A Case Against Compulsory Mass Attendance in Catholic Schools

And a must read for all parents and educators

I’m going to make this short, primarily because there is nothing I can say that is more articulate or helpful than the words I wish to share from Frank Sheed. Sheed is considered to be one of the greatest modern Catholic apologists of our time. He was an educator, writer, publisher and friend to men such as Chesterton, Belloc, and Knox. He knew the flaws and challenges of the institutional Church better than most… and yet he also loved her more than many.

It is his refreshingly honest approach which draws me to his work and gives me the confidence to continue teaching my children. He asks the uncomfortable questions (and sometimes leaves them unanswered) while also illuminating the unshakable truths of the faith. How would he speak into our times if he were alive today? I wish I had the advantage of knowing; and yet I see that he, like so many great thinkers, wrote in a way that transcends generational gaps.

I also wish that I had read more of his work before I started homeschooling. My anxiety over transmitting our beautiful faith to precious children would have been somewhat relieved by his relational approach to teaching religion and I would also have had greater clarity about where to begin, on what fundamentals to focus, and where to bolster my own education.

Instead, I tried to imitate the institutional model of schooling religion, making us all somewhat miserable in the process. Eventually, I set the books on a high shelf in disgust as I saw the negative impact of compulsory instruction of that which should become a burning ember but is instead another brutal hour of “school.” Back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth.

My approach finally settled into a relaxed method founded in the conviction that the transmission of faith should look as little as possible like institutional school. It should be relational and be first a school of love in the heart of the family.

What Sheed has done for me is to articulate my concerns and desires better than I can and provide concrete steps for making sure that the fundamentals of faith are presented to my children.

Beyond that… well… I know how it goes. Kids grow and choose. They don’t retain the faith as adults as much as they choose to step into a mature relationship with Christ. I can command their actions for a time but I can never bridle their interior life. The biggest lessons I hope to teach are in the school of charity, sacramental life, and an intellectual grasp of the foundations of faith.

It was my intention that this be short and now here I am launching into so many words! Best to move on to Sheed and a few thoughts of his that resonate. I pulled the quotes that follow from the text of his speech called “Are We Really Teaching Religion?” I highly recommend to all parents and Catholic educators.

• Are We Really Teaching Religion? (PDF)

• Are we Really Teaching Religion? (Paperback)

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COMPULSION THAT RANKLES

The best way to read the following paragraph is slowly, one sentence at a time, with a notebook and bit of quiet. There’s a lot that this will dredge up for many cradle Catholics and those who have gone through (or lost people to) a system that has smothered its own fire for Christ.

Is compulsory Mass attendance in school (especially high school) prudent in light of the cultural climate? Or any climate? Have educators placed undo burden on the conscience of students who may be living far from the faith? Are we sending the wrong message about the most important things? A commenter pointed out that I don’t really make a case against compulsory attendance with the following quote, but my hope is to at least open the conversation. In spite of the fact that I do believe certain standards of behavior should be upheld by parents and educators, I also think there is a case to be made against compulsory Mass attendance at school. Sheed writes:

Compulsion is a thing that rankles. You would be amazed at the number of grownup Catholics who resent having had to go to Holy Communion with all the others. And this for two reasons. Number one: in many cases, it meant sacrilege. They had not the nerve to stand out, they had not the nerve to go to Confession over some sin or other, they had a bad conscience. Not only that, it caused them to associate Communion with a great mass-movement, without any personal choice at all. Consequently, once they left school, they lacked the mass-movement and gave up Communion. It is the same with this question of religion when it is thought of as a part of school life. I have seen it to the point where it is almost heartbreaking. Children, so devoted, so devout, at school. And the moment they leave school they drop religion, because religion was simply one more part of school life. Anything we can do to make children feel that their religion class is not just a part of going to school would be wonderful.

Note: None of this is to say that parents should not require children to attend Mass with the family. Within a familial context, struggling kids (and adults) can have the conversations that need to be had and yes, reluctant children should be compelled to attend. We do our best, making sure they have the opportunity to go to Confession and leading with charity. What happens in the heart is outside of our control though, and we should not insist that someone receive the Eucharist.

School is different. Current scenario in this country is that a disproportionately large number of Catholic high schoolers and their teachers should not be receiving. The all-school Mass is often a terrible charade.

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THE NEED FOR A FRAMEWORK

This is where the understanding of my own overwhelm and agitation as a Catholic mother began to find rest. Catholicism is not some esoteric faith where a person must seek and find ALL THE HIDDEN THINGS in order to get into heaven. The truths are simple, graspable, and bring joy and peace, not confusion. Sheed articulates:

The products of our Catholic schools—ten years or more after, you understand, when you meet them—lack two things overwhelmingly. They lack the shape of reality as expressed in the dogmas, and they lack any inside knowledge of what individual dogmas mean. A great devotion, willingness to do God’s will, devotion to the Church’s laws, devotion to the sacraments, devotion to the Mass—these things are there, but side by side with a chaotic picture of what it all means.

As they come through school, they have learnt a great number of things, but there is no order, no hierarchy, in the things they have learnt about the faith. They have all sorts of pious practices, good salutary practices, rubbing shoulders, so to speak, with essentials. They hardly know which is which, they are all there in kind of a heap. The absolutely essential activities of Catholicism and the quite desirable but non-essential pious practices—all there together—the Trinity hardly larger than our Lady of Fatima!

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THE WAY

In spite of the fact that Sheed devoted his life to defense of the faith, the genius of his perspective on education is that he is never under the illusion that knowledge of the faith alone is sufficient. He writes:

Be a lion, if you must, in other classes, but be a lamb in the religion class. If children learn nothing else, or retain nothing else, from their religion classes, let them learn and retain that religion is love. If all the rest goes, let that stay. And it does seem to me that a teacher should examine his conscience to see if there be any incident that might have dimmed the realization in anybody that religion is love…

I think I would, as far as humanly possible, leave compulsion out of religion class. It is not the same as other classes…

I do not think that religion class should be a class at all. It is not simply part of school work. It happens to be in the same building; it happens to be run by the same people; but it is not part of school life, it is something more profound than that. The teacher in a religion class is not exactly there as a school mistress, she is there as a maturer member of the Catholic Church, trying to convey, to less mature members, just what treasure the Church has.

Again, I recommend the whole document. Its initial effect on me was to remind me (uncomfortably) how ignorant I am of the fundamentals of faith, but that is a necessary bit of awkwardness in order to be better than I am for the sake of my own soul and those I love.

What is the goal of Catholic education? Union with Christ. And parents… if your kids’ school is getting the most important things wrong, maybe pivot. You have the authority and the obligation according to God’s design. Thanks be to God.

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