Remedial CCD for Baby Boomers?

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Fitswimmer

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This popped into my head as a result of the thread on how old people are that attend the TLM.

I grew up in the late 60’s-early 70’s and my religious education was, in no uncertain terms-a joke. “We should all be nice to each other, because Jesus was nice and that’s why we should all be nice”. We did not have the Baltimore Catechism the way the kids in my parish are receiving it now, and as the older folks in my parish received in when they were young. I call us the “Lost Generation”.

I have been considering asking our Pastor for “Remedial CCD” for those in my situation. Do any of you have something like this in your parishes? Is this something I should just do on my own?
 
Fitswimmer said:
This popped into my head as a result of the thread on how old people are that attend the TLM.

I grew up in the late 60’s-early 70’s and my religious education was, in no uncertain terms-a joke. “We should all be nice to each other, because Jesus was nice and that’s why we should all be nice”. We did not have the Baltimore Catechism the way the kids in my parish are receiving it now, and as the older folks in my parish received in when they were young. I call us the “Lost Generation”.

I have been considering asking our Pastor for “Remedial CCD” for those in my situation. Do any of you have something like this in your parishes? Is this something I should just do on my own?
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I think this is a wonderful idea. My only qualification would be that there are “first-wave” Boomers like myself from the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, and then something like second-wave boomers from the late 60’s and early 70’s as you said. I think a lot of us “senior Boomers” in fact had the benefit of the burgeoning post-war parochial school explosion, the “good sisters,” and a firm grip on the Baltimore Catechism. Somewhere in the 1960’s, as has been so often noted here, much of this unraveled, demographic patterns changed, and the Baltimore Catechism got replaced by the Church of Burlap Banners. I have floated a similar idea at our parish, hasn’t taken off yet, but hope springs eternal. We probably need to “package” such a program more imaginatively.
 
Check this out: catholicbasictraining.com/

I attended this class when it was being taped during the summer, and this is even better. It includes the class lectures and a resource CD that is amazing! This is a great way to fill in the gaps in your Faith.

~Liza
 
Hi Fitswimmer,

If your parish priest is not able to put something together, you may want to check out these sites:

Pro Ecclesia The series by Bishop Fulton Sheen is a classic, but there are a number of other ones as well

Catholic Audio Of especial note is the series on The Teachings of Jesus Christ by Father Corapi. The series of talks take you all the way through the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Another good series is Fundamentals of Catholicism by Fr. Robert Altier on that same website.

Another good series is available from EWTN’s audio library - Does the Church Still Teach That? by Fr. Shannon Collins

All of those sites also have many other very good free resources. Hope you find something there to help you!

Jennifer
 
Fitswimmer said:
This popped into my head as a result of the thread on how old people are that attend the TLM.

I grew up in the late 60’s-early 70’s and my religious education was, in no uncertain terms-a joke. “We should all be nice to each other, because Jesus was nice and that’s why we should all be nice”. We did not have the Baltimore Catechism the way the kids in my parish are receiving it now, and as the older folks in my parish received in when they were young. I call us the “Lost Generation”.

I have been considering asking our Pastor for “Remedial CCD” for those in my situation. Do any of you have something like this in your parishes? Is this something I should just do on my own?
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Sounds like the Roman Catechism, aka Catechism of the Council of Trent, and recommended by Cardinal Ratzinger back in 1983, is what the doctor ordered. Online here:

cin.org/users/james/ebooks/master/trent/tindex.htm
 
Do you have access to the Catholic Truth Society…they have little pamphlets cheaply available on everything AND audio cds…I purchase anything preached by Fulton Sheen…great stuff to have in the car…dirt cheap…you can always pass the on.

the Catholic Truth Society is just like Jack Chicks pamphlets but DIFFERENT…um this is an attempt at humor…cheers:eek:
 
Thanks for all the great ideas! I’m going to look through everything!
 
ThuribleGuy45 said:
I think this is a wonderful idea. My only qualification would be that there are “first-wave” Boomers like myself from the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, and then something like second-wave boomers from the late 60’s and early 70’s as you said. I think a lot of us “senior Boomers” in fact had the benefit of the burgeoning post-war parochial school explosion, the “good sisters,” and a firm grip on the Baltimore Catechism. Somewhere in the 1960’s, as has been so often noted here, much of this unraveled, demographic patterns changed, and the Baltimore Catechism got replaced by the Church of Burlap Banners. I have floated a similar idea at our parish, hasn’t taken off yet, but hope springs eternal. We probably need to “package” such a program more imaginatively.
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I would have to agree here, as an older boomer.

RE: Church of the Burlap Banners -The more expensive accomodations had felt.😉
 
My husband was my sponsor in RCIA, and we made sure it was at a very traditional and orthodox parish with faithful priests teaching it. He said he learned an amazing amount about the Church and her teachings that he had never been exposed to before. IF you can find a good, orthodox, faithful parish and priest teaching RCIA classes, it could be a great way to learn more about the faith, but that is a big “if” from what I hear. 😦
 
I am a gen xer but if I may add…Early boomers and for the most part mid boomers were given pretty solid CCD…its the late boomers such as yourself that got tacked on the horrible catechesis that reached its pinnacle with my generation.
 
I agree, I just used the Boomer label because I needed something to define our age group. I’ve used the term “lost generation” in reference to this as well.

Although, I do believe that there are many children who are still “lost” in what passes for religious education in many parishes.
 
I have heard that the Gen Xers are considered the Lost Generation…We were the first bunch to grow up in the church Post VII in those dark and mysterious years.

I was 8 years old in 1976 and 5 women from my childhood parish (a small midwestern town) went to a convention in Detroit which was called Call To Action. THese women were really into the feminist movement. THose Five women have held that parish hostage for the last 31 years. 2 of them (nuns) have moved on but the remaining 3 continue to run the show. They are just now slowing down from age…But in those first years a young liberal priest showed up and things got really really bad. The long term effects of those women will be felt for a very long time after they have gone on…they nearly destroyed what was a thriving parish in the 50s and 60s. My Childhood Catechesis of the 70s and early 80s was abysmal. I am convinced this is why I now have traditionalist tendencies.
 
volunteer as an RCIA sponsor, absolutely great way to learn more about your faith, or as a catechist for adult or youth confirmation classes, you will learn more, in a deeper way, than you ever thought possible.
 
puzzleannie said:
volunteer as an RCIA sponsor, absolutely great way to learn more about your faith, or as a catechist for adult or youth confirmation classes, you will learn more, in a deeper way, than you ever thought possible.
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volunteering for 4th grade religous education was what drove me OUT of my NO parish. I was talking about this on another thread, but it bears repeating here.

Out of the 10 kids in my class, TWO went to Mass with any kind of regularity. The other eight went on Christmas and “Easter sometimes”. None of them knew any prayers by heart other than the Our Father-not even the Hail Mary! The curriculum for 4th grade was the 10 commandments, so I thought we could memorize them. Well, you’d think I was committing some kind of crime! I was told by the Director: “we don’t have the children memorize anymore, that’s what they did in the OLD days” Apparently the idea that memorization WORKED was lost on them. The parents looked at it as an hour to get their grocery shopping done without the kids. It was really sad.
 
I don’t doubt it, we face the same situations, and I am happy my catechists stick with it year after year, because year after year, if even one or two of those kids do learn the prayers and commandments, and do learn the importance of Mass and even convince their parents to start attending Mass, it will because of the efforts of those dedicated catechists who are fighting enormous odds with the courage of saints.

and that is exactly what does happen every year, in every class, there is one family who is touched by one child, and the result is a return to Mass and the sacraments, completing initiation for parents, marriage convalidations, initiation of older children, active parishioners, active families and changed lives due to the grace of Christ and the action of the Holy Spirit–all because a catechist stayed faithful in spite of feeling that she is not accomplishing anything.
 
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