Meet Jesus, Don't Just Talk About Him

My latest Missive for the Catholic Telegraph

At the initial meeting I have with an engaged couple to begin their preparation for married life, I always start with how they met and why they are now sitting across from me thinking about getting married.  It is enjoyable to me to hear their stories and to see in them the way that God truly has brought them to this point, sometimes after long and intertwining paths to reach this point.

Part of the conversation also turns to why they want to get married in the Catholic Church, which also involves their Mass attendance in the recent past.  During a recent meeting, the couple admitted that they did not attend Mass very often at all and our discussion centered around how and why this happens, for it happens all too often among young adults these days.

In reflecting with them, we centered on two ‘causes’ of this backsliding that so many of my generation fall into.  On the part of the young person, in many ways, it just sort of happens.  Entering college, they miss Mass a few times that initial year, then a few more the next year and by the final year of college, they go to Mass when home with mom and dad and well, then, the ‘habit’ is broken.  By the time they settle into a working career, so many young adults no longer have the pattern of Sunday Mass into their weekend routine and just stop altogether.

But is this solely the fault of this generation?  In reflecting on the work I see being done with young people today and the focus that many youth ministers are bringing to their work, as aspect that was sadly missing in previous generations has finally been rediscovered.  In my own faith formation, it seems that we talked about Jesus a great deal, but the key component that was missing is that we were never actually introduced to him.  There was never an encounter with the Living God so that our lives were changed by Him.

However, all is not lost!  The good news is that there is a strong contingent of young adults who have had this encounter with the Living Christ and wish to fervently share this encounter with our young people!  Even more exciting, so many of our young people (teens and high school students in particular) have also had this encounter and are leading a revolution in their families, schools and among their friends.  They have found the pearl of great price and are willing to sacrifice everything they have and are to not only keep that pearl, but to also share it with their peers.  The vibrancy and energy that they are bringing to the Gospel is powerful!

As we celebrate Catholic Schools Week, this might be a chance for a renewed focus on not only how we are forming our young people in the academic life, but also how we are forming our young people in Christ!  Our Catholic schools have small signs in each classroom that is a reminder that Jesus is truly the reason for our schools, the unseen teacher of all that we do.

But our challenge is to make Him more than just unseen, but to help all of our young people to know and realize the unique and dynamic love that He has for each one of them; all the while helping our young people to return that dynamic love back to Him as well.

Also, this is a challenge that is not just for our Catholic schools, it is for every Catholic to embrace.  The more that schools, parishes, youth ministry programs, families, and diocesan offices are able to work together with the focus of truly presenting Christ in all that we say and do, the more we can help fight back on the ways the culture has infiltrated our efforts to spread the Gospel message.

As we do so, surely Christ will bless these efforts, for He truly does desire for us to find that unique happiness and joy that comes from knowing, serving, and most of all loving Him in both this life and in the life to come.

The Catholicism Series

So far, I have viewed the first three episodes of Fr. Robert Barron's Catholicism Project, which joyously awaited my return from Detroit.  Since Monday was a brain-dead day for recovery after a week and a half of long days, I watched the first two episodes and caught the third last night, since nothing else was on.

I cannot express how much I enjoy these episodes.  They are well executed, planned, beautifully shot, etc. etc.  Fr. Barron is a master story-teller and covers some very intricate points in great detail, but without too much that he would scare away either the neophyte or non-Catholic.  (For example, his discussion on the Problem of Evil in ep. 3 is superb!)  He draws you into the story of Catholicism, our story, fully presenting it as ever ancient, ever new.  His underlying principal comes across that Beauty (as a Transcendental) teaches and forms and he draws liberally from the artistic patrimony of the Church.

This, I think, becomes key to why I am enjoying this series so much.  He does not re-enact the story, but he 'retells' the story in picture and voice.  He visits the places where some of our greatest mysteries originally ocurred: Nazareth, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Mt. Sinai, Hagia Sophia, St. Peter's Basilica; but he resists that filmmakers urge to dress up in cheesy costume and have Mary and Joseph with the Christ Child.  Rather, in visiting Bethlehem, he presents the ancient roots of our faith, but in a modern way to convey the connection between the historical events in salvation history and the modern effects of those events.  Ever ancient, ever new; the faith spawned by the Jewish Carpenter inspires and informs the Chicago food pantry.

In a way, this series seems like the Catechism in picture.  He mentions Aquinas' Five Proofs for the Existence of God, but only delves into one.  He sketches the notion of the problem of evil as a deprivation of the Good, but points you in the direction for further study.  He draws imagery out of the Old Testament to illustrate the mission of the Messiah, but resists the temptation to get bogged down in the minutiae of the Torah.  In all of these, he sets the stage that there is much more to be discovered and unearthed, whetting the appetite for the intellectually curious to search more deeply.

Finally, a note has to be made about his use of artwork.  (I counted at least two different Caravaggio's.)  Fr. Barron uses art and architecture, the beauty of nature and the power of man's creativity to enhance his message.  In citing art from across the Christian spectrum, he often gives the interpretive key in how to read that particular piece, and hence then to also read other pieces of the same genre.  And, he uses the great masterpieces from across time to illustrate and reinforce his dialogue.  Therefore, while there is no actor portrayal of Mary and Joseph with the Christ Child, there are severak artistic representations of the Nativity event.  In my viewing, this greatly enhances the overall feel and texture of the presentation.

This series is a great evangelization and re-catechesis tool, either as a stand alone piece or with the accompaning study guide and leader guide.  I cannot wait to view the next seven episodes.

God Bless and thanks to Fr. Robert Barron and Word on Fire Ministries for such a fantastic contribution to the New Evangelization!