I started teaching Religious Education at my church tonight. At Our Lady of Lourdes, we have a fantastic RE program for kids who don’t attend Catholic school.

Most Catholic kids, in elementary and high school, either attend a Catholic school, or they attend a public school and then go to RE classes on Wednesday evenings. When I was a kid, we called it CCD or catechism. As a junior in high school, the young adults then receive the sacrament of Confirmation.

Well, before tonight, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I prepared pretty well, read the lesson a couple times, read a few passages in my bible, and prayed a bit. But you never know.

I’m teaching 10th grade, and I’ve got 10 kids in my class. And it went well after all. Each student participated in the discussions, and I hope we’ll all open up a bit more as the year progresses.

This year, the curriculum covers “What It Means To Be Catholic“. This is a pretty heavy subject, but it helps to prepare the kids to go through the Confirmation sessions next year. Teaching this topic also forces me to reflect a bit on what it means for me to be Catholic.

I look forward to the rest of the year, and to sharing my faith with my students even further.