As an adult, Paul admitted to me that those words had taken root in his young heart and soul, and that from that moment on he believed that grace, and God, had passed him by.

Such is the power of a teacher, whether an educator, parent, catechist, priest or religious. Obviously, such power can be detrimental in the hands of someone who lacks an adequate, balanced formation in faith – most significantly for the child, but, ultimately for our Catholic family, as well, if we consider our children to be future leaders in the Church.

For many of us growing up Catholic in the same generation as Paul, our formation experiences often consisted of being scared into faith for the sake of our own impoverished souls or being indulged with the butterfly kisses of a faith resting on crayons and glue. The best formation lies somewhere in the middle.

We have moved forward today in the area of faith formation, but often in a “two steps forward and one back” motion. The difference for Catholic schools and parishes rests with the strong support and affirmation of our Bishops, who stressed that faith formation for educators at all levels, would “allow the Gospel message and the living presence of Jesus to permeate the entire life of the school community and thus be faithful to the school’s evangelizing mission” (Renewing Our Commitment to Catholic and Secondary Schools of the Third Millennium).

The same holds true for the formation of parish catechists who are so instrumental in passing on the Catholic faith to our youth.

In years past, as I visited Catholic school classrooms and observed the many large and small lessons of faith that could take place in any minute of the day, I would be reminded of Paul’s teacher.

Would her lessons on grace have been more life-affirming if her own formation had been different? Did she ever have the chance to read the beautiful truths of grace left to us by St. Thomas Aquinas in his “Summa Theologica?” This treasure of Catholic teaching seems daunting – but, taught well, it may have deepened her understanding of grace, and, ultimately, diminished Paul’s long-held belief that he was unworthy of God’s love.

Once I believed the Summa to be beyond my level of understanding, so I made no effort to read it. Then, in a small, out-of-the-way secondhand bookstore I happened upon a copy of a little, leather-bound book entitled, “My Way of Life,” subtitled the “Summa Simplified for Everyone.” It smelled musty and was copyrighted in 1952, the year of my birth, so of course I had to buy it. Its pages revealed gem after gem.

The mystery of grace, St. Thomas taught, is a part of the greater mystery that is God’s love. Grace is God’s perfect gift to us, a gift that makes us God’s friends and adopted children. Grace leads to happiness and glory.
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Certainly, I thought, this is something all our children should grow up understanding. But how do you teach children about the mystery of grace? Fortunately, my little book offered a suggestion, stressing that since grace is a share in God’s own divine nature, there is no exact parallel in the world of nature, but it might help to “compare the mystery of grace to something within the bounds of human experience.”

And then I remembered rain, and the powerful song, Amazing Grace. I am sorry that Paul never heard that beautiful hymn when he was young, or the moving contemporary version that expresses profound gratitude with the words, “Hallelujah, grace like rain falls down on me. Hallelujah, all my stains are washed away.”

I’m sorry that when my own children stood in the rain, and felt it running down their faces, I didn’t exclaim, “That is grace!” so they would always know that God’s love is a free gift poured down on everyone. Truly, the story of grace is a story of divine love. Its magnificence should hold us breathless.

May we continue to pray for all those who share themselves and their Catholic faith with our children so they may find the love of God a compass and comfort for their journey to and through adulthood.

Mary Clifford Morrell is the author of “Things My Father Taught Me About Love” and “Let Go and Live: Reclaiming your life by releasing your emotional clutter.”