Current Sacramental Preparation is Failing Lost Souls, by Constance T. Hull

Earlier this week, my spiritual daughter texted to tell me that the course she and her husband took in preparation for their baby girl’s Baptism was a 20-minute YouTube video. That was the entire preparation. I was disappointed, but not surprised. In the post-COVID era this has become common. If we are honest, it was common before COVID. My husband and I were handed a poorly written book and told we needed to read through it. That was our Baptism preparation course 13 years ago.

We are failing in our mission to minister to and evangelize those coming for the sacraments. People do not need a video that accomplishes very little. They need our time and our witness. Until we completely revamp the way we do sacramental preparation, we will continue to confer sacraments on those who are not disposed, perjure themselves, commit sacrilege, have no idea what they are doing, or who are checking them off of a list before they go back to their secular lives. ….