By Ricky Doc Sauceda
I had to walk to my church last evening because my bike is not reliable at this time, it is having trouble with the gear that is between the peddles. It is making a ‘cracking’ noise. It is best for me to walk so that I don’t end up having to push the bike home if the gear broke.
I listened to “The Joshua Tree” and “I Have A Song” cd albums on my iDoc (the fond nickname for my iPod Nano given by my daughter). It takes two hours on foot to reach my church from my apartment – about 6 miles of distance. It was so cool and windy that I didn’t even break a sweat during my walk.
Upon arriving I walked to the shrine of St. Jude (brother of Jesus Christ) and finished listening to the last track of “I Have A Song.” It is Psalm 23 and it was perfect for the moment. I prayed for contentment and a peaceful mind to be an effective teacher for the evening. I walked to my classroom and said hello to Betty. She informed me that there was going to be a guest speaker who was going to talk about vocations in the church.
After assembling my class upon the completion of filling out the attendance sheet, I led them to the assembly hall for the speaker’s talk. One girl did not go in because she doesn’t like crowds. I made no mention of this to anyone because I respect a person’s right to decide what to participate in or not.
This speaker was one of many that are from our HQ in Houston, Texas. He looked groomed, clean and was dressed in the customary black pastor’s clothes with white collar. He was introduced by our youth minister and then began speaking.
He talked about being from a foreign land and had always dreamed of becoming a priest. He traveled to the United States to accomplish this goal. He attended Alief Elsik and was coaxed into attending a seminary instead of going to UT-Austin.
He talked about a lost love from his high school. A girl whom he dated and made plans to marry in the future. He went into detail about marriage, dream home and owning a dog. This leads me to believe priests should be allowed to marry. Being a man is natural and once you are aware of it, there is no possible way to ‘turn it off.’
He talked about a miraculous event that caused him to stay in a seminary that he was failing in. An institution that his mother had agreed he should leave in order to go to UT-Austin. He was traveling on the loop in Dallas behind a truck carrying furniture. He was fearful that a sofa would fall out, so he moved a couple of lanes over. He says the sofa fell out and made its way into his lane.
He said that he tried to avoid hitting the couch by swerving his car sharply which caused him to go into a series of spins. When his car stopped he was facing oncoming traffic which included an 18 wheeler that hit him “head on.” Before the collision, he says Jesus manifested Himself on the passenger seat and leaned over to shield him. The car was crushed and he was left unharmed but had tiny little pieces of glass on him.
He then started speaking about God loving them and they could do anything with their lives. That is where he lost me. I began to walk to the front exit as he continued to speak. I looked back at the other teachers and youth minister who were intently staring and listening to the talk.
I met up with the young girl outside and told her she missed a good talk. I kept walking and was soon off the church grounds, past the neighborhood, and going down a big street heading to the highway to make my home. Little by little my memory was being “jogged” of an event that I have never understood that took place in my life.
I compared it to the talk the speaker had given. I began to notice distinguishable flaws in his talk. If your dream is to become something, why does someone have to coax you into following it? If you fall in love and make plans, why would you not carry them out? If you a nine year priest who knows the Holy Bible, why would you say Jesus Christ appeared?
Luke 17:23 - People will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them.
It has been a task of the church HQ to seek ways to mimic the protestant churches for a few years now. They are studying the methods and styles of non-Catholic churches in order to deliver a stronger appeal to the youth. I know because I have heard this talk with my own ears. They are envious of the way the youth of the other churches have knowledge and passion for Jesus Christ. They want that.
The only trouble is that you can’t mimic it. It is real passion and it cannot be copied. You have to learn it by swimming in the water of faith. It is how I got it. What I have acquired is real and not phony. You can tell.
The church is actually teaching styles of facial expression, tones in voice and what words to use when talking to youth. They are being coached in protestant techniques. There is a huge problem with this: Protestants teach with passion – always have. That is who I learned it from.
I tell my students to follow the Catholic faith and I don’t promote any other mindset to them. Our parish priest has been very specific that our youth be taught about being Catholic. So, I examine our lesson plans and keep them Catholic but open them up to passion as well. This is pure. There is no attempt to “dazzle” them – they get dazzled by the truth. You don’t need to play with their minds. That is dangerous and harmful if they ever figure out your stories are fake.
What will they be left with to believe in then?