’d be godparents to their first child. They wanted us to baptize their daughter. We were surprised and excited, but also humbled that they would choose us. They had been praying for God to send them some people who they could look to guide their children in their faith and they had prayed that those people would be involved in the Church… we were the people God sent.
I’ve come to see alot in my few years as a Catholic and something that really saddens me is the lack of knowledge among Catholics about their own faith. They know about the Sacraments, so they baptize their children, then they receive Holy Communion, but after Confirmation it’s as if they’ve graduated from church. They don’t step foot in the parish again until they get married, and then they’re gone again until they have a baby. This is a serious problem and it is the result of ignorance, laziness, and the lack of education.
As a convert to Catholicism I sometimes feel I have a stronger understanding of the faith then many of my brothers and sisters. I can attribute this fact to the desire I had to get to know Jesus and the Church he founded. But the cradle Catholics who grew up learning the basics, a sort of elementary understanding of their faith, often times fail to allow this understanding to mature as the years pass. Imagine if children were only able to receive a sixth-grade education and then they were sent off into the “real world” and expected to figure it out. You can see how this relates to our spiritual growth and the importance of religious education and catechesis.
“This class really opened my eyes to realize how hard the Church tries to reach the faithful.”
At times I’ve questioned why these people weren’t taught these things and I sort of came to the conclusion that the Church was at fault for not providing it to them. But as I’ve become more involved in the Church I have begun to see that this couldn’t be further from the truth. And as a part of the requirements of the baptism, the parents and godparents must attend a pre-baptismal class. This class really opened my eyes to realize how hard the Church tries to reach the faithful. In this class two men gave a brief, yet enlightening teaching about baptism as a Sacrament and how important it is for the parents to teach their children values, morals, and faith.
Too often parents will drop their children off at the parish to go to Confirmation or First Communion preparation classes, but they themselves are not willing to stay and learn with their kids. They don’t set the example nor do they try to continue that teaching in the home. Perhaps they think that their kids will learn all they need to learn from school or in class, but it’s in the home that the children are taught how to live. That’s why it’s so important for the parents, relatives, and godparents to teach by example. In the end it’s they who have the strongest influence on the children.
If the kids come home from school only to be brought down by the negative example set by the parents, what more can we expect from them when they become parents? Will they solve their problems with alcohol and drugs? Will they let their addictions tear apart their marriages? Will they walk all over their spouses to prove their dominance? Well that’s up to the parents.
Contrary to what many people might think, the Church does an excellent job of teaching. There are so many different programs and ministries through which our faith as Catholic Christians can grow, but it’s up to the people to take the initiative to join a Bible study, a prayer group, or adult faith formation. You wouldn’t expect a 10 year-old to to do quantum physics, because he just hasn’t learned or matured enough to even grasp the idea. The same thing happens with the spiritual aspect of life. As children we have a basic understanding of our faith, but only through learning and experience do we come to achieve a mature understanding of our faith.
“Only through learning and experience do we come to achieve a mature understanding of our faith.”
The teaching is there. The support is there. The community is there. But you have to go find what it is that you need to be no longer a child of God, but a man or woman of God. You will never fully comprehend the mysteries of the faith, that’s why their called mysteries. And you will never be a master of the entire Bible, it’s impossible. Even if you study from now until the day you die, the depth, richness, and mystery of the Scriptures is something that cannot be fully understood until we are with God in Heaven. But the better we get to know Jesus in our time on Earth, the better we can share his message with others which is what he has called us to do. And the only way to get to know him better is through prayer, the Bible, and the Sacraments, all of which are available in the Church.