The reason so much of our youth reject Church teaching

[shelby_sun]

OK have have to say I am a little surprised with some of the comments. I went through 12 years of Catholic school and we were taught all the things you spoke about, many things over and over again. Now if you asked me today I might need to think about some of the things we didn’t go over more than once or twice.

I think one things that was different for me was that I went to a Jesuit school where we had priest very much like Pope Francis that everyone loved to listen to. All of them had homilies that weren’t boring, but rather engaging. They were light yet educational. Our priest seem more like really good coaches that we loved to be around.

Some people preach too much to the kids today instead of finding creative ways to relate their need to what church has to offer them. With some many other inviting distractions that is a hard task.

 

[Giggly_Giraffe]

My teatamony is that God stooped down to me through “South Park”. It would not be right to say that South Park should be watched for salvation; as the opening of the adult TV cartoon says, “it should not be viewed by anyone”. To say that “God stoops” to lead us to salvation will uplift St Terese OF Liseax. Yes, God stooped to reach me, a sinner, through a cartoon wrought with wrongdoings. As creator of me, a humor seeking, trapped by sin, sinner God allowed me to realize that the writers of this outrageous cartoon knew more about my faith (Catholosism) than I knew. Yes, they were using the typical 80% truth 20% twist to persuade people to laugh at the faith. Yes, God understands I have a hard time backing off a silent challenge. He requested this silent challenge to me at the time I was grieving my fathers death, trapped in a relationship with a very bad man, and when I had the means (inheritance) to journey to Rome. Since then, I have become like pre-schooler in my thirst for what wisdom our faith has for us. In this, God has been able to recreate, remold me and I feel new.

Looking back, why didn’t I know (or care to know) about the faith? The simplest answer is I did not comprehend what death was. I grew up in a very secure world with no death. Yes, I felt the pains of sin: heartbreak from being dumpted, money loss, & other signs of painful endings. Vaccinations made a safe enviroment for me and my friends. Laws made roads safer: I had one friend die two years after I knew him … But by then he was a stranger. Parents also leAd a longer life. My grandpa died when I was five, but it didn’t rock my world. However, experiencing my dad’s death … Now I could honestly see what the consequence of death was. Even watching all the violence in the media (video games, TV, & news) I knew it wasn’t real. In all of my wrongdoings, there was a point of return … Death has no point of return. I never cursed Gods name during my ProdigAl Daughter tour, but I never turned to him. He was family I never knew … And as an adult orphan, I needed family. So, began my reunion and a building of a relationship with God. I couldn’t be more grateful. During my formation, memorization seemed more valuable than relationship building. I did check myself into RCIA for two years and experienced the invitation to build he relationship, memorize, and to critically think (beyond South Park’s critical thinking). I don’t think I would have been ready until that moment in time God silently challenged me by stooping to me in South Park.

I suspect that as this inverted population pyramid begins to reveal death to many other adults, we will see many more seeking God instead of shutting Him out.

 

[Phemie]

The question I asked earlier about what people’s attitudes were towards the faith when they were young was for everyone. So I’m still curious about it.

OK, I’ll bite. I never wavered in my faith as a young person.

Even when I went off to university in '71, away from my parents for the first time, I still went to Mass on Sundays. In nursing school between '73 & '74, when I spent my weekends babysitting for a Hindu family, it was with the understanding that I was free to go to Mass on Sunday morning. As a newlywed to a non-Catholic I went to Mass every Sunday. Later on I became a reader, something I still do, and was an EMHC for a few years.

I had a faith crisis in my late 40s, directly related to time spent doing a course in Liturgy at a Catholic university that I now realize is anything but orthodox, and then I just worked harder to regain it, I’m still working on that. But even at that time I didn’t give up on Mass or anything else.

 

[Sarcelle]

The question I asked earlier about what people’s attitudes were towards the faith when they were young was for everyone. So I’m still curious about it.

I was raised atheist. I was never raised in the faith to begin with.

 

[Origen52]

“Christianity is not a new philosophy or new morality. We are Christians only if we encounter Christ… Only in this personal relationship with Christ, only in this encounter with the Risen One do we really become Christians… Therefore, let us pray to the Lord to enlighten us, so that, in our world, he will grant us the encounter with his presence, and thus give us a lively faith, an open heart, and great charity for all, capable of renewing the world.”

• Pope Benedict XVI, Vatican City, Sept. 3, 2008

Unless we help our young people fall in love with Christ all teaching and knowledge is empty and meaningless. I fell in love with Jesus in the arms of my mother and father, who taught me that I was loved not only by them but by Christ who died because of his love for us. Doctrine came slowly over time, but really what do we need to know beyond this:

25 And behold, a certain legal expert stood up to test him, saying, “Teacher, what must I do so that I will inherit eternal life?” 26 And he said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?”[j] 27 And he answered and[k] said, “You shall love the Lord your God from all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind,[l] and your neighbor as yourself.”[m] 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live.”
Luke 10

 

[manualman]

Being an opinionated loudmouth, I of course have an opinion on the matter!

Here’s my take.

The genuine and legitimate reason for Vatican II was over concern that Catholicism had become more of a philosophy, moral system and institution than a relationship with God. The purpose of Vatican II originally was to call people not to be content to merely “pray, pay and obey” but to enter boldly into the faith and encounter Christ and be remade by Him.

Unfortunately, that message got hijacked rather badly. Weaknesses are often the flip sides of strengths. It was a STRENGTH of Catholicism that we had a rigorous intellectual tradition, a comprehensive moral theology and integrated culture and liturgical life. That strength was so strong, that some DID simply define those things as the whole of Catholicism rather than the effects of it. Those folks felt that human attention is a zero sum game so that in order to increase the spiritual vitality of catholics, they had to first destroy all the external trappings that had grown up over the centuries that supported catholic culture.

This was the exact WRONG thing to do. Instead of going BEYOND “pray, pay and obey” to a full encounter with the living Christ, people have defined the latter down to feel-good sugary spiritual junk food devoid of any serious meaning. Traditionalists usually suspect this was done maliciously, but my opinion is that it came about via naivety.

So in my experience, there are two sorts of catholics out there that are really vulnerable to the seductions of the modern culture.

1. The kind that’s never been formed well in actual Catholicism that this thread has so far focused on.
2. The kind that received instruction in an external form of Catholicism that significantly lacked an experience of encountering Christ as the living God who loves us in their everyday lives. This latter kind is the sort that bailed out in droves when the 1960’s came along. It was nearly defenseless in the face of the “find your inner self” philosophies that became popular in the 60’s because it really did lack spiritual depth in many cases.

So, IMO, learning your catechism is an absolute prerequisite for a healthy and durable faith, but it’s not enough. Christ must be encountered as a real person and fallen in love with. BOTH aspects are required to weather this storm of shallow secularism we’re in. Evangelize your kids BOTH ways.

 

[CruceSignati]

The question I asked earlier about what people’s attitudes were towards the faith when they were young was for everyone. So I’m still curious about it.

When I was little my parents took me to Mass every Sunday, and my dad converted when I was two. We didn’t do a whole lot faith-wise at home, but now and then we would pray the Rosary as a family. I went through a period of about five months when I was 11/12 in which I completely denied God’s existence (my mom was having some health problems during pregnancy and God seemed to be doing nothing to help). Although I was pretty young, I believe that was my spiritual “dark night of the soul”.

About seven months later, I watched a movie about St. Therese of Lisieux and seeing how much she loved God moved me to love Him, too. So on All Saint’s Day in 2010 I made a solid commitment to the God I had denied the year before, and to start on my spiritual journey I began praying the Rosary every day. As time went on I learned to love the Holy Catholic Church and I started putting more time into learning about the Faith. A friend of my mom’s came to Mass one day wearing a mantilla, so I went home and started researching that. Another friend mentioned that her family attends the Latin Mass, so I researched that too. I had no clue there was such a thing as scrupulosity, canon law, or liturgical abuse until I joined CAF!

Where am I going now? Well, something has got to be done about the catechesis crisis that is plaguing the Church today, so if I ever have a more complete understanding of our great and enormous Faith I will likely begin teaching catechism classes at a local parish or two when I’m finished post-secondary. But this I place in God’s hands; His Will be done!

 

[JimG]

The question I asked earlier about what people’s attitudes were towards the faith when they were young was for everyone. So I’m still curious about it.

My elementary school years occurred pre-Vatican II. Our family went to Mass together every Sunday (fasting from food and water from midnight to receive communion—including all the kids.) After Mass we had a family breakfast. We all drove up to the church for confession nearly every Saturday. Everybody dressed up for church; even the kids had suits that we wore to Mass and other special occasions. We learned a seemingly astonishing amount of doctrine from the baltimore catechism and the homilies, but my faith nor that of my family was not merely doctrinal.

At the Catholic school, taught by nuns, we were encouraged to make visits to the church during recess to say hello to Jesus and pray to the saints, which I often did. We had a lot of devotions such as stations of the cross during Lent, Forty Hours, and Benediction after Mass.

My attitude didn’t much change after V-2. I might have tried to get a little lax, but to no avail. In the USAF there was one other Catholic in my barracks. He ragged on me so bad when I skipped Mass one Sunday that I never did it again.

 

[LongingSoul]

My elementary school years occurred pre-Vatican II. Our family went to Mass together every Sunday (fasting from food and water from midnight to receive communion—including all the kids.) After Mass we had a family breakfast. We all drove up to the church for confession nearly every Saturday. Everybody dressed up for church; even the kids had suits that we wore to Mass and other special occasions. We learned a seemingly astonishing amount of doctrine from the baltimore catechism and the homilies, but my faith nor that of my family was not merely doctrinal.

At the Catholic school, taught by nuns, we were encouraged to make visits to the church during recess to say hello to Jesus and pray to the saints, which I often did. We had a lot of devotions such as stations of the cross during Lent, Forty Hours, and Benediction after Mass.

My attitude didn’t much change after V-2. I might have tried to get a little lax, but to no avail. In the USAF there was one other Catholic in my barracks. He ragged on me so bad when I skipped Mass one Sunday that I never did it again.

I think we also had a precious thing that is now mockingly referred to as ‘catholic guilt’. My experience of that was more of failing in my obligation. I would call it a similar feeling to what I feel when I fail my children in some way. It’s not about meaningless guilt but about letting down someone you love.

People today don’t have that same feeling for the Church that it is like a person you love. I suppose that makes the sense of guilt a meaningless experience to have.

 

[pianistclare]

I really don’t get this dichotomy that you can either learn about the faith (and be dour) or have fun, that the two are mutually exclusive. Why not both instead of just one or the other?

That’s exactly my point. When one dominates the other, it invariably fails. But the person I was responding to made it sounds like we are just in it for fun and games. No, there is excellent content.
One bad experience doesn’t make all the catechists of the world lousy.

 

[pianistclare]

I’ve read most of the answers here…and so far very few are the answers that the youths in question seem to give, at least to me.
I’ve discussed this topic with many youths who were thoroughly taught the Catholic faith “properly” by their parents and church…and when asked why they do not consider themselves Catholic or go to church anymore (I assume that is what you mean when you say “reject”?), they have all said the same reasons to me:
That they thought through the Church teachings and some of the major ones did not make sense to them. That they studied the evolution of the religion, the teachings and the Christian canon those first several centuries and found them to be structured within and for the context of that era 2000 years ago, and deeply flawed and out of date for a world that has moved onward/forward since then with new thoughts and ideas and understanding about people and the world around us.

.

If the Beatitudes are out of date, God help us.

 

[LongingSoul]

That’s exactly my point. When one dominates the other, it invariably fails. But the person I was responding to made it sounds like we are just in it for fun and games. No, there is excellent content.
One bad experience doesn’t make all the catechists of the world lousy.

That’s true. There are lots of different styles of conveying truth. Even Jesus was not so much the bookish type teacher. He was always bending down and drawing in the dirt or using figs and trees, bread and wine and making connections between the world and our faith in ‘whimsical’ parables. There are a lot of good ‘hands on’ ways of conveying the faith to others.

 

[pianistclare]

There are many good youth programs. My current parish’s youth program is 100 percent run by Father. Sucks for me, because I like youth ministry but it is awesome for the teens. It creates knowledgeable Catholics and vocations.

I am glad your parish is run well. Though I doubt they run life teen. What you describe would be hard to mold into the lifeteen format.

I am the DRE. We are a LifeTeen Parish. We run LT & EDGE. I can assure you it fits in the LT Curriculum and format. It’s a Franciscan program as you probably know. Very Eucharistically centered.
Many parishes call their groups LifeTeen, but are only making their own versions, (which is against the law and deceitful to the parishioners).
If you would like me to send you a sample lesson plan for a LifeNight you may see for yourself the kind of content it has.
Peace

 

[Avocadomom]

The world is big, kids are exposed to more than their own families and communities. My grandparents and even parents only knew what they were taught. No internet, travel was less common, and no 24-hour news. Their worlds were smaller. Now, people have so much access. It’s hard to say “this is the one right way to think and live” when you have the ability to see that so many thers in the world feel just as strongly about their own belief systems, and that things tend not to be so black-and-white. I think it’s hard for younger people to believe that so much of the world is “doing it wrong” and that just one religion has the corner on truth.

 

[Fusiontron]

No one even knows the basics. I am 22 and the CCD I received up through 8th grade was basically only through 3rd grade for kids attending Catholic school. 90% of what I know now I’ve had to teach myself. And I learn more all the time. I am an unusual case. It all starts with the people teaching the faith, not the kids.

 

[Lost_Wanderer]

The problem you’re talking about is actually self-perpetuating. You point out the prevalence of culture war as the main reason for why the Church is rejected.

Has it ever occurred to you that this culture war mentality is just as encouraged within the Church as outside it? The media enjoys casting light on the so-called bigots and outspoken ‘counter-culture warriors’ on the evangelical ‘frontlines.’

Can you tell me, with a straight face, that those ‘warriors’ are mere pawns of the media and don’t actually believe in the things they’re ‘fighting for’?

I don’t think it helps to say that these people are actually more well-catechized. But as your professor has demonstrated, they underestimate the lack of those they’re preaching to.

What if that’s the problem? No, not the fact that people are not well-catechized. I’m talking about the fact that they don’t know their role in its self-perpetuation. They see the ignorance as only further reason to condemn, lament, and proselytize. I’d go as far to say that they’re so spiritually proud to admit they don’t know anything about today’s modern culture (outside of it being some spawn of Satan).

And thus, the fire stays fed.

 

[Joy2day]

So what was all of your guys’ attitudes towards the faith when you were young? Just curious.

I loved it. It was very important when i was growing up. The one true faith. The keys to God. There was so much to learn; so many saints; so many popes etc. within the church. And there were many catholics, cause catholics had big families! And the teachings were simple: obey the 10 commandments etc - and that made sense, it was a nice, carefree way to live - and God said it is possible! To live otherwise seemed like a very hard, loveless type of life.

It seemed very important to obey the commandments, as Hell was not a concept dismissed. There was an emphasis on accountability for our moral lives to God. God’s opinion of you mattered the most.

I think youth and teenagers will always stray to a certain extent from what their parents taught them - it is the stage of life. If they have a good foundation, they will likely come back to it.

Also I think if parents are looking for guidance on how to teach their children to ‘love’ the church - many of the writings of the saints are a good example. There are books called ‘saints for boys’ and ‘saints for girls’ etc.

 

[The_Bucket]

The world is big, kids are exposed to more than their own families and communities. My grandparents and even parents only knew what they were taught. No internet, travel was less common, and no 24-hour news. Their worlds were smaller. Now, people have so much access. It’s hard to say “this is the one right way to think and live” when you have the ability to see that so many thers in the world feel just as strongly about their own belief systems, and that things tend not to be so black-and-white. I think it’s hard for younger people to believe that so much of the world is “doing it wrong” and that just one religion has the corner on truth.

I can understand that entirely. But it’s still a juvenile perspective. After all, everyone is “doing it wrong” because none of us are Christ or the Blessed Mother. Regardless of belief systems and even having the Fullness of Truth here in the Church, we’re still failing. And we’re always going to fail. That’s part of the human condition.

I think more these days that being seen as a hypocrite is somehow the worst thing in the world. Better to have a flexible belief system that denies sin, denies failure to live up to one’s creed, than to have to admit failure! Fear of failure again, so juvenile! And yet it’s a fear I had for so long and still deal with today. But I’m getting more comfortable with saying “You’re calling me a hypocrite? Yes. I absolutely am. I fail to live up to my beliefs on a daily basis. But that hypocrisy doesn’t make the Truth any less True!”

 

[katy]

I can understand that entirely. But it’s still a juvenile perspective. After all, everyone is “doing it wrong” because none of us are Christ or the Blessed Mother. Regardless of belief systems and even having the Fullness of Truth here in the Church, we’re still failing. And we’re always going to fail. That’s part of the human condition.

I think more these days that being seen as a hypocrite is somehow the worst thing in the world. Better to have a flexible belief system that denies sin, denies failure to live up to one’s creed, than to have to admit failure! Fear of failure again, so juvenile! And yet it’s a fear I had for so long and still deal with today. But I’m getting more comfortable with saying “You’re calling me a hypocrite? Yes. I absolutely am. I fail to live up to my beliefs on a daily basis. But that hypocrisy doesn’t make the Truth any less True!”

Quite true. Also, Christianity is about Christ, not systems or the Bible, although those come from him and are vital. Lose sight of Christ himself, though, and it all crumbles. That is what catechizing is for, to help us understand Christ and how he means for us to live.

 

[Hoosier_Daddy]

I am the DRE. We are a LifeTeen Parish. We run LT & EDGE. I can assure you it fits in the LT Curriculum and format. It’s a Franciscan program as you probably know. Very Eucharistically centered.
Many parishes call their groups LifeTeen, but are only making their own versions, (which is against the law and deceitful to the parishioners).
If you would like me to send you a sample lesson plan for a LifeNight you may see for yourself the kind of content it has.
Peace

I worked in youth ministry for many years. We ran lifeteen and the edge for several of them. My comment was that no food and catechism heavy does not sound like a “life” night. One would have to stray from the skeleton lifeteen provides.
Recently life teen has make the move to be more accessible and maleable to fit different youth programs.

It is true that I do not like life teen. I know that others do. I have seen both good and bad with both sides.

From a rock concert Mass to 2 hours of dodgeball. To teens crying because God has been revealed to them. When we ran life teen we made the last half hour adoration time. Every night. It helped.
Life teen has also moved away from a central “youth minister” with it’s “Core team” philosophy. I don’t necessarily think that is feasible for every parish. Lifeteen does provide a way to “wean” from it. More freedom to make different nights. (We did a pro life night that was awesome) and then pretty soon perhaps the training wheels can come off.

I think lifeteen runs about 10 years behind the youth. (most things adults do run about 10 years behind the youth)
Teens see through the fake. The attempt at “hip” music or language. They can spot authentic people a mile away. And most youth ministers are not letting themselves be “authentic” We are trying to be “teens” in adult bodies. And that is not what they need.

The youth are starving to be fed. They NEED it and they are being poisoned all day long every day. It is time to stop dressing up the food to look like the poison they have been eating.
It is time to feed the sheep.