Back in the Habit

It is back to school time. The long reprieve from backpacks stuffed with notices, and permission slips, and physical forms, and warnings about head lice is coming to a close.

And in our little Catholic family, so is the reprieve from the oppression of religious education.

We grew up calling it CCD. I never knew what the letters stood for. Someone must have changed the name to RES because my generation can’t say “CCD” without grimacing. And let’s face it, our kids are going to grimace on their own eventually. Let’s not rush to judgment.

And to ruin what few blissful unencumbered weeks we have left, the saccharine sweet, never speaks above a church whisper, utterly without humor, always the picture of piety and reverence and full of blessings for all she meets RES Director has mailed us our 2010-2011 sentencing information.

I get it. If you choose to educate your children in a school not affiliated with the church, AND you want them to enjoy a life of participation in their faith, then RES is a necessary, dare I say it? Evil.

I went. I went enough. Enough to embrace my faith and realize its value in my life. There were plenty of Sundays when my Dad dropped me off at CCD, went to Mass, kept going toward the door upon returning from Communion, and came to my classroom to tap the glass on the door and beckon me so we could head toward the stadium for a day of hot dogs and hot chocolate and pro football.

But still I learned what I needed to learn and eventually built my own solid foundation of faith from what I gained in CCD and what I learned from experiences in my home and in my life.

I practice my faith. I came to it on my own terms. I am hopeful that my children will do the same and I encourage them learn the value of their faith. I will not force it. Forcing rarely works. So we go to Mass as a family. We say Grace. I encourage them to pray. I talk about what it means to be Catholic. I hope they find peace in knowing their faith will sustain them when they need to be sustained.

I dipped my toe into the Catholic School pool. It was the most abysmal experience I have ever had with my child. We stayed until Christmas break and went screaming to public school. So my choice was purposeful and not at all haphazard or based on what value I place on religion.

But the RES Director can not help but to telegraph her not so high opinion of me and of folks who have made a similar choice for whatever reasons.

Her letter may as well start out like this:

“Dear Lazy, Irreverent, Catholics of Convenience,

What follows is an insulting array of obligations and suggestions designed to offend you and shame you into complying with practices that the more pious of the parish already embrace…”