Being Authentic to God
I have a theory about nurturing faith in the family.
It goes like this: If a child’s faith is an integral part of his or her everyday life—not just the overtly religious parts—it will become so central to that person’s identity that he or she could never leave the Church because it would mean an abandoning of self.
The question is, how do you accomplish that goal? I believe the answer is twofold: authenticity and practicality.
First Corinthians 12 exhorts us to remember that our gifts are uniquely given by God and so is our calling. In my family, nurturing the faith in an authentic and practical way means leading a choir at Mass and teaching natural family planning with the kids sitting in the room with us. It means letting them watch the news and having no-question-off-limits discussions of what they see there. It means carrying snacks in the car to give to homeless men and women, digging into piggy banks to contribute to the family’s Christmas charity, and regarding conservation and recycling as signs of Godly stewardship, not just civic responsibility.
In your family, an authentic, practical application of the faith might look quite different….
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