Catechetical leader reflects on half-century of religious education

Sister Clare Sabini, FMIJ, has always felt that her calling was in religious education.

That feeling dates back to when she was a young child going to catechism classes. Her sister, who was about 10 years older, was a catechist and was helping out with classes Sister Clare was attending.

“I remember her teaching me. That was time for us to feel close to each other, and I consider them great memories,” she said. “Even before I could understand what it all meant, I could understand how fundamental it was in the life of the Church. The love of catechesis has stayed with me.”

As Sister Clare prepares to retire from her latest role as catechetical leader at Saint Thomas More Parish, Cherry Hill, she reflected on her life of service in the area of religious education. In her roughly 50-year span as a catechist, she spent some 30 years as a catechetical leader, serving in four different parishes and three different diocesan communities – Camden, Trenton and Arlington.

“What I remember most is the joy of being with the children, and the funny moments that happened that made me laugh hysterically,” she said. “Some of the things they said, some of the things they did, made me love the kids even more.”

Helping to prepare young people for their First Holy Communion and Confirmation were also highlights of her time guiding youth.

Over the course of her life, she said, many aspects about religious education have progressed.

“I think the tools that we use are just wonderful. When I started going to religious education as a child, our books were in black and white, and everything was question and answer,” she said. “Now, I look at these beautiful books the children get, with beautiful pictures, and they can transport you to another level of consciousness if you just give it some attention.”

One of her fondest memories was when she took a group of children to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Camden. All of a sudden, she noticed that some of the children had left the larger group and were exploring the church on their own.

“I wondered what they were doing there, and to my shock, they were looking at the windows,” she said. Sister Clare saw the children pointing at the stained-glass images, and heard them identifying a scene depicting the Annunciation, and talking about what each of the windows represented.

“We teach them to see art, and see the beauty of art and the beauty of religious art,” she said. “Everything has a meaning. [We celebrate] any teachable moment that can put them in touch with themselves and with the divine that is within them.”

Sister Clare acknowledged that there have also been new challenges in the work of catechesis.

“We have many challenges out there that we wouldn’t even dream of years ago,” she said. “With those challenges out there, those philosophies out there, we need for our children to be even more prepared to stand strong and then to be able to defend and protect themselves and our faith.”

She added, “A long time ago, everything spoke of God. The neighbors, friends, young people, old people. But today, you are made a spectacle if you do. The formation of the children needs to be well-rooted in faith and in a way that they can fall in love with Jesus and are able to maintain that, to support that relationship with Jesus no matter what happens.”

She also reflected on a challenge facing those involved in religious education – parents who are indifferent to faith formation or religious education.

“They can take away the joy of what you do if you let them,” she said. She encourages directors of religious education and other catechists to “focus on the children, and to get to the parents through the children – and find every possible way to reach out to the parents.”

While catechists cannot “force the will on people,” she said, they can pray that the Holy Spirit will find a way to bring them back to the Church and back to the faith.

Sister Clare said that she has heard some express concerns about the challenges facing the Church – with fewer adults, and fewer children, even attending Mass.

“To that, I simply say, ‘Don’t worry, God is in charge,’” she said. “We just keep doing our job. Somehow, God will come through and His plan will be fulfilled.”