Lenten Campaign 2025
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While I typically reach for creative YouTube videos such as this one to slap together lessons for my seven homeschooled sons on Church history topics such as the Nicene Creed, our profession of faith that was birthed in 325 AD at the Council of Nicaea, I recently felt compelled to dig a little deeper and offer my teens something more meaningful.
Between the fact that I'm a quirky convert who has always found the Catechism fascinating (yet hard to distill into soundbites that my teens can easily digest), and the exciting news that Pope Francis has decreed an Indulgence for those who study the Catechism during this Jubilee Year, and the fact that 2025 is the 1,700th anniversary of the Nicene Creed, I was excited to discover Foundations of Faith, a new video-based study program from Ascension Press.
I was also excited to discover that online access to all 20 lessons is only $6.95! What a deal!
I'd imagine that most folks would take part in this "Journey Through the Catechism" at their local parish, and I'm certainly going to recommend it for the Adult Formation class at mine -- because even though I haven't watched all 20 lessons yet, the clips I have checked out with my teens are making the Catechism come alive for us in a new, profound way -- like the opening scene of the first video when Dr. Edward Sri visits the actual Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.
"I like to imagine how Jesus came to this mountain some 2,000 years ago to rest, ponder, and pray," Dr. Sri says while looking out over the wooded landscape. "I can imagine him admiring the spectacular views of Jerusalem from here ... but I also like to ponder that since Jesus is the one who made these hills, valleys, and trees, he would have been admiring the work of his own hands ...."
Insights like this one gave me the chills and are sprinkled all throughout the series that was created to build on Ascension's popular "Catechism in a Year" podcast.
Filmed in 40 spots
My history/ geography aficionados have been especially loving the fact that these lessons were filmed in 40 locations on four continents with super engaging presenters such as the already mentioned Dr. Edward Sri, as well as Fr. Mike Schmitz, Jeff Cavins, Jackie Angel, Dr. Marcellino D’Ambrosio, Damon Owens, Mari Pablo and many more.
And since I stumbled onto this "Journey Through the Catechism" as a means to teach my teens about the Nicene Creed, I should mention that "Foundations of Faith" didn't make us wait long to learn about our profession of faith -- it covers the Creed in the second video in a lighthearted but meaningful way.
The scene opens with Dr. Sri and Fr. Mike Schmitz discussing the fact that the Creed is not just about what we believe, but who we believe in:
"So, why do we have to repeat [the Creed] every Sunday?" Dr. Sri asks.
"Great question," Fr. Mike Schmitz answers with his trademark smile. He expounds briefly on the fact that the entire Bible, the entire story of salvation history, is about God saving his faithless, broken people again and again and again [summarized].
"For this reason, we need to repeat the Creed again and again and again every Sunday because by nature we're so very forgetful."
My living room/ homeschool room erupted in a chorus of quiet sighs at that 'ah-hah' moment. I paused the video, looked at my teens and they looked at me. It was obvious we were all having an important experience together, and thanks to "Foundations of Faith," I look forward to having many more.
