Our Kids Are Hungry!

Our kids are hungry. I saw this first hand last week. I was conducting a high school youth group meeting using the Theology of the Body for Teens curriculum by Ascension Press when what I had originally planned was derailed. I decided to scrap my original plan of watching the video when I was hammered with question after question  from the teens. They were not disrespectful or argumentative in their questioning. They weren't even questioning my authority or the authority of the Church. They were lost and confused and in search of the truth. They were asking questions about love and sexuality. They also went beyond the topic of the night and asked questions about faith and morality in general. They are hungry for the truth.

We, as a Church, have failed our kids. We have failed to teach our children the truth. Some of us have kept our mouths shut because we don't want to push our beliefs on anyone. We are afraid to offend people.  We want our kids to "make their own decisions", yet we don't don't give them the opportunity to make a decision. We just allow our culture to make their decisions for them. Some of us are afraid to stand up for the truth. Some of us don't even understand the truth ourselves. Whatever the reason, we have created a generation of teens that are lost and confused, being sent mixed messages from our culture and, yes, from our Church.

This generation of teens is more lost and confused than any previous generation. Yet, I am hopeful. I am hopeful because they are questioning. I am hopeful because I do see a hunger in them for the Truth. We need to help them see the Truth. We need to know and understand the truth of our Catholic faith ourselves. We need to ask the same questions the teens are asking. We need to be as hungry as they are in finding the Truth.  And we need to stand up! We need to stand up for what we believe in. We should not be afraid to explain and defend our beliefs to anyone. We should not be afraid to offend people. We need to convey the message of our Church in a loving manner instead of being argumentative. The teens I spoke to last week weren't offended by the loving approach of my defense of the Church's teachings. Rather, I saw "light bulbs" of understanding light up in their eyes.  Many of them got it. They understood.

The Truth is there. It is in the Catholic Church. If you don't believe it, don't just sit there and criticize it. Seek out the Truth. You will find it. And when you do find it, share it. Share it with your family and friends. Most importantly, share it with your children, for they are hungry and they want you to feed them. Feed them with the Truth.

What Is Catholicism?

Rules, rules, rules. Why are there so many rules? What's the deal with the Catholic Church telling me what to do? Why is the Church so restrictive?

These are all great questions, but they are born out of the wrong approach. They are born, most of the time, out of a lack of understanding. I, at one time, felt the same way. There were particular "rules" of the Catholic Church that I just didn't agree with. This preoccupation with the "rules" is, I believe, at the heart of the identity crisis the Catholic church is facing currently.

I asked the teens the other night at a youth group meeting, "What is Catholicism?" None of the teenagers present had an answer to that question. All of them had been through religious education of some sort. Some of them had gone to, and still go to, Catholic schools. I can say that I am not surprised at their lack of understanding of what Catholicism is. I don't fault them for their lack of understanding. Until the past few years, I too, had a lack of understanding of what Catholicism was. While our Catholic religious education system does a good job at teaching (in most situations) the rules of the Church, where we have failed is in getting Catholics to understand Catholicism on a deeper level. So now we have a couple of generations of people that feel that Catholicism is just a religion, a sect, or a set of rules.

Catholicism, in its true essence, is a way of life. It is transformation. It is a call to live an authentic life. Catholicism is much more than just showing up to church on Sunday and occasionally receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation. It is more than following the rules set forth by the Pope.

The other thing I did at the youth group meeting that night was challenge the teens to take one "rule" of the Church that they think is too restrictive and try to understand why the Church holds that particular position. I then explained that if they did so that I guaranteed that that rule would point to something Jesus said in the Gospels. The teachings of the Church are there as a guideline for us to live the lives that Christ wants us to live. They are there to challenge us to become better people, not to prohibit or restrict us.

I don't know much about other Christian traditions, but I imagine that most of them were founded on the thought that Catholicism was too restrictive. The founders of these churches, I imagine, did not want to be challenged to go outside their comfort zones, so they left and started their own churches.

Catholicism is a choice. It is a choice to truly live out the Gospel in our lives. And yes, living out the Gospel involves sacrifice. It involves stepping outside of our comfort zones and doing what is right despite how hard it is. Catholicism is counter-cultural. If there is one thing we, as Catholics, are called to do above all else, it is this: "I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you should love one another. This is how we will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34-35) This is how we will reclaim our Catholic identity.

Jesus Is Irrelevant!

Yep, you read it correctly! Jesus is irrelevant. The Catholic Church, too, is irrelevant. We, as a people, have become enlightened and no longer need the restrictive rules and guidelines set forth by Christ and the Church. The Church is run by a bunch of old curmudgeons. That's right, I said curmudgeons. They have no right to tell me what to do or how to live my life! Their rules are outdated and arbitrary.

This is how I started my high school youth group meeting the other day. It certainly got their attention (got yours too!). I was pointing out the way many people feel about the Catholic Church and religion in general. It's a shame that so many people feel this way.

I believe that many people have this bad attitude towards Christianity and religion because they feel it restricts their freedom. They feel that the teachings of Christ and the Church is too restrictive and that they need to change their rules (or eliminate them) in an effort to be more "inclusive" and respectful of others who feel differently.

What they fail to see, is that Christ and the Church calls us to a life of discipline, not to restrict us or exclude us, but to lead us to a life of happiness. Christ doesn't want us to be disciplined for His sake, but for ours. Lack of discipline leads to slavery. I used the example of an alcoholic in my youth group meeting. No one wakes up in the morning and says "I want to be an alcoholic!" But, through a lack of discipline in their alcohol consumption, alcoholics eventually become addicted to it and slaves to it. You can take that same analogy and apply it to any vice--money, sex, drugs, etc. Without rules--without discipline--there is no freedom.

The Catholic Church is not irrelevant. The rules in place are there for a reason. The Church calls us to a life of discipline to free us from the bonds of sin. The more I come to understand the things the Catholic Church teaches the more I see that living a life of discipline is an important aspect in our faith journey. Now, if only I could be more disciplined...

The Source and Summit of Our Faith

I love the Eucharist! The older I get, the more I understand and believe in the true presence of the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist. It becomes clear to me as I read the Gospels that Christ gave the Apostles the power to change the bread and wine into His Body and Blood. You don't need to be a biblical scholar to see what Christ did.

One of my favorite passages about the Eucharist is the story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus. Here you have two disciples journeying from Jerusalem to Emmaus. They are probably both distraught and excited at the same time. They are distraught over the fact that Jesus was killed, yet they are excited about the reports of His resurrection. Along comes "some guy" and starts a discussion with them about the scriptures. They are enlightened by what he has to say and strengthened by his words. Then they all sit down and have a meal together. This "guy" "took bread, said the blessing, broke it and gave it to them." (Luke 24:30). It was then, and only then, that the eyes of these two disciples were opened to who was with them. IT WAS CHRIST IN THE EUCHARIST!! It was the Mass that Christ was celebrating with these two disciples--the liturgy of the Word and the liturgy of the Eucharist. Luke stated twice in his Gospel that Jesus was only made known to the disciples in the breaking of the bread, in the Eucharist. He wanted to make it clear that Christ was truly present in the Eucharist. I am truly amazed by our Catholic tradition and I see the wisdom of the Church. The fathers of the Church didn't just make this up. There is a scriptural basis for all of it. The Catholic Church is the Church founded by Christ and 2000 years later we hold true to the traditions Jesus implemented for us. No other Christian church can make that claim! Praise God for our Catholic faith.

Why does the church have so many rules?

"Our dialogue and interaction with the Church is designed to help us become the-best-version-of-ourselves. It is for this reason that in every age the Church proclaims the unchanging truths of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ -- the Gospel. In doing so, she invites us to a life of discipline…There are disciplines and practices that must be adhered to and abided by if we are to walk faithfully along the path of salvation, fulfill our destiny, and enjoy the happiness with which God wants to fill us. Discipline is an integral part of the adventure of salvation." (Matthew Kelly)

 
 

We are being called to be the best that we can be. This requires us to have discipline. The Catholic Church is not an organization with rules and regulations designed to force us into Her way of thinking or to restrict us and our freedoms. The Catholic Church, in Her infinite wisdom, understands our need for discipline. The teachings, guidelines, and rules set forth by the Church are not to restrict us but to give us guidelines with which to live a life of discipline.

 
 

For example, the Church teaches that artificial contraception is not an appropriate form of family planning. Pope Paul VI, in his encyclical Humanae Vitae predicted three consequences of artificial contraception. The first consequence he sites is that it could "open wide the way for marital infidelity and a general lowering of moral standards." Marital infidelity has indeed grown and moral standards have been lowered since the use of artificial contraceptives have become widespread. He also says that "a man who grows accustomed to the use of contraceptive methods may forget the reverence due to a woman, and, disregarding her physical and emotional equilibrium, reduce her to being a mere instrument of his own desires." The proliferation of sex in movies, television shows, and even commercials indicate that our society treats women as objects. The pornography industry also indicates the degradation of women. The third consequence Paul VI stated was a fear of "this power passing into the hands of public authorities who care little for the precepts of the moral law." Look at what countries like China have done. China has enacted a one child rule, enforcing it through artificial contraception and abortion. The use of artificial contraception removes from a marriage (and all relationships) discipline. You don't need to have discipline if you remove the consequences of your actions, which is precisely what artificial contraception does. The lack of sexual discipline in our lives due to the use of artificial contraceptives has led us down a path of increased marital infidelity, reduced women to objects, and given governments the power to make moral decisions for us.

 
 

As you can see, the Church does not set forth rules and guidelines to restrict us. I believe that these rules are there to guide us and to help us have more personal discipline. The above example is probably the most well known and controversial of the Church's recent teachings. Many people disagree with the Church's teaching on contraception. Only about 4% of Catholics actually adhere to this teaching. The Church does not want to restrict us and our freedoms. The Church is there to guide us and to help us have some self-discipline. "Christ proposes a life of discipline not for its own sake, and certainly not to stifle or control us; rather, he proposes discipline as the key to freedom." (Matthew Kelly) There is a freedom we receive from living a disciplined life. We need to be aware of our human weakness. Our inherent weakness limits us, restricts us. Living a life of discipline will strengthen us to break free from the temptations and sins we face every day. Living our lives in a disciplined manner will not only enhance the our own lives, but it will also strengthen our society as a whole.