My kid lost a year on CCD

[traillius]

CCD, RE, FF take your pick.

 

[HouseArrest]

There are pastors who will not go for shortening the time of sacramental preparation, particularly if the family has not been in the habit of attending Mass regularly (as the OP implies might be the case in their family). I doubt if many bishops would think that requiring regular Mass attendance concurrent with formal religious education for two school years prior to First Holy Communion is unreasonable. The faithful have a right to the sacraments, but the pastor has a responsibility to make certain that the children in his care are being educated, too.

It is RE (religious education) in our parish, and has been for decades, but some of us old-timers still slip up!

It would be worth trying to arrange it, though, especially if the family had something to gain such as learning the faith together and getting their child back on track. If they meet with the pastor and he finds their intentions sincere, he might just go for it, even if it is a bit unconventional.

I know our diocese allows homeschooling religious education from K through 12, including the sacraments. So in our diocese it would not be an issue at all.

 

[ohioszo]

Our Parish schools, K-12 have just been combined into one building, the HS building … every room will be utilized … not the boiler room … It will be very interesting for the kids, don’t you think? Interestingly, the city schools have combined middle school with high school: 4 buildings in 3 areas; Pre-K, 1-2; 3-6 and 7-12 in the same acre of land. Kids are going to be closer this year, and helping each other out. I hope this lowers truancy, pregnancy, etc. in the city schools.

 

[Seminarian_Matt]

Because we failed to have him enrolled and present during the last year, when he was in first grade in public school, Isaiah will have to go to CCD with the kids currently in first grade. And he will be receiving first holy communion in third grade. I hope he doesn’t have social problem going with kids an average one year younger. He’ll be eight in October of this year.
But the benefit of finally signing him up is that CCD will make it that much harder for us to not attend mass, since he needs mass attendance as part of CCD. My wife will go to mass for his success, despite any faith-based, or physical, issues, because she wants the best for him. Even if she wouldn’t go for me or herself, she will for him.

I think that it is great that you signed up your child for CCD. However, I would also encourage you to actively educate him in the Faith as well.

Since parents have conferred life on their children, they have a most solemn obligation to educate their offspring. Hence, parents must be acknowledged as the first and foremost educators of their children. Their role as educators is so decisive that scarcely anything can compensate for their failure in it.

Gravissium Educationis
Pope John Paul II

Here are some useful materials that you might consider using: catechismclass.com/series

 

[puzzleannie]

There are pastors who will not go for shortening the time of sacramental preparation, particularly if the family has not been in the habit of attending Mass regularly !

in this diocese the particular law states there is a three year preparation, an initial year of faith formation, sacramental preparation begins the second year, in which the child makes first confession, and in the third year, first communion. It is not a matter of my personal preference, but the considered judgement of our bishop following a diocesan synod.

 

[jmcrae]

Just out of curiosity, what sort of mortal sins do you think 8 year olds are there committing?

Disobedience to parents is one possibility, since it breaks the Fourth Commandment. Playing sick to get out of going to Mass (Third Commandment) might be another.

Why do people think that “mortal sin” has to be sexual sin, or else murder, or bank robbery? There are ten commandments; not just three.

 

[jmcrae]

The most important issue for me here is denying a child the graces of the sacraments (esp the Eucharist) just because he’s not in the right grade.

In my opinion, as someone who has taught Catechism for many years, and as someone who has taught Sacramental Preparation classes for several years, it is a mistake to combine the two.

You are right that a child’s level in CCD is different than his readiness for the Sacraments. I also believe strongly that it is the parent’s right to decide when the child is ready to receive each of the Sacraments. Yes, there are recommended ages for each one, but some children aren’t ready yet at the recommended age, and some children (assuming they have reached the age of reason) are ready before that. I don’t see age as an issue, myself - I am far more interested in whether the child is showing the signs of being ready for the Sacrament (can identify the signs and symbols of the Sacrament and tell what they mean; can remember the prayers and responses that go with it, knows why he is making use of the Sacrament, etc.), than an odometer reading on how long the child has been on the earth, or in what year of CCD he happens to be.

 

[jmcrae]

My parish is only 22 years old so we missed “CCD” altogether. It started out as “RE”. But it’s been “Faith Formation” for the last several years now.

(It was “CCD” at the parish I grew up in. I seem to recall that RE became the term of choice sometime in the mid-1970s.)

Around here, we just call it “Catechism.”

 

[EasterJoy]

Disobedience to parents is one possibility, since it breaks the Fourth Commandment. Playing sick to get out of going to Mass (Third Commandment) might be another.

Why do people think that “mortal sin” has to be sexual sin, or else murder, or bank robbery? There are ten commandments; not just three.

Prior to a certain level of maturity, a child would not be culpable even of murder in the same way that an adult would be. Even though a child may have reached the age of reason and has the appreciation of right and wrong necessary to be culpable for sin, the question would be whether the child has achieved sufficient appreciation of gravity necessary to commit any mortal sin at all, no matter how egregious the sin or how willfully it was committed.

Nevertheless, a habit of confession starting at the age of reason is very important in formation of conscience and an attitude of repentence. The fact that a mortal sin is hardly imaginable wouldn’t mean that confession wasn’t “really needed.”

 

[puzzleannie]

it is a universal law of the Church that the candidate must have the opportunity for sacramental confession before first communion. Whether or not the candidate is conscious of mortal sin is moot in this instance, as is the general discussion on whether or not the average 8 yr old can commit a mortal sin. Obviously that is not something anyone except the priest, in actual confession can judge, and the catechist or even parent is not competent to judge another’s sin, even an 8 yr old. I have seen 8 yr olds who have done things that would curl your hair, whether they are culpable is another matter entirely and outside my purview. The fact remains those of us charged with sacramental preparation of children have the obligation–not personal opinion, not option–to also prepare them and present them for first confession beforehand.

 

[EasterJoy]

In my opinion, as someone who has taught Catechism for many years, and as someone who has taught Sacramental Preparation classes for several years, it is a mistake to combine the two.

I taught sacramental preparation for several years, too, and I don’t agree. I think a reading of Sacramentum Caritatis and other documents indicates to me that our sense of how deeply connected Eucharist and Reconcilliation are needs more emphasis in catechetical preparation, not less:
**
II. The Eucharist and the Sacrament of Reconciliation

Their intrinsic relationship**

20. The Synod Fathers rightly stated that a love for the Eucharist leads to a growing appreciation of the sacrament of Reconciliation. (54) Given the connection between these sacraments, an authentic catechesis on the meaning of the Eucharist must include the call to pursue the path of penance (cf. 1 Cor 11:27-29). We know that the faithful are surrounded by a culture that tends to eliminate the sense of sin (55) and to promote a superficial approach that overlooks the need to be in a state of grace in order to approach sacramental communion worthily. (56) The loss of a consciousness of sin always entails a certain superficiality in the understanding of God’s love. Bringing out the elements within the rite of Mass that express consciousness of personal sin and, at the same time, of God’s mercy, can prove most helpful to the faithful.(57) Furthermore, the relationship between the Eucharist and the sacrament of Reconciliation reminds us that sin is never a purely individual affair; it always damages the ecclesial communion that we have entered through Baptism. For this reason, Reconciliation, as the Fathers of the Church would say, is laboriosus quidam baptismus; (58) they thus emphasized that the outcome of the process of conversion is also the restoration of full ecclesial communion, expressed in a return to the Eucharist. (59)

Benedict XVI, Sacramentum Caritatis, 2007

 

[jmcrae]

I taught sacramental preparation for several years, too, and I don’t agree. I think a reading of Sacramentum Caritatis and other documents indicates to me that our sense of how deeply connected Eucharist and Reconcilliation are needs more emphasis in catechetical preparation, not less:
**
II. The Eucharist and the Sacrament of Reconciliation

Their intrinsic relationship**

20. The Synod Fathers rightly stated that a love for the Eucharist leads to a growing appreciation of the sacrament of Reconciliation. (54) Given the connection between these sacraments, an authentic catechesis on the meaning of the Eucharist must include the call to pursue the path of penance (cf. 1 Cor 11:27-29). We know that the faithful are surrounded by a culture that tends to eliminate the sense of sin (55) and to promote a superficial approach that overlooks the need to be in a state of grace in order to approach sacramental communion worthily. (56) The loss of a consciousness of sin always entails a certain superficiality in the understanding of God’s love. Bringing out the elements within the rite of Mass that express consciousness of personal sin and, at the same time, of God’s mercy, can prove most helpful to the faithful.(57) Furthermore, the relationship between the Eucharist and the sacrament of Reconciliation reminds us that sin is never a purely individual affair; it always damages the ecclesial communion that we have entered through Baptism. For this reason, Reconciliation, as the Fathers of the Church would say, is laboriosus quidam baptismus; (58) they thus emphasized that the outcome of the process of conversion is also the restoration of full ecclesial communion, expressed in a return to the Eucharist. (59)

Benedict XVI, Sacramentum Caritatis, 2007

How does what you quoted say that Preparation for the Sacraments should take place in an academic setting?

I think it emphasizes all the more strongly that sessions of Preparation for the Sacraments should be constructed in such a way that the child is made conscious of the connection of the Sacraments to each other and to the child’s own spiritual life, rather than being limited to only academic knowledge about them.

Obviously, during Catechism classes, the subject of the Sacraments will come up when discussing the Scriptures and the history of the Church, and I’m not saying that shouldn’t happen - but this shouldn’t be all there is in the way of preparation for receiving them.

 

[EasterJoy]

How does what you quoted say that Preparation for the Sacraments should take place in an academic setting?

I think it emphasizes all the more strongly that sessions of Preparation for the Sacraments should be constructed in such a way that the child is made conscious of the connection of the Sacraments to each other and to the child’s own spiritual life, rather than being limited to only academic knowledge about them.

Obviously, during Catechism classes, the subject of the Sacraments will come up when discussing the Scriptures and the history of the Church, and I’m not saying that shouldn’t happen - but this shouldn’t be all there is in the way of preparation for receiving them.

I thought by “the two” that you meant the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist.

As for academic catechesis, though, I’d also argue in favor of the idea that religious education should always be taught as a “laboratory course”. What is being learned needs to be continually connected back to real life, which is to say the spiritual life of the student (or in the case of seminary, the future pastoral work of the seminarian, as far as that is possible).

 

[jmcrae]

I thought by “the two” that you meant the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist.

No, no, I was talking about combining Catechism classes with Preparation for the Sacraments. I think that they need to be separate. There is a legitimate place for academic instruction about the history of the Church, and academic study of the Scriptures - it’s needed today more than ever, since we live in such a secular culture that kids aren’t going to “glean” it from the culture as they grow up. But, I think that needs to be a separate discipline from Preparation for the Sacraments, which I think should be short term (certainly not a whole academic year) and practice-oriented.

As for academic catechesis, though, I’d also argue in favor of the idea that religious education should always be taught as a “laboratory course”. What is being learned needs to be continually connected back to real life, which is to say the spiritual life of the student (or in the case of seminary, the future pastoral work of the seminarian, as far as that is possible).

I happen to think that there is also a place for the reading of books, and the thoughtful study of the work that’s been done before us, as well. It doesn’t have to be all practical - but I think that Preparation for the Sacraments needs to be its own thing, separate from Catechism classes, even if they are “hands-on” Catechism classes.

 

[EasterJoy]

I happen to think that there is also a place for the reading of books, and the thoughtful study of the work that’s been done before us, as well. It doesn’t have to be all practical - but I think that Preparation for the Sacraments needs to be its own thing, separate from Catechism classes, even if they are “hands-on” Catechism classes.

OK, well, yes…but eventually. I think that at seven or eight, it is not too young to continually re-connect catechism with life. Nevertheless, that is more of a pedagogical opinion, I will admit. If our parish went to a totally separate sacramental preparation, I could live with that…and we do have some “retreat” kind of preparation events that are separate. I’ll be honest: I like those primarily because the kids in the parish school and the parish kids in after-school RE go through it together. You don’t have so much of a two-tier preparation.

Keeping the two sacraments together, though, that is a different matter.

 

[jmcrae]

Keeping the two sacraments together, though, that is a different matter.

I agree with you on that - the connection between them needs to be made clear to the kids.

(And actually, it wouldn’t hurt to add Confirmation into it, as well, to help the kids understand the unity of the Sacraments of Initiation, and the importance of Reconciliation to them.)

 

[EasterJoy]

And actually, it wouldn’t hurt to add Confirmation into it, as well, to help the kids understand the unity of the Sacraments of Initiation, and the importance of Reconciliation to them.

I think you’re right on that one.

We have the problem in our area, too, that only a fraction of young Catholics are bothering to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation at all. The confirmation classes are always smaller than half the size of the first communion classes, and sometimes a lot less than half. It’s sad. I think it might be better to delay confirmation by much less, if not to combine it with the other two outright. I don’t think that the delay is accomplishing much, if anything.

 

[dconklin]

I am the Asst DRE at my parish and I am responsible for preschool through 7th grade. Our diocese strongly suggests two years of sacrament (1st HC and Confirmation). We stick to this guideline with a very few limited exceptions. We offer many families the option of doing concurrent homeschooling of 1st or 7th grades - but it really depends on the family. We speak with the parents and determine their level of faith and commitment. We get many kids in Faith Formation and Sacrament prep only because Grandma wants it that way.

We happen to offer intensive Summer Catechism and get a few kids caught up that way, but every year we always have a few 3rd graders in the 2nd grade class. They all seem to turn out well without any obvious effects. A 5th grader in a 2nd grade class would be awkward.