Throughout the United States this third Sunday of September is observed as Catechetical Sunday. Catechetical Sunday began in 1935 as a way to thank the volunteers who taught in the Parish School of Religion or CCD classes. It is not too surprising that I never heard of it growing up. When I finished eighth grade in 1967, tuition at our parish school was $100 a year. It had been much less when I started first grade, and there was always a discount for multiple children. That tuition was not beyond the reach of most families in our middle-class neighborhood in Memphis. There were at least fifty of us in our classroom all eight years. Yes, there was a Sunday School for Catholic children who did not attend Catholic school; but it was a tiny program and not talked about publicly. The expectation was that you sent your children to Catholic School.

The landscape changed rapidly after 1967. There was a massive cultural change and a movement away from organized religion. The supply of teaching Sisters and Brothers began to dry up and tuition rates skyrocketed. Catholic schools found themselves competing with well-funded public school districts that offered more up to date technology, superior facilities, and more learning options. That is when Catechetical Sunday came into its own. We started blessing Catholic educators at Sunday Mass not only to thank them for their service but to advertise the parish school and religious education program. School tours became popular on Catechetical Sunday. Sometimes students gave parishioners hand-maid thank you cards, acknowledging the support the parish gave. Today it is really thanks to the support of the Annual Catholic Appeal and Big Shoulders that many of our Catholic school can survive in less affluent neighborhoods.  

The belief was that if children were taught about their faith, they would believe what they were taught, and live out that belief as an active member of the parish. There was a corollary to that principle that if young adults wandered from the faith after leaving home, they would return once they had children of their own to raise. Unfortunately those assumptions are no longer valid. In 2019, when Renew My Church started, 85% of those who been Confirmed in seventh or eighth grade had stopped actively participating in church by the age of 23. Baptisms had declined 40% over the previous ten years. Catholic weddings had declined 59% over the previous twenty years. Mass attendance had declined 35% in the previous twenty years. Despite “crossover events” like Catechetical Sunday, there is a clear disconnect between Catholic education and Catholic parish life. Students come away from eight years or twelve years of Catholic education with a desire to serve others and a desire to live out certain values, but often without a connection to God or the faith community. When we graduate from school, the unstated assumption is that we also graduate from religion.

Since Assumption has neither a Catholic school nor a religious education program for children, reimagining religious education has not touched us directly. However, “Creating faith formation that meets people where they are rather than being simple age-based” is one of the five pillars of Renew My Church (The others are soft entry points, hospitality, vibrant liturgies, and charity and outreach). When Fr. James Mallon spoke to us at the beginning of Renew My Church, he noted that “Christ taught adults and blessed children. We bless adults and teach children.” We have often neglected the continuing formation of adults, who are the ones trying to navigate the complexities of living one’s faith in a highly secularized world. In his parish in Canada, Fr. Mallon did away with First Communion and Confirmation classes. Children were able to receive these sacraments when their family had demonstrated a commitment to prayer and church.  And notice that the new phrase is “faith formation” and not “religious education.”  Faith formation of children means that we have to create opportunities outside of a classroom setting where children are gradually introduced to the real significance of prayer and the faith community and their relationship with Christ.

  This weekend at Assumption, we will be offering some adult faith formation at the 9:00 and 10:30 Masses in the form of a narration explaining the different parts of the Mass—something we have not done in quite a few years. Hopefully, this will not just be information, but a chance to feel more connected to what is taking place. Our liturgy is a two thousand year old ritual that grew out of a Jewish ritual meal, a way of sharing a meal that could not be more different from our fast-food culture. Mass is also an amazing miracle that we can easily take for granted. Let us pray this weekend for Catholic educators of all sorts, as we look back on the foundation they provided in our lives.

                 Fr. Joe