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?
You know darn well that I was referring to the New Testament. Try this link for a little insight: http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/history/world/wh0101.html
How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization
-by THOMAS E. WOODS, JR.
From the role of the monks to art and architecture, from the university to Western law, from science to charitable work, from international law to economics, How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization delves into just how indebted we are as a civilization to the Catholic Church, whether we realize it or not.
In parochial school they do and it isn’t the abridged and heavily edited version either.
No, the retired priest (priest emeritus? used to be the priest, and is still a priest, but too old to run the show) and I go and talk about it, usually while we drink Scotch.
He’s more than a little upset.
Actually, the Bible is a collection of Books formed to provide a Lectionary for the Mass. It is more accurate to say that the Catholic Church was the editor and publisher of the Bible, not the author.
Peace be to you
“CATHOLICS WROTE THE BIBLE”
Not what I was taught in Catechism class.
Mrs. Empire State.
The Bible! By Jove, what a capital idea. Where are they?
I blame the galaxy of denominations on men. Men unwilling to change over the centuries as light is given. The churches have become institutions. They are stuck within a framework that cannot change when error is discovered.
And .... there it is! The absence of authority. Each minister is his own authority .. with 30,000+ protestant churches, each one interprets scripture his own way. YOPIOS
I could be wrong but I think a lot of parents just simply turn that responsibility over to the CCD teachers.
I figured I'd have to eventually be wrong, at least once...
We don't know what you meant but we know what you posted.
If you need a Bible pm me a mailing address and I’ll send you one.
I am spared this problem. Our pastor delivers a homily based on scripture. As he always says: "It's not about me, it's about Christ".
It’s heck being a Catholic in the SW.
Do you mind my asking where you are located? I may be able to point you to a more orthodox pastor.
New Testament was written by the Apostles for the most part and their direct diciples.
Old Testament, Moses and prophets, King David, Solomon, etc..
Indeed He can but the poor comprehension skills of the reader is the problem, just as Scripture teaches.
"Understanding this first, that no prophecy of scripture is made by private interpretation. For prophecy came not by the will of man at any time: but the holy men of God spoke, inspired by the Holy Ghost." 2 Peter 1:20-21
"And account the longsuffering of our Lord, salvation; as also our most dear brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, hath written to you: As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are certain things hard to be understood, which the unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, to their own destruction." 2 Peter 3:15-16
Seriously, though. It was the Catholic Church who finalized the canon in the 4th century.
You are right ... and that is where they are wrong. I speak from personal experience. Like so many others, I registered my child in a catholic church on the assumption that they would do the catechesis. they did ... but I should have done more at home. Now I encourage all parents to get involved and begin educating their children when they are young. The Baltimore Catechism is an excellent starting point.
AND yet all of them point to the bible as their authority!
Paul, Peter, John, Mark, Luke, James, etc.... Fairly good leadership I would say.
Finalized at the Council of Trent.
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