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Kicking off the Faith Journey in Paducah
Preface by Michael InmanTonight I attended the first Inquiry session at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church. After we introduced ourselves, Sister Jeanne Dion began with the old "we're all on a journey together" spiel. Then we lit our "journey candle", a large four wick-er. Sound familiar? Then we took a moment of silence and breathed deeply to remind ourselves that God was with us here in this space. For a minute there I thought I was in a yoga class by mistake. Sister shared that it is impossible to live without faith. We have faith in doctors, dentists and motorists on the road (we'll maybe not dentists but that's another story). Sister said that religious faith is different, that faith in God is something we can never explain as if it were some unobtainable mystery. Not so, I say. Faith is a mystery we can and do understand. Christ gave us the Church who gives us everything we need to fully understand and comprehend the great mysteries of faith! There was a quote by D.L. Moody about how one burning lump of coal will go out if removed from the fire. This was an analogy of a Christian outside the Church. Wasn't Moody outside the Church? Anyway, Sister said that faith is mediated through other people in our lives and reminded us to keep what happened between us just that... between us. I think I'm in trouble... Then came the "Journey of Life" handout. On a line we were supposed to note the times in our lives when we felt the happiest, most alive and best about ourselves. We placed x's above the line with a curved line to connect them from left to right. Then came the sad and difficult times that got x's below the lines and then o's indicated something with a dotted curved line to connect them from left to right... The lady's next to me looked like a football play! Then we got to discuss it. The gist of the exercise was that God is with us throughout our lives no matter how difficult or happy we are. Then, we were instructed to stand, pick up our sheets of paper, hold them out in front of us while Sister prayed to God for us. Maybe she should've just read the Footprints poem instead. By now I wanted to raise my hand and ask, "When does inquiry begin?" Next came the handouts for the coming weeks' Inquiry sessions. I glanced through them quickly and my first impression was not good. A picture of the theologically incorrect "Risen Christ" on a cross stood out and one handout about the Mass said that Catholics "re-enact" the Last Supper. Catholics do not re-enact the Last Supper! Mass is the Last Supper! When I think of a "re-enactment", I think of people who re-create a civil war battle scene or play war together. Catholics do nothing of the sort. The same sacrifice of Calvary is made present for all time and for all people at Mass. There is no acting going on and there is no room for any play on words here. The handouts must be above reproach. When I noticed the story Sister told in the first handout I made the connection. I had wondered if she had been following some sort of format or just making this stuff up. Too bad those present weren't given the opportunity to really inquire. I suspect it would've been much more fruitful and the meeting probably would've lasted longer too. After going over the Inquiry and Catechumenate schedule we were out of there in one hour. When I asked whether or not one of their two parish priests would be teaching the catechumenate, Sister sharply said, "No". Someone asked if they'd at least drop by sometime. When I expressed my disbelief that the priests did not teach even a few sessions Sister made the excuse again of how "unbelievably busy" they are. I started to say, "My priest has two parishes and he teaches every session...," but she cut me off. I got the impression that she didn't want to hear about it. Not to worry, though. She has plenty of "lay people" who are more than willing to step in and teach the classes on Catholic doctrine. The trouble is that most of them are not too caught up on it themselves. Like one proud catechist who actually teaches that non-catholics can receive the sacrament of penance... For more information:
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