The Easiest Way to Help Your Kids Grow in Faith
This week I’m in the throes of adjusting to colder weather and the reality that the holidays are coming, ready or not. We have the blessing of hosting family for Thanksgiving, and that means my house will be full of out-of-town guests in just two weeks! Whoa, Nelly!
I heard once, ‘Life is saying, “Things should slow down next week . . .” over and over again until you die.’ I don’t know about you, but this rings so true for me. Even when my weekly calendar doesn’t seem overly scheduled, by Friday I’m wondering where all the time went. Things I thought I’d have no trouble fitting in didn’t get done again, and I can’t ever seem to get enough sleep to feel fully rested.
When I really recognize that life will never slow down (at least not for a very long time), I remind myself that my job is to take advantage of the time I have now. I may not have time to sit and read Scripture every night with each of my kids, and fitting in a Holy Hour (ok, a Holy 15 minutes) in Adoration is a rare treat for the family, but I can still catechize them every day.
As Catholic parents, we are the primary religion teachers for our kids. Plain and simple. We promised this when we brought them to the Church for the sacrament of Baptism, but this role is so much more than simply an obligation. It is a joy to pass on the beauty of our faith to our kids so that they can grow up in this crazy world knowing that God loves them unconditionally and will always be there for them. This is our #1 duty!
Want to know the easiest way to do this? Let your kids see you praying. All. The. Time. I’m a huge fan of structured family prayer, and we never miss a rosary on a road trip, but sometimes kids need to see us personally turning to our faith in times of struggle and times of joy. Jesus himself tells us that our prayers don’t have to be long and full of big words. We just have to turn to our loving God with sincere hearts (cf. Matt 6:7-8).
When things are going well, I try to always pause and offer a prayer of gratitude out loud. When one of my kids comes home with a good grade on a test they were nervous about or reports that a sick classmate was able to return to school, we take a quick second and offer up praise and thanksgiving. I’m being literal here. We do this in like 10 seconds.
Likewise, when things aren’t going well, I pray aloud in front of my kids. They have heard me (countless times) pray to Mama Mary to help me with patience, when my kids are really testing mine. Saint Anthony has yet to let us down when we’re rushing out the door and can’t find that one, uber-important item (like a comfort stuffie or, you know, the car keys).
These prayers don’t have to be long-winded nor perfect. The only perfect prayer is one that comes from your heart. You are the only one who can teach this to your child.
We all know that kids learn better from what they see modeled for them as opposed to what they hear. If they only see us pray before meals and bedtime, they will grow up thinking that prayer is reserved for those times alone. If they see us turn to God all day, every day, for the good and for the bad, they will learn this invaluable lesson from a young age. Imagine how the world will change as we raise the next generation of saints!
Copyright 2023 Maria Riley
Images: Canva
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