Helping parents lead their families in faith

By Laurie Power

How did you come to know and love Jesus Christ? For most of us, it was through our immediate families, through the faith of our parents lived out in concrete, everyday ways.

Perhaps it was an intrepid grandmother who was never without a rosary in her hand. Maybe it was an aunt or uncle who shared how their relationship with God carried them through great trials. Ultimately, all believers came to know Jesus through His family, the Church. It was her ordained ministers, religious sisters and brothers, and lay disciples – including our parents and grandparents – who not only taught us the truths of the faith, but gave witness to them by their lives.

“It is impossible to believe on our own.” (“Lumen Fidei,” 39) One of the privileged places within the communion of the Church where faith is transmitted and nourished is the family. The necessity of accompanying families in this sacred duty was the focus of this year’s annual Convocation of the Institute on the Catechism. Held from June 29 to July 2 at Mundelein Seminary in Illinois, this USCCB-sponsored event brought together bishops, diocesan catechetical leaders and publishers of catechetical materials from across the nation to discuss the theme of evangelizing catechesis in the family.

While the phrase “evangelizing catechesis” is just a few years old, the Church has always understood that “the definitive aim of catechesis is to put people not only in touch, but in communion, in intimacy, with Jesus Christ.” (“Catechesi Tradendae,” 5). The Institute on the Catechism began using this phrase to underline the importance of inviting all those we catechize into a deep, personal encounter with Jesus Christ. The effectiveness of catechesis can no longer simply be measured by how well we present the truths of the faith or teach the required Catholic content. We must now also ask whether those we catechize have encountered Christ, responded to His call, entered more deeply into the life of the Church and been equipped to live and share the Gospel.

Historically, the focus of our catechetical efforts has primarily been children. CCD and Catholic schools offered definitions of doctrine and dogma to complement and elaborate on the experience of faith unfolding in their daily lives at home. Given that the current religious climate in America is no longer one that naturally inclines adults toward faith, and that many children no longer experience a lived faith at home, our focus must now turn to whole families, with particular attention to parents. Many parents themselves were never given the opportunity to develop a mature adult faith, making the Church’s role in accompanying and forming them more important than ever.

In my new role as the diocesan coordinator of Family Evangelizing Catechesis, I was privileged to attend the convocation both to learn from other leaders in the field and to offer feedback to our bishops and catechetical publishers about the guidance, support and resources needed to carry out this mission. That work begins not simply with offering more religious education for children, but with creating opportunities for parents themselves to encounter Christ and grow in faith.

This fall in our Diocese, we will begin piloting a new formative experience for parents called Alpha. Alpha is an 11-session course that invites open and honest conversations about faith without the pressure of having all of the answers. Rather than beginning with what participants already know about Catholic teaching, Alpha creates a welcoming space in which people can explore fundamental questions about God, Jesus, faith and the meaning of life.

For parents, that kind of experience can be especially important. Before we can ask mothers and fathers to be the first teachers of the faith, we must give them opportunities to deepen their own relationship with Jesus Christ, ask questions and discover a community in which faith can grow. Our hope is that these experiences will help parents not simply teach the faith to their children, but live it with them, allowing the home once again to become one of the primary places where children encounter Christ.

I ask for your prayers for the parish teams leading this pilot initiative and, especially, for the parents and families who will participate. To learn more about Alpha and how to bring it to your parish, visit alphausa.org/catholic or email Laurie.Power@camdendiocese.org. 

Laurie Power is coordinator for Family Evangelizing Catechesis for the Diocese of Camden.