Family Centered Religious Development (Part I)
Mary Jo Tully
(This is Part 1 of a series exploring the relationship between the church at home and the larger church.)
Riding on the success of his Catch-22, Joseph Heller wrote Something Happened––a novel dealing with the frustration of human existence. It was not a memorable novel except for one sentence. “When I grow up I want to be a little boy,” is the way the main character expresses his longing to overcome the tedium of life. It is also an expression of how many feel about their education in the faith. If they could, they would want to revisit those moments of excitement about the Church and sacraments.
Family-Centered Religious Education
It should not surprise us then that one of the largest adult religious education efforts in the American Church is family-centered and directed at the parents of children in primary grades. There is scarcely a parish in the United States that does not require preparation classes for parents at major sacramental moments for their children––most notably, prior to baptism and the first reception of reconciliation and Eucharist. Our efforts affirm our understanding that parents influence children. Unfortunately, we sometimes do not acknowledge that the very presence of children in their lives affects couples. Just as parents want their children to have more education, better economic security, and more leisure than they have had, studies show that they also want them to be better grounded in their faith. This desire makes sacramental preparation a “teachable moment.”
Family Life Meets Church Life
The relationship between the larger Church and the Church at home has been a constant theme throughout Christian history. The early Church met in homes so that sacred actions of the eucharistic common meal by the gathered believers were imitated in their home life. It is clear to all of us that when home rituals and the liturgies of Church reinforce one another, family life becomes more inherently religious. All of us know that for many, sacramental sessions for parents are in the same category as teacher conferences. The catechist’s task is to help parents find the place where the experience of family life meets the experience of the Church.
Teachable moments are those peak learning moments when everything comes together. In those moments, individuals are primed to discover and/or develop a new understanding. Sacramental moments in the child’s life provide these moments. As much as they enhance the education of the child, they give parents the opportunity to grow in their own faith.
Deepening the Family Faith
At marriage, a new family is formed––a special context or construct of relationship. Religion is a vital part of that relationship. Newly married couples frequently have difficulty initiating the family customs that support their own “domestic church.” In those first years, they may well attend Mass regularly and pray before meals. The birth of a child is the perfect time to make religion a deeper part of family life. Those who prepare the family for the birth of a child focus on the parent by exploring the faith life of the child.
Religious development can begin even before birth. Parents naturally speak to the child in the womb. Catechists can encourage them to pray with the child. Scientific studies have shown that the infant can hear in the third trimester of the mother’s pregnancy. Prayer has its own special rhythm. If a child remembers a story heard in the womb, the same child would certainly have learned the cadence of prayer. This is a time when they can take the first steps in teaching the child to pray and, not incidentally, establish the habit of praying together.
Family Prayer and Ritual
Family practice and ritual provide the context for the child’s faith life. Children learn about the sacraments from their catechists but they learn about familial relationship from their parents. They learn that family meals are an occasion of sharing and joy or a battlefield where all the problems of the day are resolved.
(Part 2 in this series will address the relationship between the family and the Church in the sacramental preparation of children.)
Mary Jo Tully has been the chancellor of the Archdiocese of Portland since 1990. Before coming to Portland, she was the director of religious education in the Archdiocese of Chicago and the author of the Focus on Faith religious education series. She was a catechetical consultant for Sadlier’s “We Believe” program, teaches at Mount Angel Seminary in St. Benedict, Oregon, and writes a Scripture column in the Catholic Sentinel.
Riding on the success of his Catch-22, Joseph Heller wrote Something Happened––a novel dealing with the frustration of human existence. It was not a memorable novel except for one sentence. “When I grow up I want to be a little boy,” is the way the main character expresses his longing to overcome the tedium of life. It is also an expression of how many feel about their education in the faith. If they could, they would want to revisit those moments of excitement about the Church and sacraments.
Family-Centered Religious Education
It should not surprise us then that one of the largest adult religious education efforts in the American Church is family-centered and directed at the parents of children in primary grades. There is scarcely a parish in the United States that does not require preparation classes for parents at major sacramental moments for their children––most notably, prior to baptism and the first reception of reconciliation and Eucharist. Our efforts affirm our understanding that parents influence children. Unfortunately, we sometimes do not acknowledge that the very presence of children in their lives affects couples. Just as parents want their children to have more education, better economic security, and more leisure than they have had, studies show that they also want them to be better grounded in their faith. This desire makes sacramental preparation a “teachable moment.”
Family Life Meets Church Life
The relationship between the larger Church and the Church at home has been a constant theme throughout Christian history. The early Church met in homes so that sacred actions of the eucharistic common meal by the gathered believers were imitated in their home life. It is clear to all of us that when home rituals and the liturgies of Church reinforce one another, family life becomes more inherently religious. All of us know that for many, sacramental sessions for parents are in the same category as teacher conferences. The catechist’s task is to help parents find the place where the experience of family life meets the experience of the Church.
Teachable moments are those peak learning moments when everything comes together. In those moments, individuals are primed to discover and/or develop a new understanding. Sacramental moments in the child’s life provide these moments. As much as they enhance the education of the child, they give parents the opportunity to grow in their own faith.
Deepening the Family Faith
At marriage, a new family is formed––a special context or construct of relationship. Religion is a vital part of that relationship. Newly married couples frequently have difficulty initiating the family customs that support their own “domestic church.” In those first years, they may well attend Mass regularly and pray before meals. The birth of a child is the perfect time to make religion a deeper part of family life. Those who prepare the family for the birth of a child focus on the parent by exploring the faith life of the child.
Religious development can begin even before birth. Parents naturally speak to the child in the womb. Catechists can encourage them to pray with the child. Scientific studies have shown that the infant can hear in the third trimester of the mother’s pregnancy. Prayer has its own special rhythm. If a child remembers a story heard in the womb, the same child would certainly have learned the cadence of prayer. This is a time when they can take the first steps in teaching the child to pray and, not incidentally, establish the habit of praying together.
Family Prayer and Ritual
Family practice and ritual provide the context for the child’s faith life. Children learn about the sacraments from their catechists but they learn about familial relationship from their parents. They learn that family meals are an occasion of sharing and joy or a battlefield where all the problems of the day are resolved.
(Part 2 in this series will address the relationship between the family and the Church in the sacramental preparation of children.)
Mary Jo Tully has been the chancellor of the Archdiocese of Portland since 1990. Before coming to Portland, she was the director of religious education in the Archdiocese of Chicago and the author of the Focus on Faith religious education series. She was a catechetical consultant for Sadlier’s “We Believe” program, teaches at Mount Angel Seminary in St. Benedict, Oregon, and writes a Scripture column in the Catholic Sentinel.
| Title | Price | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| CD | |||
| 11775 | Color the World with Song | $17.00 | Add to Cart |
Color the World with Song
Easy-to-sing settings of psalms, acclamations, and hymns.
Easy-to-sing settings of psalms, acclamations, and hymns.