...but a friend of mine who is a solid and doctrinally-sound Catholic -- and a catechist in his solid parish--- holds the view that it's so hard to get Catholics to go to Adult Ed classes, that the only time you can "catch" them is by pressing them pretty firmly into Sacrament Prep when they or their children are up for Matrimony or First Confession/Communion or whatever. Your one,-and-only chance for Remedial Catechesis.
Thoughts?
Perish the thought
Years ago my future-wife and I were given the option to attend a one-time, full day, pre-cana class on a Saturday, which we opted for.
It was taught by a married lay couple. They talked about balancing a check book for the first half hour. Then, all they talked about was natural birth control; about how they used to practice artificial birth control but had now gone natural and how to do it.
After two hours of this crap, I politely told them, at a break, that my fiance and I were not interested in birth control and I asked if they would they be talking about anything else. They said, “No”. I then asked if we could then be excused. They said they would not give us pre-cana credit if we left.
We then sat through 7-1/2 more hours of natural birth control movies and lectures.
No priest or deacon ever addressed the class.
As far as baptismal classes, I can understand a one-time class for newlywed first-time parents maybe OK (but this is what should have already been taught in an orthodox pre-cana class).
But when subsequent classes are required for the baptism of subsequent children, I consider it child abuse.
The abuse being the Church is delaying the essential baptism required for the salvation of those newborns, even after seeing the couple in Church, with their older children, at Mass every Sunday.
To sum, it up: I think their both jokes.
Sorry for the rant.
Our priest makes each family meet with him in person before they can enroll their children in Catechism and he said he was going to require them to attend at least one class with each child. The children are required to go to mass weekly and get their cards signed by him or the DRE. Supposedly, if they miss one mass or one class in Confirmation or First Communion they can’t receive the sacrament but I haven’t seen him kick anyone out.
After 1st Communion they are required to be altar servers and if the parents don’t send them back the next year he calls them and the kids usually show up.
On Baptisms he’s pretty easy, the parents don’t have to be married or anything but their Godparents must be Catholics in good standing and the parents and Godparents must take a 4 hour class.
We never see a lot of those families again until they start Catechism.
In my classes I usually have 1 or 2 kids who know anything about the faith from home. Most don’t pray, they don’t read the Bible.
He’s very strict but not mean and we have about 3 times as many students as we had before he came but most of them don’t come to mass during the summer.
I wish I could remember the Pre-Cana my future wife and I went through during my senior year at St. Joseph’s College, of Indiana, along with a couple of dozen other couples who were intending to get married after graduation. It was for 2 hours one evening a week for 6 weeks. Various aspects of being married were discussed: life as a married couple, finances, having children, and other topics. Both priests and/or lay members of the faculty taught the classes, depending upon the evening’s topic. We found it useful and for somethings should have paid better attention (no not on family planning for any wiseacres out there.)
Good sermons, EWTN radio and cable fill the bill.