Okay, I’m sure you’re all plenty sick of this topic so I’ll keep it short. FOB Jack informs me that I fell into his trap just as he planned.
In my make-up post Putting Out the Fire, I listed several resources that Roman Catholic Christians can use to advance their knowledge of the faith and scripture and by so doing, advance in the spiritual life and be better witnesses.
As Jack was quick to point out (and I’m paraphrasing), “So basically, after talking about what the Church does wrong, you go on to list a bunch of things that prove the Church is doing them right.”
Yeah, now.
The disconnect in our discussion stems from the very different experiences we had in coming to the faith, or in my case, returning.
Like many millions around the world, Jack came to the Church as an adult. He, and those like him, are the fruits of the New Evangelization. Cradle-Catholics like me (for want of a better term), were raised in the Church during the time of the “great experimentation” after Vatican II. Our catechesis was all over the board. Those who went to schools/parishes run by the more strict religious orders were, by and large, inoculated from the worst excesses of this experimentation.
In my case, I had 3 years of CCD classes before going to a parish school. After 6 years of Catholic school, I spent 4 years at a Catholic high school. In those 13 years, we were never once introduced to any formal study of the bible or of the catechism of the Church other than very specific instruction to prepare us to receive the sacraments (read Communion, Reconciliation, Confirmation).
Religion classes, although mandatory, were aimed mostly at studying other religions in some strange fit of ecumenism. In high school we were even subjected to lectures on transcendental meditation!
I believe I can say, without fear of contradiction, that my instruction in the faith was lousy! And I am not alone. One need only poll the ranks of any random mega-church to find disaffected Catholics who never understood the richness of their faith.
So, do we get a pass for our ignorance? No. Do we have the ultimate responsibility for the condition of our souls? Yes. But lemme tell ya buster, it’s a lot easier when the institutions that are supposed to be helping you actually do!
Thanks be to God, that He has corrected (and continues to correct) his Church, because the days are becoming more and more evil!
