After detailing the challenges facing today’s youth, from living in “an environment of immorality” to growing up in homes where the Catholic faith may not be practiced or even understood, Msgr. J. Gaston Hebert told religion teachers March 10, that they are “critical” in the lives of their students and may very well “be the instrument of their salvation.”
The diocesan administrator addressed the nearly 200 catechists during his homily at the morning Mass of the 30th Catechetical Study Day at Catholic High School in Little Rock, an event that offers continuing education for parish religious educators in the Diocese of Little Rock. It was sponsored by the Office of Religious Education and Christian Initiation.
After thanking them for accepting this God-given responsibility, he asked the catechists to stress the following four components in their religious education programs: knowledge of the Scriptures; love for the sacraments, particularly the Eucharist and reconciliation; pride in being Catholic; and an understanding of Christian values.
“I want them to be proud to be Catholics. I want them to say in a state that is only 6 percent Catholic, ’I am a Catholic’ and not stutter,” Msgr. Hebert said. “I want them to hold their heads up high with the knowledge that Jesus Christ gave us the Church and (it) is the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through sacrament and through Word.”
In light of today’s society, he told the teachers, “You may be their only contact with real, Christian moral values and they need to see it in you.”
“Everything you do and everything they see you do in that church needs to be a reflection of Jesus Christ our Lord.”
The catechists in attendance teach all ages in a variety of educational programs from sacramental preparation to the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. The theme for this year’s event was “Together in Faith — Juntos en la Fe.”
A second keynote speaker was added this year to accommodate Hispanic education programs. Previously only breakout sessions were available in Spanish. The two speakers were Sister Gretchen Hailer, a member of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary in Montebello, Calif., and Sister Maria Luz Ortiz, a member of the Missionary Helpers of the Sacred Heart in Orlando, Fla. They spoke simultaneously after the morning Mass.
Sister Gretchen spoke in English in the school’s gymnasium on the topic: “Helping Kids Mind the Media.” She is a national adult faith formation consultant, author, certified catechist and speaker. Most recently, she served as a theological consultant to the 2006 film, “The Nativity Story.”
During her presentation, Sister Gretchen challenged catechists to learn what products and services their students use on a daily basis. Rather than turn away and ignore the media’s influence on the youth culture, she said being media savvy allows teachers to connect with their students about their favorite books, movies, music, video games, magazines and Web sites. Once that trust is built, teachers can better guide their students into making choices that are consistent with the Gospel values.
Sister Gretchen taught them a strategy to become “media mindful” through theological reflection. The strategy comes from her 2007 book, “Media Mindfulness: Educating Teens About Faith and Media,” which she co-authored with Sister Rose Pacatte, FSP. The strategy requires that four questions be asked of any media form. They are: What is going on? (What am I seeing? Hearing? Playing? Reading?) What is really going on? (Who pains? Who gains?) What difference does it make? (What Christian values does this media experience support or ignore?) What difference can I make? (What response seems appropriate in light of my Christian beliefs?)
Sister Maria spoke in Spanish in a nearby classroom on the theme: “Culture, Family and Catechesis.” She has been a catechist for 35 years and has served multicultural communities in Venezuela, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Columbia and the United States. Currently she is the national Hispanic catechesis consultant for Harcourt Religion Publishers.
Sister Maria presented an introduction to catechesis in relation to Hispanic culture and family. She spoke to 50 Hispanic catechists from across the diocese. Following her talk, she spoke with Arkansas Catholic.
Sister Maria said the goal is for students to understand that, “once I learn who Christ is and his lifestyle according to the Gospels, that means I have to change my lifestyle so that it would be in conformity with Christ’s lifestyle. Which many times, that goes against the values of society.”
Lilia Hernandez, Hispanic catechetical leader at St. Edward Church in Little Rock, said she was one of 22 Hispanic catechists from her parish at Catechetical Study Day.
She said the influences in society are the biggest challenges facing her students. “They are a Hispanic community, but we live in the American community.”
Fellow St. Edward catechist Rocio Gomez, who teaches confirmation and first Communion classes, said Msgr. Hebert’s homily reflected her experience and inspired her to try harder to reach her students.
Bill Harrington teaches confirmation and RCIA at St. John Church in Malvern. He said he is now working with teenagers for the first time and thought Sister Gretchen’s talk was very informative and insightful. He also “loved” Msgr. Hebert’s homily.
“He wrote that homily just for me,” he said. “The things I’ve been struggling with, every time I do a teaching or we have a session together, I keep saying, ’Is there anything that I could do to make me more dynamic that they could relate better to?’ or ’When I send them out of here, am I equipping them to be lifelong Catholics?’
“Realizing the struggles that they’re going to go through, instead of just teaching subject matter, there is a responsibility that is pretty fearsome when you think about it,” he said. “What I tell these kids today, in some cases, is going to be their impression of the Catholic Church for the rest of their lives, so I got to do it right.”
