I am so excited to see Catholic adults who are joining small groups and programs around the country. I consider myself a member of what I call “The Lost Generations”. Those of us who grew up after the Second Vatican Council, during the transition period where the Church experienced radical changes, are a part of those generations. 

By the time I was old enough to have an opinion of the Church (early to mid ‘70s), I did not want to be a part of the Church. The content being taught in religious education was watered down and became more about feelings rather than truth. The Holy Spirit was introduced as a white dove on a felt banner. 

I had no real understanding of what Catholicism was all about. Therefore, I had no real desire to learn about Jesus or His teachings. So you can imagine why I am excited to see parishes making adult education a huge priority. This has been a long time coming for those of us who have spent our professional lives working in and for the Church. 

While the increase of adults participating has been good, I have begun to notice a new paradigm taking shape within the parishes. The adults who are working hard to learn more about God and his kingdom are making very few strides toward applying this truth to their lives. It makes you want to ask a few pertinent questions: 

1. What the goal of learning this material? 
2. Is it to grow in knowledge or faith? 
3. Do we make time to apply the great knowledge we are learning?
4. How can we tell if there is real growth, not just in knowledge, but in faith?

One would assume that it shouldn’t be either knowledge or faith but both. If that is true, then why are we so quick to move on to the next program, book, or video without making the time to apply it to our lives?

I see people learning a lot of good things, but we are stopping at knowledge and not moving forward into a deeper trust of God (faith). Thus, the world, looking at our Catholic membership from the outside, sees a lot of people who are spending their time in these programs, but are still living like everyone outside the church. 

Our Adult Education efforts (small groups, programs…) must go beyond the knowledge and into a transformation of our lives. To actually do this, we must entrust our lives more to God. This trust will also embolden us to leave our comfortable (not) pews and share our newfound trust in God. 

It is this kind of growth that we are seeking to accomplish in our effort to “make disciples”. If this is not being accomplished, then how do we expect non-believers to see God as trustworthy? It is time to do some personal evaluation. Come Holy Spirit!