Exiit qui seminat

The week of the 4th of July, I had the opportunity to teach the 5th and 6th graders for our Summer Intensive Religious Education Program for a day. Teaching about the faith is one of my favorite things to do and I was really excited for the opportunity. Due to no fault of their own, I quickly realized how little of the "basics" of our faith these children truly retained. Thankfully, one of the great aspects of the program that we use, is a continually re-presenting of the doctrines of our faith and why we believe what we believe. The topics and the themes are the same for each grade level and gives another opportunity to reinforce that which was "lost". However, the saddest part of the eight days of the program was a phrase that was uttered in multiple ways: "We don't go to church," "My parents don't take me to Mass," or even worse, "My family doesn't really believe". It would be easy to blame parents. On the day of their children's baptism, parents and godparents accepted the responsibility of handing on the faith and instilling it in their children. However, the Church has equally failed our families. While meeting the needs of our parishioners and striving to be flexible to meet the demands placed upon family life, the Church has unfortunately catered to our "clientele" and erroneously believed that the Sunday sermon would be enough, or our Catholic schools would be enough, or that Religious Education would be enough. The solution (in this priest's humble opinion) requires all hands on deck. Homilies become opportunities for catechesis and teaching, all the while focusing on the message of our Lord's plan of salvation at the same time. In the midst of our truly secular society, the truth of the Gospel has to be unabashedly proclaimed couched with charity and love. And while it might seem obvious decision to make Mass and the Church relevant for younger people, it couldn't be further from the truth. Unlike their previous generations, today's children and young people don't blindly follow authority. Their loyalty and their assent are focused much more on relationship and authenticity. If someone is authentic and real, then they will listen and, perhaps, follow. It becomes so important to have a ministry of presence. Before we "preach", we have to be present to youth and young families and acknowledge and accompanying them in their complicated lives, all the while fighting the great urge to critique and judge. Once we gain their trust and belief that the Church loves them for them, only then can we teach and sculpt. We have to be more purposeful about our faith and living it then we have ever had to be in our lives. The first step, as I mentioned in last week's homily, is an invitation. So I invite you to "invite" someone to Church. If they say, "No", let it go and then wait for the next time that an invitation can be given. Preach with our lives and continue to pray for the conversions of the hearts, minds and souls of our people. Also know that the Catholic Church in the City of Vineland is working to do the same!

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Fr. Rob Sinatra