September 27, 2020 - "Catechetical Sunday"

On Sunday, September 20 we celebrated Catechetical Sunday.  On the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), the Most Reverend Robert E. Barron, Chairperson, Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis invited everyone who is involved in the work of catechesis to consider earnestly the importance of catechist formation.  He mentioned that they had produced a variety of articles, videos, and podcasts exploring our baptismal call to be active participants in the evangelizing mission of the Church, as well as the unique role of catechesis in the whole process of evangelization.
 
One of the essays on the website, “Partnering with Parents to Nurture Family Faith—Insights from Research” is written by John Roberto, who founded the Northeast Center for Youth Ministry, known today as the Center for Ministry Development.  More recently he has put his attention toward implementing a vision for lifelong faith formation and developing ministry approaches for the twenty-first century.
 
In writing his essay he draws from several major research studies in order to identify findings that can provide the basis for strategies to engage, encourage, and equip parents for family faith transmission and formation.  John Roberto believes that there is no more urgent task for the Church today than to strengthen parental and familial faith and practice.  To this he makes four major points:
 
1. Parents are the most significant influence on the religious and spiritual outcomes of young people.
2. The primary way by which Catholic identity becomes rooted in children’s lives are the day-to-day religious practices of the family and the ways parents model their faith and share it in conversation, collaboration, and exposure to outside religious opportunities.
3. The family is the primary community where Catholic faith practices are nurtured and practiced.
4. The quality of a parent’s relationships with their children or teens and the parenting style they practice make a significant difference in faith transformation.
 
In discussing the family as the primary community where Catholic faith practices are nurtured and practiced, John Roberto lists several that the research shows really have an impact.  These including the following:
 
· Reading the Bible as a family and encouraging young people to read the Bible regularly.
· Praying together as a family and encouraging young people to pray personally.
· Serving people in need as a family and supporting service projects by young people.
· Eating together as a family.
· Having family conversations about faith.
· Talking about faith, religious issues, and questions and doubts.
· Ritualizing important family moments and milestone experiences.
· Celebrating holidays and church year seasons at home.
· Providing moral instruction.

Finally, I thought that the studies John Roberto cited offered some useful advice for parents really keen to transmit the faith to the children.  These tips included:
 
· Talking with your children about religious matters during the week.  This is one of the most powerful mechanisms for the success or failure of religious transmission to children.
· Practicing an “authoritative” parenting style (as opposed to an authoritarian, permissive, or uninvolved style).
· Listening more and preaching less. 
 
I recommend reading the entire article.  Here is the link for those who wish to do so:  https://www.usccb.org/news/2020/partnering-parents-nurture-family-faith-insights-research
 
Until next week, 
Fr. John