We must seek the Sacred - Part II

Yesterday I began an exploration of the Catechises we as Catholics encounter in our churches, and decided to write a series of posts about it called: We must seek the Sacred. The spark that light this fire inside of me is the disappointment I hear expressed in many parents when they talk about the Catechetical encounters their children receive.

Yesterday I argued that we as Catholics long for more in our Cathechetical education. That we desire to grow in our faith not only through knowledge, but also experience. I further argued that this is nowhere MORE evident than in the children of the Catholic Faith.

Watch closely at how children are taught the faith. I preface this by saying that I was raised in some very good pedagogical methods when it came to my schooling. I was not however formed very strongly in my faith, mostly because I sort of wandered alone. Out in the wilderness of the world of faith, to find my own way home. The direction I took was my own, and the education of it was self sought. This very much aligned with my schooling as a child. Very experience based... encountering the constructs around me to both awaken my spirit but also my mind.

As a child, I spend my early school days in Montessori schools. There is a heavy emphasis placed upon encounters with the larger world. The things you learn are often taken out of their pedagogical box and placed smack-dab in the context of the "real" world. If that it is too "abstract" for the student, based on their age or experience with the knowledge, the concept is in the very least presented in a tangible and multi-sensory way.

For example, when learning math, tangible didn't mean a flash card it meant the "Golden Bead" system. It was about the analytical and the experiential. It was encountering those intangible things that were floating around in my head from the explanation of my teacher. It means one thing to hear her say, "Multiplication is like addition only bigger!" Sure, when you learn to add 2+2 you can easily memorize that it equals 4. You can even take 2 apples and then 2 more apples and then count them, up to 4. The '+' and the '=' become symbols for the process. That is easy, but when we go to a large abstract concept like multiplication... how do we count 10 or 15 apples let alone 50 or 100? Having the experience of such lofty and intangible ideas helps. Hence... the concept of the "Golden Bead." So one  can see how when concepts are difficult or "mysterious," allowing a child to experience those things on their own can be very, very helpful to their learning process. In fact one could argue that it could be invaluable. (NB: This is not a plug or endorsement for the Montessori Method. I know that Montessori schools are controversial, especially within the Catholic community due to their anti-Catholic franchises, and their use and abuse of Catholic facilities. That is another topic for another time. Please do not indict my post based on this issue.)

So why then do we not allow the same for our Children in terms of their religious education? Why do we water everything down? Why do we not let them experience the Sacred? I remember in Kindergarten and 1st grade playing with the "Golden Beads" featured above. Only, no longer was I simply counting them or adding, I was also experiencing them in Cube form. 10 + 10 became 10 x 10. Sure I didn't "get it"; multiplication for a 1st grader? Might be able to memorize it, but not understand it... or did I? Did my "experience" with that "higher concept" help me later on? You bet it did. To this day when I talk about sq/ft or cubic feet I think of little wire-twisted cubes of glass beads. So how is this not true with the Church? Doctors recommend playing music while you are pregnant with your child because it helps them learn and develop mentally. How can this not be true about the Faith? Now this doesn't mean take your kids to a lecture by a Cardinal or read them a Papal Encyclical, but it does mean that they need to EXPERIENCE the faith in a tangible and mysterious way, even if we think it is beyond their comprehension.

So if this is true, why would we subject them to a watered down, non-mysterious form of the Sacred? Why do we attempt to replace the Sacred with the Common place? Do we even know what I mean when I use the word Sacred? Do we know what the Sacred looks like? How about a child? If we told a child the definition of SACRED and then showed them two pictures:

Sure we could argue, and our adult minds might pose this point: "Well they are both Sacred, they just go about it in different ways." But which would the CHILD choose? What helps them understand the mystery and beauty of Christ? Which one lifts their eyes up to Heaven? Which draws them nearer to the ULTIMATE TRUTH - Jesus Christ?

Why do we spend hundreds of dollars and tens of hours organizing liturgical dance or a giant puppet show when we could save so much time, energy, and hassle simply by having an older form of the Mass? Why do we find circuitous ways to explain concepts to children that WE find difficult, but that they would accept and grasp with ease and simplicity? Is it because we truly don't understand how children think? Or is it something else? Is it something deeper and more difficult to discern? Is it maybe the fact that the teachers don't know the subject, even sometimes through no fault of their own? Is it maybe because the Sacred escapes those entrusted with the Catechises role?

To be continued.....