I have to admit it. I get lost in the rabbit hole that is YouTube…and if Glasgow Celtic highlights and re-runs of "Mannix" weren’t enough to keep me from mowing the lawn or getting to my grading, the media giant has now introduced “shorts”—roughly 30 second to two minute video clips—to the mix.
The other week I chanced upon one that fascinated me: comedian Karen Morgan was commenting on the young people of Gen Z. Noting how they “don’t know how to do anything” like write a check, address an envelope, write in cursive, or read a paper map, Morgan claimed “... if Gen Z takes over the world, it’s going to be pretty easy to take it back. We’ve just got to write our battle plans in cursive on a piece of paper.”
Not bad. Point to Gen X.
But a week or so later, I saw another short in which a Gen Zer watched the video and responded with: “Yeah, [we can’t do ‘anything’]—you never taught us.”
Game, set, match.
It was a damning rejoinder; and a lesson to all of us who like to complain about the “younger generation.”
While I, for one, lament the demise of cursive, I suspect we’ll survive without it. Waze and Google Maps have saved me the infuriating task of folding those paper maps. And like it or not, commerce has gone electronic. In a sense, those traditional skills—as well as how to dial a rotary phone—are not needed for the next generation to survive—which is precisely why we haven’t taught them.
But there are things that we have increasingly failed to share with the younger generation that they do need: namely, the truths and practice of the Faith. Over 30 years ago, Pope John Paul II saw this trend and noted that “entire groups of the baptized have lost a living sense of faith, or even no longer consider themselves members of the Church, and live a life far removed from Christ and His Gospel.” He called, therefore, for a “‘new evangelization’ or a ‘re-evangelization’” (Redemptoris Missio, #33).
The Church—and the world—remain, decades later, in need of this re-evangelization. The numbers are sobering: according to a Pew Research Center study in 2018, fully 13% of Americans identify themselves as being former Catholics. Of that amount, a disturbing number now identify religiously as “nones” (i.e., having no religious affiliation whatsoever). Thirty percent of Americans put themselves in this category in 2021 (up from 23% in 2016 and 19% in 2011). If trends continue, “nones” will be the majority affiliation among Americans. The numbers for those under thirty years of age are even worse: fewer than 18% of our young people practice their faith. Many now identify as being “spiritual but not religious” which may feel good, but never really challenges us to get beyond ourselves.
This clear lack of religious practice has hit home at Saint Ignatius. While it’s hard to hear—and it’s hard to share—our boys, in alarmingly increasing numbers—simply do not know what to do at Mass. When I was a young teacher, students knew what to do. Those who weren’t Catholic had a bit of a learning curve, but the Catholic boys just needed a song sheet to participate.They knew their roles, the prayers, and their responses. Now we have elaborate worship aids.
And a large number of nonetheless confused students.
There are many reasons for this trend, both here and elsewhere, and there are no simple explanations for it. But one thing is clear: many of our brothers and sisters, especially our young ones, are losing their connection with the wisdom, experience, and avenues of grace provided by the Church because we adults haven’t taught or shown them.
Jesuit Avery Cardinal Dulles, SJ, in his Models of the Church described the Church in part as a community of disciples and in part as a herald. As a community, we make up the Church. We have a responsibility to live her mission. As heralds, we are called to spread the Good News of God’s Kingdom and his love and mercy. We have, Vatican II reminds us, a “personal responsibility for the spreading of the Gospel.” (Ad Gentes, #35)
How do we do this? One study suggests that within our families there is a correlation between religious practices children participate in with their parents and regular Mass attendance later in life. These include: praying the rosary, attending Mass, doing volunteer/service work together, going to confession, and participating in Eucharistic adoration.
St. John Paul noted that “[p]eople today put more trust in witnesses than in teachers, in experience than in teaching, and in life and action than in theories. The witness of a Christian life is the first and irreplaceable form of mission” (RM #42) [emphasis mine]. This life is meant to be one of simplicity and service, but also of prayer and evangelization—of sharing our faith.
This may seem like a daunting task, especially when sharing the Faith with teens. Nonetheless, my experience has shown that there is no one better able to detect and be moved by authenticity than the American teenager. The Faith needs to be taught, but it is also “caught.”
The Lord has entrusted this work with us. Those of us blessed with children remember that we promised to “bring [them] up to keep God’s commandments...by loving God and our neighbor.” Those of us honored to be Godparents promised to “help [them]…in their duty as Christian parents” (Rite of Baptism). Words matter: promises are meant to be kept. Even if it’s been a while since some of us may have actively practiced the Faith, it’s never too late to return to it—and to bring our children with us.
The young people in our lives have been given the gift of freedom, a freedom that can be used to help them come closer to their Heavenly Father or turn away from Him. At some point they need to make their faith life their own.
But they need a chance to do it—a chance they’ll never have if we’ve never taught them.
A.M.D.G. / B.V.M.H.