It is important that we take our faith seriously. It is past the age where Sunday Mass is the end of the line for our reverence to the Lord. Jesus said in Matthew 28:19-20,"Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations; baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you. And look I am with you always; yes, to the end of time."Let us critically examine this scripture text.

(1) We are mandated to make disciples of all the nations, meaning we are to go, armed with the power of the Holy Spirit, to tell others about the Good News, or the Gospel. Through our lives and our witness, we are to attract others to Jesus in a mighty way, and they will be led to the Church that Jesus Christ established (Matthew 16:18).

(2) We are to baptise those willing to hand their lives over to Christ in the name of the Blessed Trinity. After baptism, we are to educate them in the faith (meaning catechesis), making sure each person understands his/her role in Christ and spreading the Gospel to others.

(3) Jesus assures us that He will be with us always. We, in the Church, are privileged to have the Sacrament of the Eucharist, where we receive Jesus to strengthen our bodies and spirits to do the work that He has commanded...that each time we receive Him, we also receive the grace, through the power of the Holy Spirit in us, to do what He says without fear or doubt.

After receiving the Sacrament of Baptism, the next Sacrament is that of Confirmation. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church #1285:
"It must be explained to the faithful that the reception of the sacrament of Confirmation is necessary for the completion of baptismal grace. For 'by the sacrament of Confirmation, [the baptized] are more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit. Hence they are, as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed'."

Currently, the breakdown of the catechism starts here. The youth do not appreciate this Sacrament. They need to learn about the faith in a way that does not remind of a classroom and their parents' expectations of them.

As we see from the Catechism, receiving this sacrament is a great responsibility upon the person receiving it. They are to become "true witnesses of Christ", but does anyone ask the children at the beginning of the programme what are their views on the sacrament and the Church? I am sure most of them will say that their parents told them they had to do it, but do the parents even know why?

Catechesis is the very heart of the Catholic Church, and without it, we get exactly what we have now - a congregation that is generally unhappy in the Lord's presence, and lacking knowledge of the Church and its sacraments and teachings.

Very few of us truly understand the faith, and this is mostly because people lack education about the faith, and fail to pass on the zeal of the faith to the youth and others.

Though our religious nature is important to preserve order and structure in our worship, St Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 16:13-14, "Be vigilant, stay firm in the faith, be brave and strong. Let everything you do be done in love."

Our religion should not hinder our ability to experience God in a real way, and be able to express it in the same; rather it should enhance our ability to serve God and one another. Our youth needs this kind of exposure. People want to be conservative about praise and worship to God, why?

We minimise the effects of the Sacraments when we think of Jesus as a person far away from us, when He wants us to be so close to Him. The youth cannot wait to complete the Confirmation process and stop coming to Church because they are not exposed to the very presence of Jesus Christ and the fullness and zeal of the faith as they should experience during their instruction. 

For them to become prepared to be "true witnesses of Christ", their instruction in preparation of the Sacrament should come alive and so they will be able to receive their graces with their "eyes wide open", aware of the step they have just taken.

Our role as adults, and as catechists, challenges us to have a real understanding of the persons of God, and the use of Sacred Scripture to expose the youth to the truth of our faith - explaining Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition in reference to the sacraments.

Since this is not the case - this is the reality. Who continues the faith in our parishes when we stifle the ability for our youth to truly experience renewal of faith?

Who revives the choir to allow for hearty and lively worship during Mass when we don't teach them that they are free to praise God? The Confirmation candidates are to "be perfectly bound to the Church" meaning, giving them a real sense what Church is and making them be "on fire" for God.

It is not just something on our schedule that has to be done. Sharing the history of the Church, and teaching them what the Church believes, is essential in order for them to display the respect for the liturgy. The youth will fall in love with the Church and with Jesus, knowing that He died to save us, and they can develop a relationship with Him. 

The catechists need to understand the thought processes of the youth, and at which stage they are at in their faith life, whether there is one. Pay more attention to highlighting the small details, and give them fun exercises making the use of Scripture a core part of the exercises, exposing youth to Scripture so it becomes real to them. This will definitely help improve the involvement of youth within parishes.

So to summarise our needs as catechists: RENEWAL, REVIVAL, and ZEAL. Allow the Holy Spirit to work within us and the youth, and put no boundaries on His power. Be blessed!!

I close with these words from scripture:
"In view of this we also pray continually that our God will make you worthy of his call, and by his power fulfill all your desires for goodness, and complete all that you have been doing through faith; so that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you and you in him, by the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ."
2 Thess 1:11-12