When Jane and I were expecting our first child, we began looking at how we’d like to pass the faith on to our children. We started by considering things that helped us as we grew up.
One thing I remember is my dad reading from a children’s bible or bible story every night after supper. As a child, I thought it was terrible. My friends got to go out and play a whole 5 minutes before I did! Oh, the injustice. But by the time I was a teenager, I had a pretty decent knowledge of the major stories throughout the bible. It was a great foundation for my relationship with my loving God.
We’ve tried, and failed miserably, to do the same with our kids (several times). So instead we found things that work for us. The easiest was working prayer into the bedtime routine: pajamas, prayers, stories, bedtime. It fits our lives, so it’s become a habit in our family.
More recently Jane has been leading a program called the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. We’ve seen it work wonders in our girls.
- Cassia (age 5) knows that when the priest brings his hands down over the bread and wine (our signal to kneel) he is asking the Holy Spirit to come and give us a great gift, and this moment is called the epiclesis, and the Spirit will change the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus. Sometimes she puts my theology degree to shame.
- Felicity (age 3)… well, she claims that Jesus can’t swim because he just walks on the water. But it’s a start. (“Felicity, what do you like about CGS?” “I like to play pirates.” “There are no pirates at CGS.” “I like to play pirates… at CGS.” Sigh…)
So, how was our faith passed on to you? What are things you have done, or could do, to help the next generation know the love of our savior? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter.
(By the way, our favorite bibles so far are The Catholic Bible for Children (published by Ignatius Press / Magnificat) and the Action Bible. I believe both are available at the awesome Universal Church Supplies here in Saskatoon.)
