One of the frustrations I experience as a catechist is trying to get the young people to recognize the gravity of the material we are covering. One week, we were learning about the cross of Jesus. What could be more profound? A couple of students had the giggles that night and couldn’t seem to control themselves. I try to handle discipline problems with an even hand and a calm demeanor, but I admit that inside I was screaming, “We are talking about the suffering and death of Jesus! We are talking about our eternal salvation! How can you giggle at a time like this?” It is a challenge to bring children face-to-face with profound issues in the course of an hour or so. I don’t want to come on too heavy, lest they think I’m a fanatic of some sort. But on the other hand, I don’t want to allow anything about the gospel to be taken lightly. After all, it is through the gospel that we are saved. The challenge is to convince our students that they NEED to be saved.
P.S. I recently attended a workshop titled “The 8 Steps for Successful Large-Scale Change” and the first step was identified as “Creating a Sense of Urgency.” It seems to me that the Gospel calls us to “large-scale change” and that, like John the Baptist and Jesus, we need to create a sense of urgency!
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