Let’s Keep the Faith

About this time last year, I started thinking about volunteering to teach faith formation again. I had taken a few years away from it, but I felt a nudge. I had almost no free time, but I also feel the clock ticking as our teen boys grow up.

I had never co-taught a faith formation class with our younger son, and I thought his eighth-grade year might be our last chance. High school is so busy that it can be hard to fit anything else into the schedule.

To my delight, he agreed to teach with me. When we had a few choices of what grade to teach, I let him choose. He picked second grade. Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy.

Second Grade is The Year

Second grade is not just any year. It is The Year. The children experience two sacraments for the first time—Reconciliation and Communion. It’s a time of growth and change and excitement and opportunity, and a wonderful chance to experience God’s love and mercy and grace.

And we have had a great year. I am not a natural teacher. I have no idea how to lead a group. I’m much better at connecting with children one-on-one. I have no talent for keeping control of a classroom—and I don’t even mind. I don’t believe much in raising hands or expect children to stay in their seats the whole time. I am just so happy they’re there and engaged.

My goals for the year were simple:

1. Make the children want to come back for the next class.
2. Make sure everyone feels welcome.
3. Help everyone know God’s love and want to keep learning more about him.
4. Treat my son as a co-catechist and equal leader in the classroom.

That’s it. There was a curriculum, and we worked our way through it. But what was most important was that the children understood how much we looked forward to seeing them, that we were excited about what they brought to the classroom, that they are deeply loved by God, that questions are welcome, and that faith is a journey.

Enjoying Time Together

When someone had something to share, we let them share. Sometimes there was sadness—a cat had died, a parent was in the hospital—and sometimes there was joy—a baby brother had a birthday next week, they’d won a soccer game. We heard it all. We prayed. We laughed. We ran around on the playground. And we learned about God and his Church.

One Sunday, my Jesuit friend and colleague, Fr. Steve Spahn, happened to be saying Mass at our parish right after our class, so I invited him to come. The children had a wonderful time asking him questions and talking with him about their First Confession, which was the next week. That was a highlight for all of us.

After every class, I asked my son what we could do better or differently. His ideas and perspective were always insightful. He brought so much to the classroom, and the students saw him as a valued, trusted leader.

We could have done many things better. But I’m proud of the community we created together. I will always be grateful for the time we had with these students. I hope we planted seeds in their hearts that will take root and grow. And I know they planted seeds in mine. The questions, the connections, and the sheer excitement they brought to class have fed me in so many ways.

Receiving the Eucharist

This weekend, I attended our parish’s First Communion Mass and watched some of our students receive Jesus for the first time. Welcoming them into the church and greeting their families for Mass filled me with such joy. Talking with them afterward and hearing their reactions was a gift.

This is just a day on their journey, and there will be many other days. But it’s an important one—and it’s one they will remember, just as I still recall my First Communion from 40 years ago. And I pray that their faith will continue to grow and be a source of strength and comfort to them throughout their lives.

One evening this week, Fr. Spahn gave a wonderful talk at our parish. He talked about our commitment to our faith. “God isn’t going to let you give up because he has a job for you and for me,” he said.

After he spoke, Fr. Spahn opened the floor to questions. Many of the people present asked what we can do about bringing others back to the faith. The pain and sadness in the church were so evident as members of the audience expressed concern about loved ones who have stopped practicing the faith or lost faith entirely.

Light and Love and Grace

Those questions were echoing in my mind as I watched children walking back to their seats after receiving Communion. They were beaming, full of light and love and hope and sacramental grace. My heart was full seeing their excitement and enthusiasm for this new encounter with Jesus.

I don’t have any answers to questions about how to be at peace with the fact that fewer and fewer people feel drawn to organized religion. It makes me sad too, and I wonder what the future holds.

But I think perhaps part of the answer is right in front of us—in the gift of the Eucharist, in the joy of these children encountering Jesus for the first time, and in the way that they experience God’s grace.

May we never take that gift and that grace for granted, and always find that same joy in experiencing Jesus’ love as we did when we first received him at our First Communion. And may God help us find ways to share that light and love with others, wherever they are on their faith journey.

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