I realize that my comment does not directly relate to the situation at hand as my children are cradle Catholics, but it touched a nerve for me. My husband and I did the math recently and even if we have no more children, by the time our youngest receives Confirmation, our family will have done sacramental prep (NOT counting baptism!) alm…
I realize that my comment does not directly relate to the situation at hand as my children are cradle Catholics, but it touched a nerve for me. My husband and I did the math recently and even if we have no more children, by the time our youngest receives Confirmation, our family will have done sacramental prep (NOT counting baptism!) almost every year for over twenty years. That is a huge burden for a family. Being shoveled through a program because it's a program, not taking into account the needs of particular children and families, is crazy to me.
Oof. I commented about this specific attitude in another Pillar article some time ago, but this ain't it. My family is heavily involved in our parish at multiple levels. When we had the time and ability to help with sacramental prep, we did, but I currently have kids aged in utero to adolescent. This is not the time in our lives for that. I cannot guarantee that I have the time or ability for a school year long commitment any year. I do have strong opinions about it, but it's going to have to wait for me to be done with having babies.
I know some people who had to give up involvements in various parish services that they really wanted to do, but it just messed with their ability to keep a good, sane, family life. I have a lot of respect for them for making that decision and keeping first things first, rather than letting themselves get overridden by guilt, peer pressure, or FOMO.
I realize that my comment does not directly relate to the situation at hand as my children are cradle Catholics, but it touched a nerve for me. My husband and I did the math recently and even if we have no more children, by the time our youngest receives Confirmation, our family will have done sacramental prep (NOT counting baptism!) almost every year for over twenty years. That is a huge burden for a family. Being shoveled through a program because it's a program, not taking into account the needs of particular children and families, is crazy to me.
If you care about your faith, your parish needs you. Get involved in sacramental prep and make it more valuable.
Oof. I commented about this specific attitude in another Pillar article some time ago, but this ain't it. My family is heavily involved in our parish at multiple levels. When we had the time and ability to help with sacramental prep, we did, but I currently have kids aged in utero to adolescent. This is not the time in our lives for that. I cannot guarantee that I have the time or ability for a school year long commitment any year. I do have strong opinions about it, but it's going to have to wait for me to be done with having babies.
I know some people who had to give up involvements in various parish services that they really wanted to do, but it just messed with their ability to keep a good, sane, family life. I have a lot of respect for them for making that decision and keeping first things first, rather than letting themselves get overridden by guilt, peer pressure, or FOMO.