Pew Survey: Only half of Catholics know teaching on Eucharist

[Gorgias]

To teach the same subject because with most subjects one teacher is insufficient. To teach other subjects. Not to teach the many things that are the responsibility of the pupils’ parents, guardians or carers.

Without a doubt. And yet, on the agreed-upon set of subjects, the school is the primary educator of the student.

Okay let us give up and say there are no opportunities to teach Catholics.

Nope. That’s not what I’m suggesting. However, I am saying that this is a different ballgame than the education model of our schools. So, we have to take a different approach. Our problem is that we don’t have an approach or even a model that we can point to and say, “yep – that works! Let’s do that!”

What I am saying is that he uses the opportunities with which he is provided. These could be his homilies.

Not so much. A homily isn’t a lecture or a CCD class. It’s part of the Mass, which means it connects the readings to the lived experience of the congregants and then points both of them to the Eucharist.

It can certainly be by the example of the way he lives his life. He can take the opportunity when a couple come to him and ask to be married. There are many regular and occasional opportunities.

OK…

… except that, when you see Fr Joe at the hardware store, how pedagogical of a moment can that be? When he’s leading his pre-marital interview (which, if you aren’t aware, already is required and is a teaching moment!), he can really only realistically expect to touch on a couple narrowly-defined topics. (And, even then, the couple really isn’t gonna hear him all that well, since they’re already invested – literally, to the tune of thousands of dollars! – in their wedding day! Any catechesis on married life is going to take a distant back seat to wedding and party planning. Sad, but true.

That does not mean you not use the opportunities with which you are provided.

I totally agree with you in this sentiment. However, these things don’t suffice. They’re already (more or less) doing what they can be stretched to do, by priests who are trying to utilize them as best as possible. IT AIN’T ENOUGH.

So… how do we fix this problem?

 

[TomH1]

the school is the primary educator of the student.

No, the school is not the child’s primary educator. That idea is part of the problem. It is why many parents abdicate their responsibility and when things go wrong throw up their hands and say it was not my responsibility.

The school is the formal educator for subjects such as maths, languages, humanities, music, arts, etc. But, formal education is not the whole package. The primary educators are the parents who have the had the child for five whole years before schools even get involved.

So… how do we fix this problem?

That is a good question because it seems to me that you are increasing the list of problems.

I know that those of us who work in education are not the primary educator of our students. I believe that our bishops and priests should teach us the Faith. You do not agree. As CAF’s algorithms have just told me I have answered you a lot on this. I do not feel there is anything to be achieved by continuing this. Therefore, I intend to make no further posts on this thread.

 

[MagdalenaRita]

Well, this isn’t good.

It’s not good and hopefully we don’t stop talking about it because if we do it will only get worse.

 

[catholicray]

A recent Pew Research Center studyrevealed that 69% of Catholics in the United States believe that the bread and wine used in Mass “are symbols of the body and blood of Jesus Christ. ”

We really need to work on this. Bishop Baron is providing education on the Eucharist at: What is the Eucharist? - Word on Fire

The Eucharist is not a symbol and understanding that opens the door to really appreciating what Catholicism contains and why mass is something that can truly be appreciated rather than a chore.

 

[Beryllos]

This has been all over CAF. Is there a new angle on it that we haven’t already discussed?

Here is a link to a search of CAF for posts mentioning Pew and Eucharist so far this month:
https://forums.catholic-questions.org/search?expanded=true&q=pew eucharist after:2019-08-01

 

[catholicray]

I’m not sure I have a new angle to offer. I was unaware of how much this has already been posted. Even so what’s one more thread on the same subject? You never know who you are going to reach. I really only hoped to provide the link to good teaching. Bishop Baron just posted that tweet this morning and I hope it’s helpful. Sorry if I’m behind the curve.

 

[jeannetherese]

This has been all over CAF. Is there a new angle on it that we haven’t already discussed?

Perhaps one angle might be the labor of our priests to strengthen catechesis in this area.
This archdiocesan priest is reaching out, both in his church and through social media to help address the problem, offering his own homilies and a link to videos by Bishop Barron in support of his flock:
Here’s his weekly electronic outreach:

Happy Monday!

We’re changing things up a little bit this morning. If you follow Catholic accounts on social media, some of you may have seen reference to a recent survey conducted where a large majority of Catholics stated that they did not believe that the Eucharist is truly the body and blood of Our Lord. Now, the number presented in this study may or may not be a true representation of Catholics as a whole, but it does provide a reminder for all of us to revisit how we approach the Eucharist during Mass and Adoration. Are we guilty of falling into the same line of thinking?

Bishop Robert Barron shared his response to this survey that was published last week. Take note, he’s pretty fired up, as we all should be. Please take five minutes out of your day to listen to and reflect upon his response.

Father Todd has also discussed in his homilies the importance of the Eucharist and how some may misinterpret its true meaning. Search for “Eucharist” on our homily page on the website to revisit his past homilies on this matter.

God Bless,
Fr. Todd and the St. Joseph Parish Office Staff


A short (5 minute) video from Bishop Robert Barron. Click here to see more videos.

 

[tafan2]

That’s a really good video, thanks for posting. I am quite impressed. This is really important.

 

[goout]

CilladeRoma:

How do you figure that only the laity are to blame? Is it not the job of the clergy (hierarchy) to instruct their flock?

Parents are the primary educators of their children in the faith.

And that’s not an assertion, that is simply observing the way it is. St John Paul 2 himself emphasized the family’s primary role in passing along the faith:
http://w2.vatican.va/content/john-p..._jp-ii_exh_19811122_familiaris-consortio.html

Clergy themselves come from a family, they are not grown on trees.

 

[jeannetherese]

Our archdiocese is blessed in its priests who are working so hard to strengthen catechesis. This is but one example.
Its a big project and will take time and effort to achieve results, but every soul reached in precious.
It’s an exciting time to be Catholic!

 

[goout]

The most disturbing thing he notes is that the Church’s social ministry will eventually evaporate if disconnected from right reason on Church teaching.
And so those who want to separate the two are spiting themselves.

This erroneous point of view seems to propose that the Church is a force for good merely out of the good intentions and upright moral bearing of it’s members. Ha.
Rather than the presence of Christ in the Church that redeems us and helps us.

 

[FaithRuir]

The core of most problems in the Church is poor catechesis, many parents don’t have the access (many don’t have the will either) to send their students to a Catholic school, many don’t know the importance of mass, the Eucharist, or other core beliefs.

 

[jeannetherese]

Yes, but this is slowly changing. Here’s another priest from our Archdiocese reaching out through a parish website and through his personal blog to offer catechesis in both English and Spanish. I’ve trimmed the Spanish due to character limits in posts.
May God bless him and send additional laborers to the vineyard to share in this undertaking. Amen.

Corpus Christi Sunday – June 23, 2019​

(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)

photo by onesecretmission

Dear Parishioners,
Pope Benedict XVI once said this of the Eucharist, “The more ardent the love for the Eucharist in the hearts of the Christian people, the more clearly will they recognize the goal of all missions: to bring Christ to others. Not just a theory or a way of life inspired by Christ, but the gift of His very person. Anyone who has not shared the truth of love with his brothers and sisters has not yet given enough.” For us, every reception of the Eucharist is an encounter first and foremost with Christ’s sacrificial love. The Church teaches that the Mass is a re-representation of the sacrifice of Mt. Calvary. For us, this means that the incredible sacrificial love which was poured out that day, on that mountain, is poured out into our lives whenever we receive the Eucharist. This great encounter can never be anything other than transformational. If every Eucharistic encounter is transformational, then the question for us is, transformed into what and for what? As the saying goes, ‘we are what we eat.’ If we really allow the Eucharist to take root in our hearts, then we will be transformed more and more, through each reception, into Jesus Christ. Pope Benedict XVI reminds us that this transformation occurs for a purpose, that we are actually changed by the Eucharist in order to be Christ for others, or as he says, to “bring Christ to others.” The Eucharist is truly the source and summit of our Catholic Christian lives because of who we actually and completely encounter and because of the amazing transformation which is possible in our lives through it.

This weekend’s celebration of the Feast of Corpus Christi reminds us of two things. First, that the Eucharist is truly the ‘Body’ of Christ and that through it we become the Body of Christ, the Church. Corpus Christi was a feast that originated in France in the 13th century and was extended to the whole Church by Pope Urban IV in 1264. As in years past, we will celebrate the pride that we have in the Eucharist through an outdoor Eucharistic procession, followed by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. I hope that you and your families will be able to join us for this important annual celebration.

In Christ/ En Cristo,

Fr. Cal Christiansen

 

[tafan2]

Yes, they do not. We are now on our third generation of poor formation. It’s hard to blame the parents at this point. We need everyone taught the basics of our faith, at all ages. Progress had been being made, but aa Bishop Barron’s alluded to in his video, there is now a tendency to slide backwards again. I hope and pray that it does not take hold.
But as @jeannetherese has shown, we do have some really good clergy these days, there is room for hope.

 

[JanetF]

The Pew page referenced in this article has a 15-question survey. The questions are about all religions. Sadly, even atheists beat Catholics on this quiz with an average score of 9.3 compared to 7.6 for Catholics. So we have a lack of understanding our own faith and don’t know much about anyone else’s either. What an embarrassment.

I scored 11/15. I have never professed to be an expert in other world religions and those are the ones I missed.