Dear Chas:

Sorry about the delay in responding.

I applaud you, and all CCD teachers, for the courage to accept this task in the Church. Good CCD teachers who are loyal to the Church are hard to find.

As to your observation of many of these kids not knowing about Moses, or claiming they have never heard of Moses,and other fundamentals of the faith, is a scandal. The source of that scandal are the parents. According to the Church, the parents, not the schools, are the primary educators of their children.

It infuriates me so much that parents have so little regard for the souls of their children, that emotionally I want to say that these parents are child abusers and child neglectors who need to go to jail. There is no excuse for parents, even a single parent who is working three jobs, to so miserably fail as parents that their children have never even heard of Moses. This is truly a disgrace and those parents who have neglected their children's religious education will be held accountable before God. Jesus said,  "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung round his neck and he were thrown into the sea" (Mark 9:42).  To neglect a child so seriously that they virtually know nothing about their faith is setting up those children to sin. It would be better, according to Jesus, that a millstone be hung around the necks of those parents and for them to be thrown into the sea.

Regardless of why our children are so ignorant of the faith, CCD teachers ought not to recommend these children for Confirmation until such time they learn the faith and wish to live the Christ-life. Instead of doing that we treat the Sacrament of Confirmation as if it is a mere rite of passage at which all children go through, and also adult converts, that is given a rubberstamp approval regardless of whether the candidate is qualified for the Sacrament. This too is a scandal. 

CCD teachers and sponsors of adult converts need to know that they must not recommend a person for the Sacrament of Confirmation if their charges are not ready or qualified to properly enter into the Sacramental Christ-life.

Now, doing this, which is the correct thing to do, will cause a hissy fit so loud by parents that it will be heard on the moon. So what? Let them scream. As a CCD teacher, or a sponsor for an adult convert, one will be held accountable before God for who they recommend and for whom they do not recommend for the Sacrament.

In most instances, unfortunately, pastors or bishops will ignore the lack of recommendation by the CCD teachers and sponsors and confirm the person anyway. When that happens the onus will be upon those priests and bishops, for at least the CCD teacher or sponsor has done his job with a clear conscience before God.

Concerning Isaiah 55:11. The Navare Bible Commentary explains:

The prophet uses comparisons that are particularly meaningful to those who live in the erid countries of the East, describe how very powerful the word of God is: it actually delivers the salvation that it promises. The personified word of God (cf. Wis 8:4; 9:9-10; 18:14-15) is a figure of the incarnation of Jesus Christ, the eternal Word of the Father, who comes down to save mankind. "The word of God, he says, will not return to him empty and barren; rather, it will flourish in all things, nourished by the good deeds of those who obey and fulfill his teachings. The word is fulfilled when it is put into practice; if it is not put into practice, it remains barren and withered and starved. Listen carefully, then, when he tells of the food that nourishes him: My food is to do the will of him who sent me (John 4:34)" (St. Bernard, In Cantica Canticorum, 71, 12-13).

In otherwords, "..and it shall not return to me void" means that the Word of God will flourish in us as we practice the faith. If we do not practice our faith, however, the Word of God will be "barren and withered and starved" to us. As St. James said, "Faith without works is dead."

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary