catholic family faith

Being Content

"I know indeed how to live in humble circumstances; I know also how to live with abundance.  In every circumstance and in all things I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry, of living in abundance and of being in need.  I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me."  (Philippians 4:12-13)

In this letter from St. Paul, I am challenged to reflect on how content I am with my state in life?  Contentedness comes from Christ, "who empowers me."  Do I allow Christ to empower me with contentedness and accept the events and circumstances of my life, rejoicing in the difficult times along with the good?  Do I complain and despair in my hardships or do I see the potential growth available from difficult times?  Do I appreciate what I have rather than complaining about what I don't have?

As we parents examine how we are content with our lot in life, we can help our children learn to be content.  We help our children learn to be content by our example and by not giving in to the culture of want that surrounds us.  One of the best gifts we can give our children is to appreciate what they have rather than wishing for what they don't have.  We can also help our children to realize and recognize that God is present with them all them time, especially in difficult situations.  I have talked with many parents who have great ideas for helping their children appreciate what they have.  Some examples include:

• Inviting children, and all family members, to talk about what they are grateful for at the end of each day.
• Talking about how God has been present with you at the end of each day or through a difficult situation.
• For every item bought or received, they have to give one item away to charity. 
• Getting only one gift on birthdays or Christmas.
• Purchasing gifts for charity at Christmas rather than getting gifts.
• Shopping for clothes at thrift and second-hand shops.
• Waiting three to six months to get a new release of a movie, toy, or gadget.

These are just some ideas for helping our children be content and appreciate the gifts with which God has blessed them.  What ideas do you have for helping your children be content?

Lord Jesus Christ, empower us with your Spirit of fortitude and courage so that we may truly be content with whatever comes our way.

A Family Gratitude Journal

To build a sense of gratefulness in your daily family life, create a family gratitude journal.  Decorate it with photos of your family and keep it in a central spot, such as the kitchen table.  Throughout the week, encourage members of the family to jot down things they’re grateful for.  Spelling doesn’t matter, and you don’t need to write in complete sentences.  Items can be small – time to play outside before dinner – or large – an upcoming vacation.  Younger children can dictate their ideas to older siblings or parents or draw them.  Every so often, before dinner or bedtime, read some of the past entries out loud and remember together just how much you have to give thanks for. (From article by Annemarie Scobey, At Home With Our Faith, November 2008)

A Family Examination of Consciousness

One of the spiritual legacies St. Ignatius of Loyola left his Society, the order of the Jesuits, is the Examen, or the Examen of Consciousness.  The Examen is intended as a short daily period of reflection, a "method" or way to seek and find God in all things and to gain the freedom to let God's will be done on earth.

Use this adapted form of the Examen to invite your family to participate in an Examination of Consciousness.

1. At the end of each day, as your family is gathered for dinner or before bedtime, recall that you all are in God’s presence, that you are created in God’s image, and that God loves each one of you profoundly.  Ask the Holy Spirit to help you recognize God’s presence with you and to help you to pray together in these or similar words:

Spirit of God, open our minds and hearts to God’s presence with us here.  Enlighten us with your wisdom that we may lovingly recall the blessings and challenges of this day.

2. Then invite each family member to say “Thank you” to God for a blessing they received that day, and then say “Thank you” to any other family member for a blessing they received from that person.  For example, “Thank you, God, for helping me to remember what I have studied so that I could do well on my test.  Thank you, sister, for helping me pick up my room.”

3. After each person has had an opportunity to give thanks, have each family member ask forgiveness for something they may have done that hurt God or another family member.  For example, “Forgive me, brother, for hitting you when I was angry with you.”

4. Pray together an Act of Contrition, such as this one that is taught in preparation for first Reconciliation:

My God, I am sorry for my sins with all my heart.

In choosing to do wrong and failing to do good,

I have sinned against you whom I should love above all things.

I firmly intend, with your help, to do penance, to sin no more, and to avoid whatever leads me to sin.  Our Savior Jesus Christ suffered and died for us.  In his name, my God, have mercy.

Or pray the Confiteor that we pray in the Eucharistic Liturgy:

I confess to almighty God, and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned through my own fault, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done, and what I have failed to do; and I ask blessed Mary, ever virgin, all the angels and saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God.

5. End your prayer by asking God to continue to guide you in all that you say and all that you do.  Then bless one another by making the Sign of the Cross on one another’s foreheads.

Of course, feel free to adapt this method to fit your family’s personality and schedule.

For more on St. Ignatius of Loyola’s Examen and spiritual exercises, check out

• http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/prs/stign/ignatian_spirit.html
• http://www.jesuit.org/Spirituality/default.aspx
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritual_Exercises_of_Ignatius_of_Loyola

The Holy Trinity

The Holy Trinity is three persons in one God:  Father, Son, and Spirit.  An easier way to understand it might be to say that the Holy Trinity is three natures in one God.  There is only one God, but God is revealed and acts in the world in different ways, sometimes as Creator and Father, sometimes as Savior and Son, and sometimes as Inspiration and Holy Spirit. 

We are the Image of the Holy Trinity

Since we are created in God’s image, we can use our own natures to explain and understand the Holy Trinity.  We are alive, our hearts are beating and our brains are working.  God the Father created us and makes our hearts and brains work to keep us alive.  We have bodies, human flesh.  God the Son also had a human body and experienced all the senses that we, too, experience:  sight, touch, taste, smell, sound.  We breathe – inhale and exhale – in order to live.  God the Holy Spirit is the breath of God that gives us life.  God the Holy Spirit is also our conscience, helping us to choose the right thing to do and say.

Also consider:  A man is a Father, a Son, and a Husband; a woman is a Mother, a Daughter, and a Wife – three natures or roles, but the same person.

Using Water to Explain the Holy Trinity

Water can also be used to explain the concept of the Trinity.  As you use water to make food, such as macaroni and cheese, consider this:  Water is generally liquid.  In its liquid state, water quenches our thirst, cleanses us, keeps plants alive, gives life – like God the Father gives life.  When water freezes, it becomes solid, ice.  When water is in its frozen state, you can touch it and hold it, it has substance – like God the Son took on flesh.  When water evaporates, it becomes steam, floating into the air.  We know the water/steam is still there even though we cannot see it – like God the Holy Spirit is unseen but present.

Using an Apple to Explain the Holy Trinity

Have you ever examined an apple in relation to God?  As you eat an apple, consider this:  The core of the apple is at the center of the apple.  It holds the seeds, which, when planted, create new apples.  The core of the apple is like God the Father who is at the core of our being and creates life.  The pulp of the apple is “fleshy.” It’s also the tasty part of the apple, the part we eat.  The pulp of the apple is like God the Son who took on human flesh and gives us his Body and Blood to eat in Holy Communion.  The skin of the apple surrounds the pulp and holds the apple together, like the Holy Spirit surrounds us, the Body of Christ, and holds us together.

What other images and props can you find to help explain and understand the Holy Trinity?

Lord's Day Faith Chat - November 9, 2008

FEAST OF THE DEDICATION OF ST. JOHN LATERAN BASICILICA IN ROME

Family Perspective:  Today's readings remind us that we must have reverence for God's temple, both the temple of God's church and the temple of ourselves.  God created us in God's own image and, therefore, we are holy, we are special.  We learn to appreciate our holiness in our families by sharing love and respect with one another.

Faith Chat:  How does it make you feel to know that you are created in God's own image, that you are a temple of God?  What does it mean to be "holy"?

Family Response:  Discuss as a family ways that you can show reverence for God's temple--both the temple of your body and self and the temple of the church.

Prayer:  Lord Jesus, you ask us to respect your temple.  Help us to show reverence to your church and one another through our words and actions.  Amen.

Autumn Days

I just love autumn days.  As I type this, I am looking out my back slider door watching the gold and brown leaves flutter and float in the breeze.  Every now and then a gust blows more leaves from their tender hold on the branches of the trees, causing them to swirl around and then land on the garage roof or the deck.  (My husband will just love having all these leaves in the yard!)

It is fitting that as we enjoy these days of autumn we also draw to a close our Church year.  As the trees shed their leaves, becoming ready for the winds and snows of winter, we draw near to the end of a year long journey through the liturgical year, becoming ready for a new year that will begin with the first Sunday of Advent.  It is also fitting that as we end our Church year, we celebrate the national feast of Thanksgiving.  What better way to end a year than to give thanks to God for all of the blessings he has bestowed on us over these last twelve months.

I pray that as we go through these last weeks of our Church year that we look back fondly over the past year, liturgically, remembering the celebrations, the Eucharistic liturgies, the prayers, the Scriptures from the Gospel of Matthew with fondness and joy.  Do you remember the Easter Vigil, its service of light, the readings of salvation history, the baptisms of the new faithful and welcoming them into our community?  Do you recall all of the infant baptisms celebrated in and around our Eucharistic liturgies?  What Scriptures do you recall and what did God speak to you through them? 

Let us give thanks to God for all of the blessings of this past year of liturgical celebrations, lessons learned about God, hope, faith, and love.