Start here ... Baltimore Catechism No. 1 - still the best!
Maybe you might want to ask Catholic kids to read the Bible. It’s a radical idea, I know, but still...
If so, I have a request ...
Blame it on poor CCD teaching.
Because many pastors abrogate their responsibility to teach from the pulpit in favor of the touchy-feely feelgood aspects of liberal catholicism. I attended a “Mass” last week while travelling in California that was a total joke. I would have tried to find another Mass if I hadn’t been leaving.
One word - well, two word - answer: Vatican II.
I am a follower of Christ, but one thing I notice is rule upon rule with a catholic friend, her kids are leaving the faith, but she can’t see that it is the constant focus on rule, her faith lacks genuine joy. That is not abundant living, it is misery.
The current crop of parents were not taught doctrines, but the priests think they were, somehow. They think there is no need to go over “that” again in homilies, but there is.
At least, in this year of Faith, we are focusing on saying the Apostles Creed every Sunday at Mass, and it has been emphasized that we should know it.
I teach, I do not use a Baltimore catechism. I will see what I can do.
Thanks NYer.
Well, I am a Catholic, and I will tell you:
25% of the problem is our local priests confuse socialism with the Gospel to the point I can barely look at them;
50% of the problem in my area is that is it largely Mexican Hispanic and they are so heavily influenced by pagan superstitians to the point I wonder if they are even Christian;
and the last 25% of the problem is the Christian meaning of the ritual I so value and appreciate was never taught by our local priests because they were too busy talking about “social justice” and how the white man is evil.
It’s heck being a Catholic in the SW.
Too many parents and too many Faith Formation personnel believe that Confirmation means graduation from catechism and we are losing people at the most critical time in their formation, their teen years. Too often we don't see them again until they are shopping for a parish that will marry them and then not again until Grandma insists that the babies get baptized.
When we look at the religious education materials, as compared to the high school texts and materials we see the equivalent of comic books, concentrating on "hip" imagery and void of any real theological content. Banners and Balloons are not what young adults need when they are first learning about and struggling with the temptations of all of that new hard ware they just grew and the social and peer pressure to take it for a test drive.
Catholicism is a very complicated and legalistic religion.
I’ve been asked (am am currently working on) a three year intermediate Religious Education course based upon (guess what?) the Catechism. I hated the liberal and essentially non Catholic teaching material and so did the deacon and the head of Religion Ed.
Contact me later this summer for updates.
One main problem is that there are not many parents who can afford to send their children to a Catholic school.
The Church will survive the Harold Campings and the various other Paul Crouches that invest this forum (they object to the reference to “snake handlers”, so let’s call ‘em “Harold Campings” from now on, even though those tongue speakers and snake handlers plus the above mentioned, as well as the scandal ridden preacher cousins of Jerry Lee Lewis, are their true theological brethren, and the arguments are between all those semi-literate country bumpkin theologians, and not between them and the Church, which as I said, has survived generations of heretics, ignores them, and will survive them, you just wait and see. Or do you wanna bet?)
The mystery, as always, is how can anyone go on living defining himself or herself in opposition to something else, in this case, opposition to the Catholic Church, obsessing about it, and waging a war against it and its millions of believers the world over on Internet forums. Pathetic.
It must have been at least a decade ago when I was visiting a European Catholic country, I forget its name, it doesn’t matter, and there, in front of a historic Catholic Cathedral was a raving American snake handler preacher preaching his depraved version of the Holy Book in the local native language which he mispronounced, misgrammarized, and the native passers-by just ignored him or mocked him, he gained no converts, that’s for sure. I mentioned this recently in an e-mail to a friend who lives there, and he replied: “Oh yes, that’s the guy who later secured the local rights to the translations of JK Rowlings’ Hairy Potty magic books and made a fortune”. So, as you can see, that it’s all about one thing: the moolah!
True. I’ve posted this true story before. When I was a Catholic taking “Lutheran lessons”, I had my Bible at work at a Catholic hospital. My Catholic co-workers asked why I was reading it! Maybe if they read it, they’d change minds.
I have this faint, but sure, memory of some FRoman Catholics mocking and belittling anyone who isn't a Catholic for using the Baltimore Catechism for citations used in discussions of Catholic beliefs. We were told that such a book was "only for children" and "beginners" and should not be relied upon for actual teachings of the Catholic Church. So. I wonder, is it now acceptable to use this catechism to know what Catholics "officially" believe?
I grew up in the Catholic Church, attended Sunday School, studied Catechism, was Confirmed, etc. Never got the message of the Love and Sacrifice of Jesus and what it meant to me because they concentrated on topics that might have well been doctorate crap. I ended up being an agnostic for decades until one day, I sat down in a non-denominational church and the message rang loud and clear. The message can be lost when high-level theology and doctrine are the topics more than the pure and simple message.