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Waking up before the Sunday sun - Catechetics at St Anthony’s

Kraineem (24 February 2005)

By David Zaruk

It was a crisp cold Sunday morning in January. Poor Ian seemed to have been ripped from the comfort of his warm bed. It takes him a while to warm up, but soon his arm is shooting straight up in the air with the others engaged in rapid-fire questions on stories from the Bible. It will be a good two hours before Ian will see his donut reward, but rarely does he exhibit bad humour.

Looking around the church at the 10:00 mass, the first five rows full of children, the generally good behaviour is extremely impressive. This year, more than 200 children are attending catechism classes at St Anthony’s, from the four and five year olds at kindergarten on Sunday mornings to the Confirmation classes on Saturdays. Despite being ‘locked’ in classes for an hour beforehand, there is never a shortage of volunteers in the church, and, usually, the children’s patience and listening skills surpasses their ages. 

What makes this possible? How do you get 200 children (and their teachers!) to look forward to, and enjoy, early morning Sunday school?

The parents are to be commended. I always admire the diligence they show in bringing their children in, often getting them out of bed before the sun rises and driving in from Waterloo, Rixensart, Mechelen or farther. After dropping their children with a smile and a short hello, many parents cross the street to have a coffee morning, watch the David Wells tapes on guilt-free parenting, and share stories about their own parenting experiences. Catechetics is not just for the little ones.

New Developments
There have been some wonderful developments recently in St Anthony’s catechetics programme.

q The youngest children now have their own monthly Children’s Liturgy of the Word in the hall for the first part of the 10:00 mass.
q New Testament students are participating more actively in the mass, preparing the readings and responses, prayers of the faithful and alter serving.
q The First Communion classes have become well-oiled machines, and while the teachers often speak of chaos behind the scenes, the image is one of decorum and order. If two teachers can keep 30 7-8 year olds still and attentive for one hour, why can’t I manage my own in church? There is also now a First Communion course preparing children between 10-14 years of age.

The Teachers: a joyful commitment
For the teachers, there is always a little challenge to puzzle the patient. Then there are the stories to keep them smiling, and learning a little about themselves:

q A teacher once asked the kids if they knew what a leper was. One little boy's hand immediately popped up, answering: "Yes, it is a wild animal that lives in Africa and runs very fast!"

q Two years ago, the Old Testament class’s construction of Noah’s Ark coincided with the toy collection Sunday. Many children naturally deposited their toy contributions in the large cardboard vessel near the entry of the church. 

q In a sermon, Father John recently asked the children if they knew where arguments and bad things came from. One clever boy in the pre-communion class shouted out: “From my brother!”

q How do you teach 8-9 year olds about temptation? The answer is easy: put a chocolate in front of them for a one hour class and remind them that they can’t eat it. Of course lessons are refined from year to year (after one dreadful experience, the children now should only be able to eat their chocolate reward after the mass to avoid uncontrollable sugar surges during the sermon). 

Of course, there have been frequent occurrences of spilt collection baskets, fallen candles and panic-stricken readers who had forgotten their paper at their seat, but the teachers take it all in stride. 

Through it all, Brian O’Neill is the ring-leader – solving problems with a smile, greeting everyone with a gracious personal warmth, be they untethered children, stressed teachers or concerned parents. He has taken on an enormous responsibility for so many years, and does it so pleasantly. 

So, why do the teachers get up so early on these cold Sunday mornings? Were it not for the model of kindness and commitment which Brian exhibits, on some days, staying in that warm bed would look pretty attractive.