Posted on 05/31/2013 2:44:05 PM PDT by NYer
Do our Catholic children and most adults know what these images teach?
All of us know one of the elephants in the room of the Catholic Church. Our religious education programs are not handing on the essence of our Catholic Faith, our parents are befuddled about their role in handing on the faith and the materials we use are vapid or if good do not make an impression on young minds. We are afraid of asking for memorization and thus most don't remember anything they've learned about God and Church other than some niceties and feel good emotions.
I teach each class of our grades 1-6 (we don't have 7th or 8th) each Thursday, rotating classes from week to week. For the last two years I have used Baltimore Catechism #1 as my text book. It is wonderful to use with children and it is so simple yet has so much content. If Catholics, all Catholics, simply studied Baltimore Catechism #1, we would have very knowledgeable Catholics.
These past two years I've used Baltimore Catechism #2 with our adult religious program which we call Coffee and Conversation following our 9:30 AM Sunday Mass, which coincides with our CCD program which we call PREP (Parish Religious Education Program).
This #2 book has more content and is for middle school, but upper elementary school children must have been more capable of more serious content back when this book was formulated and used through the mid 1960's because it is a great book to use with adults and not childish at all. We all use this same book as a supplemental book for the RCIA because it is so clear, nobly simple and chocked full of content!
Yes, there are some adjustments that need to be made to some chapters, but not that many, in light of Vatican II and the new emphasis we have on certain aspects of Church that are not present in the Baltimore Catechism. But these are really minor.
What is more important though is that when the Baltimore Catechism was used through the mid 1960's it was basically the only book that was used for children in elementary and junior high school. It was used across the board in the USA thus uniting all Catholics in learning the same content. There was not, in other words, a cottage industry of competing publishing houses selling new books and different content each year.
The same thing has occurred with liturgical music, a cottage industry of big bucks has developed around the sale of new hymnals, missalettes and new music put on the open market for parishes to purchase. It is a money making scheme.
Why do our bishop allow this to happen in both liturgical music and parish catechesis? The business of selling stuff to parishes and making mega bucks off of it is a scandal that has not be addressed.
In the meantime, our liturgies suffer and become fragmented because every parish uses a different resource for liturgical music and the same is true of religious formation, everyone uses something different of differing quality or no quality at all.
Isn't it time to wake up and move forward with tried and true practices that were tossed out in favor of a consumerist's approach to our faith that has weakened our liturgies, our parishes and our individual Catholics?
Are you 'trying' to control my posts? Not wise to assign catholic bondage to me - the catholic shackles are broken!
The RM is correct
When they say thin skin should be on caucus threads. Listen and learn. Hear and obey. Hmmm - that falls into the 'education' column. Now who is so wise that they can't be taught?
Discussing theology is much more interesting and rewarding than discussing me.
Then what is all your I believe, I believe about BUT YOU! Practice what you preach.
Liberals are into - do as I say Had you stuck to what I actually said - and not as I do "I", "I" . Some are so vain, they think everything is about them.
Even you apparently cannot do that. I am only proclaiming the truth which seems to be at odds with you. Rest assured, you do not have the capacity to provoke me to anger and I thank you for giving me something to forgive. I pray for your healing and repentance. May the Peace of the Lord be with you and your spirit.
Apparently, YOU WANT TO and try. We wouldn't be having this back and forth otherwise.
I am only proclaiming the truth which seems to be at odds with you.
God's WORD is TRUTH and it is the Final Authority. IS GOD'S WORD the FINAL Authority for YOU? That will put the light on what you are proclaiming.
you do not have the capacity to provoke me to anger and I thank you for giving me something to forgive.
Oh, so you feel like you are being provoked to anger and my capacity to provoke falls short somehow? Why didn't you come to me then instead of the RM? I can't provoke but God's Word can do amazing things - things man cannot do...even pierce thin skin.
"For the Word of God is ALIVE and ACTIVE. Sharper than any double-edged sword, IT penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."
I thank you for giving me something to forgive.
I think you have it backwards, YOU REPENT and GOD FORGIVES.
I pray for your healing and repentance.
Stay focused - I'm healed and forgiven! Thank You, JESUS!
The Spirit of GOD lives within Me and God's WORD is written on my heart. I'm blessed!
Does that provoke you? Something to think about as I'm sure you want to get to the bottom of what might provoke you and it will free up the RM to tend to others things they do as their work here is voluntary.
Now enough of taking the thread off topic. And I'll leave you to get to the bottom of what may irritate you because there is no peace in being angry.
Is that meant to provoke or simply to show your ignorance?
Let's see - GOD'S Holy Spirit inspired WORD is the FINAL authority. Is that the belief of Islam/muslims. And 'who' doesn't know that isn't their belief? So is it an education default on your part called ignorance or so angry and have a loss for rational thought?
Because it's a shame feeling a need to expose oneself like that; besides showing a lack of peace.
Seek Jesus The Word, 'man made' teachings have nothing of value but produces ignorance and anger.
That is some strange theology there.
Jesus is Almighty God incarnate (in the flesh) and his one-time sacrifice was to be a propitiation for the sins of the world - past, present and future. How can Jesus' sacrifice be considered a "gift to the Father"? Then to say that the Father gives the gift back to Jesus by granting him a "new immortal life in the resurrection"? I tend to think this was added as a type of "filler" to somehow tie together the concept of the gift of eternal life WE are given by God by His grace and the developed dogma of the sacrament of the Eucharist. This gift is received by faith - by believing in Christ as Savior and Lord. The ordinance of the Lord's Supper is done in REMEMBRANCE of Him - just as Jesus said it was to be done.
The idea of the Eucharistic sacrament being itself propitiatory - to take care of newly committed sins for which payment must be made for the individual after a "proper" confession and suitable penance - is a doctrine that developed over a long period of time for the Roman Catholic Church. It was NOT something the early church fathers held to much less the Apostles and certainly not the Lord Jesus Christ. You'll find no Scripture that teaches that. Christ's sacrifice was once for all and can never be repeated. Those who have received Him by faith ARE redeemed, justified, sanctified, made righteous and saved. The celebration of the Lord's Supper serves to keep that wonderful good news always in our thoughts and hearts so that we remember how much we are loved by God and the fellowship of the Body of Christ.
You never answered the question. Go back.
It is appropriate in that it shows how much God loves us and wants us to be saved, despite how a majority of people treat him.
I'll buy that...great comment!!
thanks for sending me to this thread 10/6/13...it is a great read and very interesting!!!
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