Franciscan at Home

Los profesores de la fe católica en las escuelas, los catequistas parroquiales y coordinadores de la pastoral juvenil (para nombrar solo unos cuantos) se ocupan todos de la catequesis de los jóvenes. Desafortunadamente, estos ministerios a menudo no se coordinan entre sí. Hace diez años, miembros de la dirección de la Asociación Nacional de Educación Católica [=National Catholic Educational Association, o NCEA], la Conferencia Nacional para el Liderazgo Catequético [=National Conference of Catechetical Leadership, o NCCL] y la Federación Nacional de Pastoral Juvenil Católica [=National Federation of Catholic Youth Ministry, o NFCYM], y con la representación de la Conferencia de Obispos Católicos de los Estados Unidos [=USCCB], se reunieron para formar la Asociación para la Catequesis del Adolescente [= Partnership for Adolescent Catechesis, o PAC, por sus siglas en inglés]. Uno de los objetivos de este grupo fue de crear una visión y un lenguaje compartidos para todas las personas que se involucran en la catequesis de los jóvenes, sin importar el contexto. El fruto de aquella coalición es el recién publicado documento, La alegría de la catequesis para adolescentes.

Fue para mí un honor ser uno de los principales escritores, junto con Miriam Hidalgo, Presidenta de la Federación de Catequesis con Hispanos [= Federation for Catechesis with Hispanics]. Nuestro equipo de escritores representaba a personas del largo y ancho de la nación, provenientes de varias etnicidades, y diferentes campos catequéticos. Sabiendo que los jóvenes latinos son ya el grupo más grande de jóvenes católicos en los Estados Unidos, nos dedicábamos a la elaboración de un documento que fuera multicultural desde su fundamento, y no como algo que a la larga simplemente sería "traducido".

La alegría de la catequesis para adolescentes fue escrito para inspirar, educar y retar a lo que transmiten la fe a los jóvenes. Para las personas que carecen de formación en la catequesis, se espera que este documento pueda proporcionar una visión global sobre la misión y los objetivos de este ministerio. Para las personas que están familiarizadas con la catequesis para adolescentes, el documento se empeña en revitalizar el ministerio con una visión centrada en Cristo que potencia a los catequistas en ayudar a los jóvenes a que se conviertan en discípulos misioneros.

Los retos que enfrenta la Iglesia al catequizar a los jóvenes son muchos y significativos. Las estadísticas nos dicen que los jóvenes se están alejando de la fe a una tasa alarmante. "Aquí no pasa nada" ya no es una opción, a menos que los Estados Unidos se convierta en uno más de aquellos países descristianizados donde las iglesias son "más como museos que lugares de culto".[i] El documento sirve como "invitación para examinar, con profundidad y honestidad, los supuestos y sistemas actuales con tal de fomentar la creación de nuevas relaciones y pautas ministeriales". [ii]

El documento no aborda temas específicos catequéticos, ni tiene el propósito de ser una "caja de herramientas" para los catequistas. El documento no se adentra en los aspectos prácticos de la catequesis, porque el estilo de catequesis en un salón de clases de teología en una escuela católica puede distar mucho del de un programa de preparación para la confirmación en una parroquia. Más bien, se busca unir aquellos varios estilos y marcos dentro de una visión en conjunto que pueda permitir una mayor colaboración.

Catholic school teachers, parish catechists, and coordinators of youth ministry (to name a few) are all concerned with catechizing teenagers. Unfortunately, these ministries often are not coordinated with each other. Ten years ago, leadership from the National Catholic Educational Association, the National Conference of Catechetical Leadership, and the National Federation of Catholic Youth Ministry, with representation from the USCCB, came together to form the Partnership for Adolescent Catechesis (PAC). One of the goals of this group was to create a shared vision and language for all of those who are involved catechizing adolescents, regardless of the setting. The fruit of that partnership is the recently published document, The Joy of Adolescent Catechesis.

I was honored to be one of the primary writers along with Miriam Hidalgo, President of the Federation for Hispanic Catechesis. We had a writing team that represented people from across the country, various ethnicities, and different catechetical fields. Knowing that Latino young people are now the largest group of Catholic teenagers in the US, we were committed to making a document that was multi-cultural at its foundation, not just something that would be “translated” at the end.

The Joy of Adolescent Catechesis was written to inspire, educate, and challenge those who pass the faith on to young people. For those without a background in catechesis, it is hoped that this document could be an overview of the mission and goals of that ministry. For those more familiar with adolescent catechesis, the document endeavors to invigorate that ministry with a Christ-centered vision that empowers catechists to help young people to become missionary disciples.

Patiently Waiting Upon the Lord

I do not like patience. I don't enjoy exercising it and I particularly dislike knowing that it is something good that I should like. Patience, though, is key to seeing the incredible work of God in the human heart.

My high school religion classes are forty minutes a day, five days a week, for half a year. In addition to the intention of catechesis, they are also intended to be academically rigorous. We have tests; there are papers to be written; mastery of the material is desired and sometimes achieved. Amidst the intensity and the rhythm of these worthy pursuits, conversion is not always noted. It isn't reflected in test grades and, among high school students, is not something they share freely with their teachers. It can be easy to be discouraged and wonder, "Is anything I am doing making any difference?"

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I was at a Steubenville Youth Conference, and we just had a powerful evening of prayer, Eucharistic Adoration, and empowerment. At conferences like these, I always offer to stay up late and talk with any of the youth if they need some guidance. Sure enough, at this particular conference, one teen took me up on the offer. Her name was “Julia.”

As soon as we sat down to talk, Julia blurted out, “I can’t stop drinking.”

I knew a little bit about Julia’s background before I took her to the youth conference. Julia was a junior in high school and she had a reputation that followed her. She got drunk at parties nearly every weekend, had experimented with drug use, and she had a reputation of being promiscuous. I believe she was even hung-over when she arrived at the youth conference.

Julia was also a sweet girl, very beautiful, artistic, and full of good intentions. She had encountered Jesus in a powerful way that evening and was wrestling with her own sin and brokenness.

But the conversation went in a direction that I was not expecting.

I said to her, “You are not alone in wrestling with this problem. The first step is to admit that you have a problem with drinking and to come closer to Jesus...”

She interrupted me, “That’s not the problem. I would have no issue giving up drinking and partying. I know that is what God wants me to do and I want to do it. I don’t even like getting drunk…

…the problem is, I can’t leave my friends.”

Whether it be Captain America and Iron Man fighting over whether or not the Avengers should submit to governmental authority, or the constant slew of stories that portray the bad guy as the good guy, Hollywood loves moral ambiguity. “The Walking Dead” is still popular not only because of the horror of zombies but also because of the constant moral dilemmas the protagonists must face: if a child is bitten by zombies and will become a zombie in a few days, should we kill the child before she becomes a zombie or should we wait until she might kill us? Such questions seem unanswerable.[i]

This continual barrage of “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” scenarios is symptomatic of an ethically relativistic society, and leads young people to the conclusion that there is no “right” answer to moral dilemmas— whatever the person decides is best. Like all heresies, there is a measure of truth in that statement. People of good conscience can still make bad decisions. However, we do teenagers no favors by posing the most difficult of moral situations, when the vast majority of their day to day decisions have far clearer answers to questions as: “Should I cheat on this test or lie to my parents?”

“The truth will set you free” (Jn 8:32). A large, prominently displayed banner with this proclamation greeted my high school students every semester that I taught Morality class. I spent many of the ensuing months unpacking this verse and its implications. What is truth? Or better, who is truth? What does it mean to be free? Crucial to this inquiry was a thorough study of the Church’s teaching regarding conscience. Any catechist would agree that we do not want to train our students to blindly follow a set of rules; instead, we want to be the conduits for them to develop a dynamic freedom to choose the ultimate good. This is the importance of properly teaching about conscience, which is “present at the heart of the person” and “enjoins him at the appropriate moment to do good and to avoid evil.”[i] If we merely memorize a list of laws and then try by our own power to live by them, we will always fail. New, unique moral challenges arise every day. However, if we have a well-formed conscience, then we have the ability to choose the good in every situation.

Last year, on the eve of All Saints Day, a teenager showed up at my door searching for candy and donned a self-made t-shirt for his costume that can only be described as “genius.” The shirt simply said, “Terrifying,” and had two images emblazoned upon it: the icon of a dead phone battery and the icon representing “no wi-fi available.”

I laughed out loud. It was the perfect indictment of modern culture through a teen’s eyes. It also illuminated a severe problem that parents and catechists currently face when trying to introduce this next generation to the timeless and eternal Father. How do we guide a young soul with little or no prayer life into an intimate relationship with God, especially in the midst of this over-stimulated and screen-based culture?

Waiting on God

We had just begun our new catechetical year at the parish. Following an opening session that was offered in large group, I made my way around to the various confirmation classes to sit in and see how things were going and how I might better support the catechists and candidates that year.