Evangelization Outreach / Ute Eble

Youth Rally, Mass for Life offer a chance to unite for life

I am in the midst of knitting a huge blanket.

In a moment of motherly sentimentality at the thought of our oldest son leaving home for college in a few months, I asked him if he wanted a hand-knit blanket.

He delightedly said “yes,” but added that it had to be really big, since he is quite tall. So, really big it will be. But whether it is finished by the time he actually leaves is another question.

Besides the 4,000 yards of yarn, lots of prayers for him are knitted into this blanket as well. As he is getting ready to leave the nest, I’m asking myself many questions: Did we prepare him well for college? Is he going to find a good career that will not only help him make a living but also bring him joy? And most importantly: will he stay faithful to Jesus and continue being a member of the Catholic Church?

The statistics are abysmal, to be honest. In a recent webinar, we were given some statistics by Catholic radio hosts and authors Dr. Greg and Lisa Popcak. If their recent survey results are valid, only 15% of children from Catholic families are going to stay practicing Catholics as adults.

Maybe because I am both a parent and a catechist, I’m not quick to blame anyone. Let’s just agree that it is hard in our current age to pass on the faith.

Children are taught the faith first and foremost by their parents, but the community of the faithful also has a role and a responsibility in shaping the young Church. We hear this in every rite of baptism, and it is why our parish communities need to accompany parents, why we need faith formation programs, and why the Catholic identity of our schools is so important.

One thing has already become clear: no matter how much time is spent on it, or how well it is done, teaching the doctrines of our faith is not enough for a young person to stay Catholic—not even if it is accompanied by doing all the right things, like going to Mass regularly, participating in service projects and praying.

Too often, young adults tell us, “I listened to everything I was told in church and in school, and I did all the things, but it never ‘clicked’ for me.”

What our young people need is to be evangelized, to be told the good news of Christ in a way that touches their heart, to be invited into a personal relationship and friendship with Christ, and to be accompanied on their faith journey.

Catechesis is effective when it is evangelizing. This is why our archdiocesan Office of Catechesis is working diligently in cooperation with many other archdiocesan offices and departments in supporting pastors and their leaders so that all young people—but also their parents and catechists—experience evangelizing catechesis.

Lifelong discipleship requires that we at some point make a conscious decision to follow Christ because we have personally encountered him. And so, gradually, my conversations with my children have changed. I’m quizzing them less, and I’m explaining theology less.

Instead, I share more how I see God working in my life and I ask them, “How is your relationship with God these days?”

I’m hoping my son will take this relationship with him to college. And his blanket—if it gets finished.
 

(Ute Eble is the director of catechesis within the archdiocesan Secretariat for Evangelizing Catechesis. She can be reached at ueble@archindy.org.) †