JCecil’s comments this week inspired me!
I wonder what will happen when Elena’s children face the adult world and find themselves unprepared from the inevitable questions that they will face. What will happen when they face a question they can’t answer because they were never exposed to the possibility that there is another way to look at the issue?
I can’t possibly predict the future with any accuracy, but I suspect that they will be thrown into doubt and eventually rebel against the way their faith has been presented to them with a ferocity she can’t imagine
My husband and I grew up in the time just after the Vatican Council. We are old enough to remember sitting on our mamma’s laps and watching the Latin mass, eating meat every Friday etc., but we are too young to remember too much of the catechesis of the time. I do remember learning some of the early bible stories in 1st, 2nd and 3rd grades, but after 4th grade religion classes became somewhat of a free-for-all, where experiential stuff reigned supreme and the nitty gritty of catechesis went by the way side. So for us, JCecil’s question is very reminiscent of our experience. We were eventually unprepared for the questions we inevitably faced as some of our family and friends drifted away from the Catholic Faith and as we made other friends outside of the church. When those folks asked us questions about our Catholic Faith or even challenged us to look at a different church, we were totally like deer caught in the headlights – we didn’t have a clue!!
However, one gift I did have was an innate sense that the Catholic Church must have reasons for the things that it taught, even if I didn’t understand those reasons. So when I was faced with a question I couldn’t answer, I went into “research” mode. I read books, I listened to tapes, I read magazine articles and when I finally got online, I spent hours investigating different Catholic resources on the web. Of course the Catechism of the Catholic Church coming out in the early 1990s was a big help as well.
So to keep history from repeating itself, if I give my children anything, I hope I am giving them a love for their Catholic faith, as well as a basis and ability to defend and research that faith.
We start early with lots of Bible stories from an early age – with lots of pictures, maybe even videos etc. Of course we go to mass every Sunday and even some occasional daily masses. We talk about the stories, and about what they mean. We talk about what the good choices are and the bad choices, and how God was there the whole time.
As they go into kindergarten we use the Image of God and Faith and Life religious texts to help us guide their Catholic education. In second grade I use the First Communion Catechism. (The teaching is solid and I found that the kids really did like the pictures of Jesus, Mary and of Satan being chased away.)
We try to live the faith daily, family prayer, rosary, prayer before meals even in public. We celebrate the kids’ feast days and a few extra ones. With a Raphael and a Gabriel, you know The feast of the Arch Angels is a biggie at our house!
I have also tried to fill our home with religious art. My husband and I both wear religious medals and my oldest at 15 wears a rope scapular. They participate with us as we bring meals to the rectory, help out at funerals, and other services for the church. My oldest also works at a mission that supplies free meals to folks in need.
I think, we have provided a well rounded look at the Catholic faith – all of the doctrines and dogmas, the whys and wherefores of the catechism, as well as a model of how to live that faith out practically. For the 11 and 15 year old I have started to introduce some apologetics. Many times JCecil’s blog will be the topic of our discussion but so will radio shows, newspaper articles, current events.
Of course I cant predict the future either, but I think if my children know and understand their faith and have a chance to see it in action, they will be more likely to embrace it rather than reject it. We’ll see.
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