Posted by Margaret It is many years now since my Catholic schooling, and I do have many happy memories of those years. But your idea of young people rejecting a “pre-packaged” religion I agree with. When I think back, I know that it was just “assumed” we believed. It was part of our largely Irish Catholic heritage. Anybody with doubts just kept quiet and waited for the lesson to end. Shortly after I left school though, I remember a retreat for recent school-leavers held over a series of evenings. In one activity I clearly remember, the priest had a huge collection of photos from magazines. We each had to choose one that somehow symbolised God for ourselves. I chose a sunset photo that I thought was the ultimate in beauty, and I still remember the contrast I saw between my impersonal sunset and the smiling old face that one of my previous classmates chose. For one of the first times, I was in a situation where we were able to safely confront our “real” ideas about God. Recently as I have been rethinking whether I want to be in the Church at all, I have made some postings on the “Once Catholic” website. A wise “companion” pointed out that amongst all my questions, the central one really was, did I actually believe in God and have a relationship with God. And that really hits the nail on the head. I think you are right about the need of a “chance for conversation” in Catholic schooling. Otherwise, lessons are just sat through without making any real sense, and then left behind, misunderstood, at the end of high school.
on November 8, 2005, 6:11 pm
Re: Being a Disciple and an Educator Sept 2003
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