Family Faith on the Go!
Traditions are important to families. Singing the family birthday song, making grandma’s banana bread, praying in a special way at holiday meals — traditions are the foundation on which strong families are built. Likewise, the Church was built upon the rituals and traditions of the apostles and the early Christian communities.
Do your kids know their Bible? Knowing the Bible is essential to knowing Christ, the Church says. Fortunately, you don’t need to be a Bible expert to teach your kids to read the Bible. In fact, this approach makes Bible literacy as easy as A-B-C.
The Sermon on the Mount found in the Gospel of Matthew proclaims some of the richest and most familiar teachings of Jesus: the beatitudes. The Beatitudes are: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven; blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted; blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth; blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied; blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy; blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God; blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God; blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven; blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven. Find help for your Catholic kids to understand them.
Different families have different names for this kind of space: home altar, home shrine, celebration table, and so on. Whatever you call it, use the space as a physical reminder of God’s presence in your home, as well as your intention as a family to create “space” for God in your life.
It was 4 a.m. one Sunday morning, and the power went out. No big deal. Everyone’s asleep. Except that my kids sleep with night lights, and there are white-noise machines […]
