A Response To Past Problems In Catechesis

By MSGR. CHARLES POPE

(Editor’s Note: Msgr. Pope posted this essay on July 2 and it is reprinted here with permission.)

• + + Earlier, we reflected on some of the historical problems related to catechesis and how they have negatively impacted us in the aftermath of the cultural revolution that swept through beginning in the late 1960s. Even prior to that time, some of the strategies and pedagogical philosophies common were problematic in that they tended to remove catechesis entirely from the home, and also focused almost exclusively on the education of children. This left adults (including parents) little opportunity to deepen their own understanding and move to a more mature experience of the faith.
  I present here a model for parishes that includes the parents — indeed the whole family — in the catechetical process. I do not propose here an entire curriculum or program. Rather, I suggest a general model that can be adapted as necessary. My proposal is not original and has been presented by others in various forms, generally termed “whole-family catechesis.” I have applied this model in two parishes where I have pastored. In terms of content, the curriculum emphasizes a “back-to-basics” approach that focuses on the fundamental kerygma and its message of sin, redemption, and grace.
  Perhaps it is best to begin with a story to serve as background.
  About eight years ago, when I was speaking to sixth-grade Sunday school students, I mentioned Adam and Eve. Within a few minutes, it became evident that they didn’t really know who Adam and Eve were. One of the students was able to say that he thought they were “in the Bible or something,” but couldn’t provide any details.
  It became clear to me in that moment that we could no longer do “business as usual” when it came to catechesis. Luckily, my Director of Religious Education (DRE) had similar concerns and did not resist my insistence we had to try something new, something radically different.
  That “something new” was really “something old” and amounted to a back-to-basics approach that taught of sin, redemption, and grace — in that order.
  Clearly, if God’s people have lost touch with the awful disaster of Original Sin and of all our personal sins, then the gift of redemption and the glory of grace are underappreciated — even dismissed — as being of no value. Further, how can people experience Jesus as their Savior if they don’t even think that they need to be saved?
  So, we have to go back to basics and tell the “old, old stories” again: the stories of mankind, lost in sin, living in the dark shadows of death, and ensnared in the mystery of iniquity. Yes, it was time to reread the Genesis account of Original Sin and all the old stories.
  In order to avoid the pitfalls discussed earlier, we chose in my parishes to structure the Sunday school curriculum around the whole family. Sunday school would include the parents as well as the children and any other adults who wished to come. Frankly, the main goal was to teach the parents, who should be the chief educators of their children in the ways of faith. To that end, I drew from a number of home-school curricula such as the “Seton Program,” since they already have a curriculum and resources in place to assist parents.
  At the heart of our “whole-family catechesis” approach is a structure in which every grade level is studying the same subject, reading the same Bible stories, and following the same curriculum. While the kids are in Sunday school class, I am out in the cafeteria teaching the same material to the parents.
  I teach the parents both method and material. For source material I use the old classic, My Catholic Faith, which provides a great summary and curriculum of the faith in a kind of flyer format that is both handy and properly detailed. I give the teachers of the children the Religion 5 for Young Catholics book (Seton Press), in order to help them review the material for each class and make it relevant to younger children. I also teach and review the curriculum with the Sunday school teachers before the beginning of each segment of study, so that they will know what and how I will be teaching the parents.
  Each Sunday all the families gather in the school cafeteria for prayer. The children then go to their classrooms while I remain with the parents and other adults in the cafeteria. Once again, at every level (including the adult level), the same subject matter is taught. The only brief exception to this is that the second-grade students spend time after January focusing on preparation for First Confession and First Holy Communion.
  In each session we not only cover the subject for that day (e.g., the sacraments or the Ten Commandments) but we also read a Bible story. One of the great losses in modern times is the loss of storytelling — and the Bible has great stories!
  Frankly, standing instruction # 1 for parents is — Read the Bible to your children — every day if possible! And I model that with the parents. In each class we spend the first 20 minutes or so reading a Bible story, usually from the Catholic Children’s Bible, which does a good job presenting the whole Bible in story form. Then, having read a story (e.g., the Tower of Babel, or David’s Battle with Goliath), we discuss its teaching and I link it to the catechetical material we are covering in the curriculum.
  In modeling this, I hope to show the parents how they can do the same with their children at home. Bible stories are memorable and they teach fundamental truths in ways that reach deeper than merely the intellect. They touch the heart and draw the children into the world and mind of God.
  Bible stories don’t just teach, they imbue. To imbue means “to inspire or permeate with a feeling or quality; to saturate, suffuse, or steep one in what is taught or presented.”
  Thus, Bible stories are essential if we want to communicate the culture and world of the Bible to our children and help them to make sense of our glorious faith.
  In terms of an overall curriculum, our back-to-basics approach is broken into three main sections. The sections are based on the words of an old hymn that says:
  “I once was lost in sin, but Jesus took me in, and then a little light from heaven filled my soul!”