{"id":2392,"date":"2011-08-10T00:01:51","date_gmt":"2011-08-10T06:01:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/?p=2392"},"modified":"2011-09-02T08:18:36","modified_gmt":"2011-09-02T14:18:36","slug":"the-first-steps-in-evangelizing-cradle-catholic-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/2011\/08\/10\/the-first-steps-in-evangelizing-cradle-catholic-kids\/","title":{"rendered":"The First Steps in Evangelizing Cradle Catholic Kids"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>[This is a part of the\u00a0Fundamentals of Effective Catechesis<\/a>\u00a0series]<\/p>\n

Imagine you knew someone living in complete poverty.<\/p>\n

They don’t even know where their next meal is coming from.<\/p>\n

Then, you found out they inherited a huge fortune!<\/p>\n

Now imagine they didn’t understand a thing about money and didn’t care about going to get that fortune.<\/p>\n

How would you convince them to get their inheritance?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Would you explain the Dow Jones to them? No, you would tell them the benefits<\/a>! They wouldn’t\u00a0be hungry anymore. They could buy a place to live. Also, you would make sure\u00a0they knew how to get it.<\/p>\n

That’s the reality for your\u00a0Cradle Catholic students.<\/strong> Baptized as infants, they have a gift of inestimable value. However,\u00a0they have no concept of what that means. How do you convince them to care?\u00a0They need to be evangelized.
\n<\/p>\n

Help them accept God’s invitation and then RSVP<\/h2>\n

Evangelization<\/a> is making your students aware of their awesome calling from God. Aware of the great gift of union\u00a0with\u00a0Christ.<\/p>\n

First, your students need to\u00a0know\u00a0God has given them a personal invitation in Baptism<\/strong>. And, they should understand that\u00a0God is waiting for a response to his invitation<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

When you get an invitation to a party, often it has an RSVP. What’s does that mean? They require a response.<\/p>\n

God wants a response to his invitation…hopefully in\u00a0the positive. But until he gets it, he won’t act in your soul. He respects your free will\u00a0too much for that.<\/p>\n

That positive RSVP to\u00a0God’s invitation is faith<\/strong>. And faith is not merely intellectual belief. It is a desire to have\u00a0God become an active part of your life. It is a desire to be\u00a0with\u00a0God forever in heaven. And, it is the willingness to take the steps necessary to develop a relationship\u00a0with\u00a0God by keeping his commandments.<\/p>\n

Direct your teaching toward willing faith<\/h2>\n

From the very beginning, you must stress\u00a0that faith is a willingness to follow God<\/strong>. Awakening and deepening this willing faith\u00a0should be a high priority. Really, we should see catechesis as development of faith.<\/p>\n

It’s not merely saying you believe but showing it. The best way to show this is through prayer<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0Not just rote prayer, although that’s not bad. But prayer that emphasizes this willing faith.<\/p>\n

What does this look like?<\/p>\n