More than 350 religious educators gathered for the 2022 Diocesan Catechetical Conference at the Reston Sheraton Hotel Nov. 19. The conference began with Mass celebrated by Bishop Michael F. Burbidge, followed by several educational sessions on topics such as Mary, Eucharistic miracles and classroom management.
In his homily, Bishop Burbidge preached on the theme of Year Two of the Diocesan Golden Jubilee — rejoice. “Rejoice is a word that our young people and those you serve should be able to use when they describe their experience in learning our faith and preparing for the sacraments,” he said. “This process for them should not be a burden, a drudgery or a dull experience. It should be joyful, engaging and life-giving. And it will be if we make sure we are not merely asking those who serve to go through countless hoops and demanding so much more than even what the church asks, which is basic knowledge and the desire and freedom to receive the sacraments.
“Our education, catechesis and faith formation initiatives will be a joyful experience for those we serve if we are truly about forming disciples of Christ, helping them not only to know, love and serve him, reassuring them — and they certainly need this with the anxiety and stress they are experiencing — of the Lord’s great love for them and his promise to be with them always and using new and creative means to teach them truth, beauty and goodness.”
After Mass, catechists attended different workshops, including one about gender identity given by Mary Hasson, co-founder of an initiative called the Person and Identity Project that equips parents and faith-based institutions with resources to counter gender ideology.
In her talk, she noted that the Catholic understanding of marriage, family and the human person are totally foreign to today’s secular culture. The church teaches that humans are created, body and soul, as either male or female in the image of God. Though some people are born with disorders of sexual development, it does not negate the truth that gender is binary, she said. Marriage is a covenant between one man and one woman. Sex is a gift of self that is meant to be both loving and potentially life-giving. Family comes from that embrace of husband and wife.
On the other hand, she said, the current culture teaches that there is no creator — that identity is self-determined and fluid. A person is their mind and their will; their body is a tool of that will. Sex is for pleasure, marriage is a contract that fulfills adult desires and family is chosen. With that ideology permeating society, children and teens can begin to believe their bodies don’t reflect their identity at all.
“The body is a gift and it has meaning — it tells us something about who we are,” said Hasson. “You may be thinking, ‘I know this.’ I guarantee you, the younger people in particular that you are teaching do not know this in the same way that you do because the culture is sending them different messages. So we have to make Christian anthropology explicit and bring that truth to others.”
In another session, Peter Ryan talked about the pitfalls of technology use. Ryan, a father of four, is in the process of founding LookUp4Life, a nonprofit focused on spreading awareness regarding the negative impact of excessive screen use, including social media and video games.
He encouraged the catechists to be cognizant of the harms of technology. “There’s homework for parents and catechists and anybody who wants to look at this — you have to stay aware of what’s going on, you have to know your kids (and) you have to know what they’re getting involved in,” he said. “Intentionally engage in tech problem prevention activities; know the warning signs.
“A problem with tech can’t be (assessed) simply by measuring screen time,” he said. “What matters most is the child’s relationship to it, and that requires looking at the full context of their lives. Think about grades, friendships, activities — you’ve got to look at the whole thing and look for changes.”
Having a healthy relationship with technology and the internet is not only important on a physical and emotional level, but on a spiritual one, said Ryan. “You need quiet time to be with the Lord, to know his love and reflect on it,” he said. “The bishop was talking about the need to make faith fun and exciting and how it should be joyful. These kids are having a hard time finding joy because they’re so consumed with their screens. It is pulling our kids away from the faith.”
Armed with new knowledge and tools to teach the faith and help their students, catechists headed off to their parishes better prepared to share the Good News.
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