Three French Hens: This Will Be on the Exam

Three French Hens: Faith, Hope, and Charity

When I hear the triad of words “faith, hope and charity [love]” from St. Paul’s famous passage in his letter to the Corinthians, I don’t immediately conjure up benevolent Christian images, although I perhaps should. The phrase “faith, hope and charity” is one that I long ago memorized, no doubt in order to score well on a religion test at my Catholic high school, a place where Saints names were uttered during prayer as speed talk, morning mass was a place to meet boyfriends and frenetic, uniform-clad teenagers mingled freely with Franciscan brothersclothed in heavy black robes.

Catholicism is a religion, but it also is a language, a way to speak about life that reflects the presence of God in the world. Sunday is no longer the last day on the weekend, it is ‘a day of rest,’ (unless, like me, you played on the basketball team, then there was no rest for the athletic and weary). December is not just the twelfth month, it houses the liturgical seasons of Advent and Christmas. Marriage is made a sacrament, no longer just a contract between two people; it draws them into a relationship with the church and the world.

I consider my Catholic upbringing a profound gift from my parents. At times I rebel against it; at others I embrace it as the deepest part of my identity. Sometimes I feel trapped by Catholicism; at others freed. But who can doubt the value of a Catholic education that brings young people the following compounded sins with which to wrestle: thinking impure thoughts during church about a fellow mass-goer of the opposite sex, cheating on a morality exam, lying to a priest, plagiarizing a theology paper or stealing your classmate’s bible? Welcome to Catholic high school. Lord, have mercy.

For a fun crash course on how Catholicism plays out in the lives of some youth, take a look at this video. Barats and Bereta is a comedy group that developed out of Gonzaga University, the Jesuit University of Spokane, Washington. Their videos are some of the most popular on YouTube, and many reflect an experiential knowledge of the Catholic worldview. One video, “PC Fratboys,” is a scene straight out of the lives of many real-life, theologically thoughtful Catholic kids.

“This body is a shrine!”

By Elizabeth Tenety  |  December 28, 2007; 11:11 AM ET  | Category:  Campus Catholic
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