The tough questions. March 21st, Entry #63.

Sara: I just wanted to give a shout out to my Confirmation class.  They are one cool bunch.  Every year I teach a Confirmation class for high schoolers who, for whatever reason, did not get confirmed in the 8th grade or need to recieve other sacraments as well.  Some years, it's really fun, others years it's kind of a drag, but this year....this year is a fun bunch that I look forward to being with them every Sunday.

They have an amazing knack for getting me off topic.  And while I know exactly what they are up to, it's hard to stop them when they get me off topic my asking questions such as "is divorce a sin?" or "do atheists go to hell?".  I mean c'mon, I don't normally think of questions this great.  So, while they might distract me from the week's lesson, we have had some really conversations that are waaaay more educational and meaningful than anything I can teach them from "The Catholic Faith Handbook for Teens".

This Sunday Cooper got us off topic for a good 20 minutes. But during that 20 minutes we talked about why bad things happen to good people, suicide, suffering, atheists, agnostics, believing in God when it's really tough, praying, Eucharistic miracles, untimely deaths of loved ones and questioning our faith.  It was awesome.  I wish we could have gone on for the rest of the class.  I love discussions that grab you and involve everyone.  I hope that something was said that helped answer any of the questions, but the hard part is....I can't give you an answer that's going to make you feel better about how to believe in God when you are questioning or why bad things happen to good people.  These are issues that you have to grasp on your own and talk to God about.

I hope I gave my class some answers that will at least keep them thinking and desiring to learn more, but these are matters of faith and matters of the heart.  I pray that they keep seeking and asking and that God will speak to them when they most need to hear it.  Because when it comes down to it, I can't answer these tough questions but God can....if we listen.