Following The Truth: Parents…Are You Doing Your Job? (Catholic or Open)

Needs to be repeated:

Parents have the first responsibility for the education of their children. They bear witness to this responsibility first by creating a home where tenderness, forgiveness, respect, fidelity, and disinterested service are the rule. The home is well suited for education in the virtues. This requires an apprenticeship in self-denial, sound judgment, and self-mastery – the preconditions of all true freedom. Parents should teach their children to subordinate the “material and instinctual dimensions to interior and spiritual ones.” Parents have a grave responsibility to give good example to their children. By knowing how to acknowledge their own failings to their children, parents will be better able to guide and correct them. (CCC 2223)

Furthermore, educating our children about the Catholic Faith is not only a privilege, but is a serious responsibility:

Gary Zimak is the founder of Following The Truth Ministries (http://www.followingthetruth.com), a lay apostolate created to assist Catholics in learning more about their Faith. He is a regular guest on EWTN Radio’s “Son Rise Morning Show”, Ave Maria Radio’s “Catholic Connection with Teresa Tomeo” and appears frequently on several other Catholic radio programs. In addition to writing for CatholicLane. Mr. Zimak hosts a daily program on BlogTalkRadio and posts frequently on his blog, Facebook and Twitter. He is a member of Catholics United For The Faith and the Knights of Columbus and resides in New Jersey.

Catholic Ping!

**”Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe [in me] to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. (Mark 9:42)**

I had never thought about this quote from the Bible in terms of being a parent.

The above is perfect advice. Although parents can not be perfect-—they can always perfect themselves with daily reflection and education. Habit—practice Virtue and it is habituated. Aristotle knew this thousands of years ago. Children model what they hear and see. If you treat people badly—children will learn to do the same thing. Catch yourself when you “gossip” and refuse to drag people down-—build them up—bring their BEST out. Everyone will be so much happier and children will learn and model goodness and character..

You should NEVER allow the mind of your children to be corrupted—by TV, by school curricula—it is vital—maybe more—than the physical health of your children. Soul needs as much nurture—it creates emotionally strong people with character.

Never be silent in the face of evil—no matter how uncomfortable you “feel”. It takes God’s grace to face Satan’s forces and the public schools teach conformity and humiliation for those “thinking outside the Atheist/Marxist box”, so Christians will be vilified and Truth is not welcome-—you will be ridiculed for standing up for Christ. BUT it is worth it—and will greatly enrich the lives of your children and create good people.

It is never an accident when children become people of character. Read the biography of Bonhoeffer-—even his mother recognized the evil “Prussian” system in Germany schools. That Prussian system was put into total effect in America in the 30’s by a Fabian Socialist—Dewey. It was the beginning of the Atheist/Marxist brainwashing and the destroying of Truth in the schools and the promotion of hedonism/atheism/Marxism. Kids can NOT resist the agitprop—what they are told becomes part of their subconscious when they are young.

I would never put my kids in “public” schools of today. They teach Satanism/Atheism. Children are vulnerable—it is why they have “parents”. Do your duty and protect and nurture their minds-—not with unlimited TV and Public Schools-—they destroy Virtue and promote evil 90% of the time.

Wonderful post. If I had it to do over, I would put my children in Catholic School. My husband said we couldn’t afford it.

But, oh, how I wish I had not listened at that time.

http://www.domestic-church.com/CONTENT.DCC/19990501/ARTICLES/holyfamilies.htm

Holy Families!
When Virtual Solidarity Is Not Enough

by Robb Klucik

used with permission

The first time I surfed the internet for things Catholic I was instantly excited. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that so much good information was available free of charge. And the thought of so many good people working so hard to make this good information available lifted my spirits. My miserly pack-rat instincts had me book-marking every orthodox sight I found.

Of course I soon focused my visits to several favorite web sites. The solidarity I felt with others in my virtual Roman Catholic community was very comforting. I took advantage of the opportunity to further develop my existing solid foundation in our faith - this time with a focus on family life. I experienced tremendous elation, enlightenment, wonder and joy. Discovering the details of God’s plan was amazing - Familiaris Consortio was a gift from God. My virtual community helped me realize that my strong religious convictions and my peculiar notion of family life might place me in the minority, but by no means was I alone.

I did suffer from a common malady though - I spent too much time in my virtual world forsaking in no small way some of my real-world family responsibilities. Wake up call number one. I also quickly hungered for the sort of family-to-family solidarity afforded only by conversation over a home-cooked meal or receiving a hug from a toddler who mistakes the first available leg for Daddy. It was nice to know about other like-minded families but this could not substitute for actually knowing other like-minded families. Wake up call number two. And I began to wonder what good it was doing to merely read the commentary of those who vindicated my own sentiments. Was I being “salt and light” or selfishly looking for comfort? Wake up call number three.

Putting priorities back in perspective, I set out to somehow make useful the mother-lode of good stuff I found on the internet. My wife and I spent many hours talking and felt God calling us to boldly reach out to other families already present in our life. Knowing our own weaknesses we felt that we needed other families who shared our convictions to help us grow and swim against the tide of our secular society. We had experienced the benefits of meeting in small “accountability” groups like those found in Cursillo and other movements. We would need to reach out and work to forge a sort of family-to-family solidarity with some of the other families in our parish.

What started out as a few gutsy invitations and an evening meal shared by three families turned into what is now called Holy Families! a group of families meeting on a regular basis for friendship, teaching and solidarity. While the adults study and discuss together, the children play and work on activities. Later we all share a meal. It has been such a success that a second group has started.
Who: Families
What: Gatherings
Where: Homes in the parish
When: One Sunday each month
Why: Family-to-Family Solidarity
How: Informal structure offered by Holy Families!

The Holy Families! web site is not intended to offer the best list of resources or links like all the sites I bookmarked in my early web surfing days. What you will find is an informal, flexible and effective framework (outlined in detail) for like-minded families to start their own Holy Families! group, to join together and share the Faith. It is a framework around which families can put into practice all the good things gleaned from Church documents, the Catholic internet and other good resources. It is a framework in which each family learns how to establish and nurture it’s own domestic church by sharing their journey with other families.

In addition to suggesting timelines and important logistical details (which help things go smoothly), this framework allows all parents involved to agree up front on matters of orthodoxy. This can eliminate surprises down the road because everyone knows what to expect from the beginning. This can be done without undue emphasis, yet also without any ambiguity (see the mission statement our group adopted). Holy Families! is not an organization and has no membership. It is a concept available for all families interested in making the domestic church a reality in their own life while growing in faith with other like-minded families.

For parents, Holy Families! is a chance to expose their family to other Christian role models. Children learn important things they might not learn in CCD, put what they learn into practice, and discover Catholic traditions and Traditions. Parents also have the chance to study, pray and grow with other parents. Children develop the sense that our faith in Christ can be present in every part of life - especially when we join with friends for celebration and recreation.

We really do stick to the format on our web page. Our latest project for the adults has been to study Familiaris Consortio. We found a condensed and simplified version of it with study questions. It is not as thorough as JPII’s original, but it is easier to read and has good study questions. (The study guide will be published in Domestic-Church. Com soon.)

We of course feel such a close connection to 5 other families now. We also have developed a network of trust in this time of such odd-ball diversity as to what is and is not Catholic. We have people to count on for prayer and during time of need. All the families moved here from other places and I think we have a surrogate family network now. We also feel so good at Mass because we sense that we are truly there with “family”. We also have shared and learned so many great things about how to live our spiritual lives. One family is from Mexico and they share great traditions of our faith that we had never heard of. One family is Filipino and they also share great insights. We also have found that we circulate good books and tapes and other info which helps us all in our lives. Our prayer together has been powerful - as well. Especially the prayers to the angel’s for protection and to ward off the devil and his angels. This prayer had a great impact upon us all.

I cannot explain the joy I experience each week when my kids eagerly ask again and again “Do we have Holy Families! this weekend?” During our monthly gatherings such great hope swells in the heart of each parent every time...a parade of kids comes down the stairs from the playroom ready to stage an impromptu bible story for us parents... someone asks to see the St. Francis video again...the children share the prayers in their heart when we gather for our meal...they smile and sing along with the Rosary for Little Children video. We are filled with a peaceful joy, confident and grateful that the seeds of faith we have planted in our children are forming such strong roots. Once again we praise God for His bountiful blessings.

You might be thinking that starting up a Holy Families! group sounds interesting but feel that you could never pull off. Those in our group would recommend you pray about it. After completing one year of monthly gatherings, our group decided to share our good fortune with other families. We prayed for weeks to discern the best way to share our joy with other local families, and then we reached out with a half-dozen invitations. Two months later three of these families started a second Holy Families! group. This fact alone should bolster your confidence. All six Holy Families! families are enthusiastic witnesses to the power of family-to-family solidarity - both virtual and real. We are happy to be discovering - together with friends - God’s blueprint for family life.

Robb and Laurie Klucik are the parents of Matthew Alexander (7), Milina Therese (4), Mary Magali (2). The family eagerly awaits the birth of child number four in the Spring of 1999.They can be contacted at happyfamilies@hotmail.com

Family resources here:

http://web.archive.org/web/20011118090806/http://home.sprynet.com/~rklucik/

More family resources here:

http://web.archive.org/web/20011104084536/http://home.sprynet.com/~rklucik/three.htm

Bfl.

Boy do I feel ill equiped for my motherhood vocation right now. I was raised in a non-religious Episcopalian household in a totally secular environment. My husband is FIRMLY lapsed and I’ve only been blessed to be in the Church for less than two years. We are fortunate to live in a parish with its own lovely school so that is where we have enrolled our oldest in preK. I’ve really been praying for the school to help me show her God’s love because I don’t get any backup at home and don’t have any examples from my own upbringing to guide me (besides some good “what not to do” whoppers, LOL), so I feel like I’m flubbing it, basically. I suppose my first step should be to put my foot down that we ALL go to Mass TOGETHER, huh?

Step by step as the Domestic Church you will get there, put your heart and head into it. Start off by teaching the children to say Grace before every meal.

Here’s your first step:
Grace:
Bless us Oh Lord and these Thy gifts for which we are about to receive from Thy Bounty, through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

They will forever associate their earliest prayers with yummy food and you will have hit the celestial ball out of the park on your first step. Give them lots of hugs and cuddle them while you teach them prayers. You are the primary educator in their lives. From the early days I told my kids right away there there was an invisible side to them, their souls, that would never ever die because God loved them so much and that they were Baptized. We had many wonderful conversations about God. Since young children have a natural ability to grasp this on their level at the preschool age, it will give them a basis to understand the catechesis that will come with school.

Look at some of the materials used in the Catholic homeschooling community as support aides. This is one site I recall from over a decade ago but google for others:

http://www.love2learn.net/

Then for the 2nd step start teaching them to say the Our Father and the Hail Mary. Don’t be afraid - it will flow naturally once you start. You were born for this.

Thanks. :)

We do end every day with the Our Father. Both kids can say it from memory although my little boy who just turned 3 mangles it a little. ;) My daughter likes to talk about God at bedtime and I love those conversations. Saying grace is spotty, it’s not something I grew up with and at 39 old habits die hard so I need to make more of an effort. I want to be able to make Christ a tangible part of our daily lives, not just on Sundays or bedtime. My Protestant friends are really good at that and I admire them for it.

Thank you for the link. Also, I just remembered that there is a new Bible study starting up this month for mothers in our parish who have young kids and have not been able to join a study group because of that. So that will be great, we’re new here and I can meet some Catholic mothers to hang out with finally. It will be good to pick their brains. :)

Next is the Hail Mary, then the Glory be,

Or maybe you should do Angel of God first here. Iremember my kids loving that prayer at bedtime.

What about at mealtime.

Bless us, O Lord, and these, thy gifts, which we are about to receive from thy bounty, through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Thanks Salvation, your posts are always a great resource for me, too. <3

Following The Truth: Parents…Are You Doing Your Job? (Catholic or Open)
Following The Truth: Confession – Is It Still Necessary? (Catholic or Open)

Following The Truth: Hurry Up, Lord…I’m Waiting! (Catholic or Open)
Following The Truth: Evangelize? Sorry, But I’m Catholic! (Catholic or Open)
Following The Truth: Ten Facts Most Catholics Don’t Know (But Should!) (Catholic or Open)
Following The Truth: Letting Your Conscience Be Your Guide(What Jiminy Cricket Didn’t Tell You) [Catholic or Open]
Following The Truth: Catholic “Fluff” – The Enemy Within (Catholic or Open)
Following The Truth: Appreciating The Gift Of Suffering (Catholic or Open)
Following the Truth: Satan’s Attack On The Church – What You Can Do! (Catholic or Open)
Following the Truth: Saying “Y-E-S” to God During Lent (and Advent) [Catholic or Open]
Following the Truth: Spiritual Dryness: “I Don’t Feel Anything!” (Catholic or Open)
Following the Truth: A Biblical Roadmap To The One, True Church (Catholic or Open)