Nowadays, it is even more necessary and urgent (than before) for our family to be vigilant about the Catholic Faith amidst a highly secular world. It is not enough that we merely listen to Bible scholars, priests, bishops, cardinals or even our Pope and simply believe and obey whatever they say. Not all representatives of Christ proclaim His Teachings but their own personal opinions and interpretation of the Scriptures. While we must continue respecting them, loving them and praying for them, we have to keep in mind that all people are prone to errors and the changing world can affect people’s views and beliefs, even those of the consecrated ones. We cannot simply be blinded by focusing solely on the credentials of the people speaking or writing but rather on the content of what they are saying. That said, it is not enough that we merely leave this crucial task to the educational institutions or to our Church – or to anyone. They are our partners in evangelizing our children, this is true.
But as parents, we have the primary responsibility and spiritual authority given by God to teach our children diligently about the Gospel above all things. We ourselves must take an active role in learning and preserving the deposit of Faith handed down by Christ to the apostles and handed by the apostles to their successors and to the Church up to this very day. We have to read the Scriptures, learn our Catechism, teach our children and model the Christian virtues to them. What a tough task! I must say, our hands are full. The latter, seems to be the most difficult part. But let us do our best, unworthy as we are, to do as much as we can and to do this for love of God, knowing that He will recognize our effort and the love we put into this. By God’s Grace He shall supply the rest of what we need for our family.
With so many modern, new age and superstitious beliefs or traditions that are contrary to the teachings of the Church scattered everywhere in the internet and in the world, we do not want our children to go into a battle unarmored. There are false prophets anywhere and one day, we may not be around to guide our children and to answer their questions with the Truth. We might not be available to comfort them with God’s Word when they meet challenges in life. Just because they are baptized Catholics does not guarantee they will remain so till the end. There is not even a guarantee they will remain Christians. The only opportunity and certainty that God provides us is now. Now, we have the opportunity to introduce them to prayer, reading and living the Scriptures. Now, we have the chance to show them by example, the importance of the Sacraments and Sacred traditions of the Church. These are easier said than done but let us continue persevering in faith. Our children must know where to find the Truth and may the Holy Spirit always guide them towards it. While we are here, we can help lead each other towards it. We can only do so much. We screw up a lot and we badly need God’s Help.
How are we going to prepare them to recognize the devil, the enemy? How do they discern the truth from lies when the father of all lies himself, in his expertise can present lies in between truths to appear enticing and correct? Flashback to Genesis, in the Garden of Eden when the ancient serpent sowed seeds of pride and error in the hearts of Adam and Eve, leading them to disobey God, we must not forget that he is still the same devil who deceive many today.
Perhaps, this is one of the reasons why many Catholics, lay and the consecrated ones, work together and harder to come up with projects that will help the faithful to be equipped with the Truth to strengthen each family, to live the Faith and to defend it using social media. A few weeks before the end of 2020, I came across LifeSite news on YouTube featuring Our Lady of the Rosary Family Catechism and I was really grateful to have found it. Families can go to their website https://olrfamilycatechism.com/ and simply register for free! Together, they can watch and learn together Baltimore catechism which is presented beautifully through brief videos hosted by Father Pillari. Produced by Voice of the Family, there are three inspiring introductory lessons about the message of our Lady at Fatima, to be succeeded by lessons on Catechism with printable activity materials for each lesson for mastery. The lessons are good enough for adults and children as young as 8. (In the case of very young children or those with disability like my child, we can easily customize or simplify the concepts and activity to suit the needs of our children.) One can only proceed to the next lesson after completing the previous one and can always go back and watch the previous videos.
We consider this a good bonding experience, that will help us know how to be able to live the Faith, grow in holiness and see clearly what is good in contrast with the deception of evil. We highly encourage everyone to visit their website and enjoy this spiritual journey that will strengthen and protect the whole family.
To God be the Glory!
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