This weekend, St. Peter’s Parish begins Religious Education classes for all grades. We are grateful to our new Religious Education Coordinator, Mrs. Louise Forget, and our dedicated catechists for their willingness to teach our young people. Good catechesis requires faith, preparation, creativity and the support of families in order for it to be effective.
During our parent meetings last week, I stressed to families that at Baptism children began their faith-journey. In the Baptismal rite, parents promise to raise their children in the Catholic Faith and assume responsibility for their child’s faith formation. I explained that because of this, parish religious education staff and catechists act in a supporting role to what parents are doing at home. When parents take the responsibility of Baptism seriously, they make sure to teach children prayers, take them to Mass regularly, explain to them the signs and symbols of the Catholic Faith, encourage them to receive the Sacraments often and give them an example of authentic love. Children, indeed, learn what they live. Parents and parish religious education staff and catechists act constantly in a partnership so that new generations of Catholics are formed.
Sadly, throughout our Diocese, parishes report that the numbers of children registering for Religious Education are currently low. When we think about this fact, we cannot help but consider what will happen if this current trend continues. How will new generations of believers be formed in faith?
I ask all parishioners of St. Peter’s to pray regularly for our young people enrolled in Religious Education, for their families, for our Religious Education staff and catechists and for our parish that our efforts at faith formation are fruitful and successful. Let us also encourage our fellow parishioners, family members, friends and neighbors to send young people to Religious Education
classes and to enter into sacramental preparation. We are ready to assist families through RCIA, Adult Confirmation and sacramental preparation and look forward to a productive year ahead.
In the Parable of The Mustard Seed (Matthew 13:31-32), Jesus explains that faith-development is like the growth of a mustard plant. It begins life as “the smallest of all the seeds” but later grows into “a large bush” that becomes a shelter for the birds of the air. Religious Education can help the seed of faith, planted at Baptism, grow to maturity in our young people.
Let’s all prayerfully support the process of religious education here in our parish.
In Christ, Fr. Michael