Taking My Non-Binary Friend to Tenebrae

Happy Easter, brethren. Christ is risen! May the grace of the risen Lord shine brightly in your life that, in Him, you may enjoy the blessings of His mercy and attain unto life everlasting. Amen.

On Good Friday I attended the Tenebrae service. Instead of going by myself this year, I decided to be evangelistic and invite a non-Catholic friend. I reached out to someone I know who, on paper, would hardly seem interested in such things. I hit up a female acquaintance of mine who is not only non-Catholic, but is openly bi-sexual, practicing polyamorous, non-binary, identifies as they/them, and is deeply ensconsed in what I would call the "blue hair" community. Definitely not the sort of character who would seem interested in the traditional Catholic liturgy. And yet, in my years of knowing her, I had come to recognize her as a very thoughtful person with a deep apprecation for music and a respect for contemplative spirituality, even if outside her own personal experience. I'd say she was in that "spiritual but not religious" category and might be interested in what the Tenebrae had to offer. I messaged her and explained what the Tenebrae was and she responded with enthusiasm and agreed to come along.

Never Describe Heaven to a Child This Way

The Faith can be challenging to explain to kids, especially its more abstract points. Since children do not develop abstract thinking skills until around age 12, it is sometimes a struggle to find explanations that are age appropriate but also theologically sound. We often resort to analogy to make the point for us. The late Fr. Robert J. Fox, for example, had a great analogy for explaining mortal and venial sin that I used with my own children growing up: Fr. Fox would describe the soul as a tomato plant in the garden, then explain that mortal sin was akin to chopping the plant down and killing it, while venial sin was like little insects that gnaw on the stem, leaving the tomato plant intact but weakening the stem, making it more likely to fall. These sorts of analogies are incredibly handy for imparting the Faith to children in a way that helps them understand the substance of a teaching even if the abstract principles are still beyond their grasp.