Teresa in Fresno, California listening on the Immaculate Heart Radio app, you are
on with Chris Stefanick, what's your question? Good afternoon, thank you for
taking my call. My question: I am a Catechism teacher preparing children for
their First Communion, and I have a class right now of 13 children that are fourth
grade and above, so they haven't had their First Communion when they normally
should have. So my problem is not that I'm not evangelizing as well as I can,
but their parents are doing nothing. They don't go to Mass, they don't know how to
pray their prayers, they don't know how-- they don't even
know how to hold a rosary. Yeah. And I'm getting frustrated. I'm--one
student I gave them a Mass journal and I said this is for you to take to Mass, when you
go to Mass, and because I went to a dynamic Catholic event, and, you know, just
see if God's talking to you and what God's saying. "Oh, I don't go to Mass.
No, I'll never go to Mass." And I'm like, "Well why are you here then?" "I'll
never go to Mass." Yeah. First I want to thank you for your patience.
You know, because it takes patience. But listen, I've worked with Confirmation
students for years, I actually wrote a confirmation program called "Chosen," and,
you know, after years of working with Confirmation kids, you see tons of
these people who show up, drop their kids off, and could care less about the faith. I
brought up the example of Catholic schools, and there's some parents who
want to fight to make sure their administration cares more about God, but
there's some administrations that's very holy and would say, "Yeah, but Chris, 99% of
the parents dropping their kids off could care less," right? Here's a key thing we
gotta hold on to. Catechists, administrators, teachers, don't lose hope.
You know, when you see a group of people in front of you who don't have faith, who
could care less, please don't get frustrated, please get
excited. Go to the Acts of the Apostles. I mean, think of Acts chapter 2, and how
they're in front of this group of people who don't know Jesus. Their first
response wasn't frustration, it was excitement. Now we have a very unique
situation nowadays, see, because those people, obviously the Apostles didn't
expect them to know Jesus Christ and didn't expect them to have a
relationship with Jesus. We have people showing up for Catechism
classes, and sitting in Catholic schools, and sometimes even showing up for Mass
who could care less, it's very strange. But we should--and as strange as that is,
let's never get frustrated. God give us the grace to get excited. You know, Pope
Francis says to go to the fringes, right? Well shoot, after years of working in
youth ministry and in Confirmation classes I'm thinking, "I don't have to go
out and look outside the doors of my church to find the fringes." Shoot, I don't
have to go outside the Church very far to maybe get martyred. I'll have kids
sitting in front of me who can't stand me just because I'm calling them to follow
Jesus Christ, you know? But that's also an opportunity, like we might never have
again. If they're coming out of nostalgia now, again in 20, 30 years they might not
be. So we have a prime opportunity to evangelize. We will see a certain
percentage of these people who could care less stay Catholic for life if we
don't blow that opportunity. You know, but we have to stay patient, we have to keep
showing our joy, we have to form relationships with
these people and with their parents. You know, often relationships are the
most time-consuming, painful ways that conversions happen, because we prefer to
just hang out with people who think exactly like us. But try to befriend
these families. Try to befriend the parents of kids, school administrators
who are dropping their kids off at school, and engage the long painful road
to conversion. You know, I'd also say when it comes to--whether schools or or
Catechism classes--make sure there's evangelistic components like retreats
that you bring these people on. I know with third and fourth graders it's difficult, but in
high schools, you know, there's great speakers you can bring in, there's
retreats you can put on, there's Steubenville conferences, if you Google
that I think it's one of the most effective evangelistic outreach tools
out there today for for three-day retreats for young people. And often kids
show up--they had to go, they didn't want to be there. But hey, I love
those kinds of kids sitting out there? right? That's my target audience: "I have
to be here." "Yes! Awesome." And you know Chris, I--Theresa thanks so much for
that call, I think that's a really important point, actually, we gotta
hit that side of it too.