Month: January 2024

Do you know who made you?  God made you!  Why did God make you?  He made you because He loves you!  This is the reality that many of us learned when we were young. We pass it on to our children because it is how we form our faith.    As we learn more about God, our faith grows, and we find security in God’s love.  God’s love never changes, it is always present. Knowing God’s love is the basis for our faith and securing this love in our soul takes care and practice.  To know and receive God’s love, our hearts must be open.  We spend our lives discovering God’s love, and we should delight in it often.  Morning, noon, and night are the perfect times to turn our thoughts to God.  They are perfect times to delight in His love and give praise and thanksgiving.

God made you because He loves you.  God, who is love, is a communion of three Divine Persons.  These three Persons are united in an inner life of love. God the Father is the giver, He gives the gift of self.  The Son is the Receiver, who receives the Father’s gift of self and gives back His own gift of self to the Father.  “They are distinct from one another in their relations of origin: ‘It is the Father who generates, the Son who is begotten, and the Holy Spirit who proceeds.’ The divine Unity is Triune.” (CCC 254) There is so much love between all three persons, they are one single Being. This inner life of love is eternal and never broken.  The love of the Trinity is fruitful and life-giving. We can access this love through prayer.

This new year is the perfect time to return to the prayers we learned in our childhood.   Remember that we are to pray the “Sign of the Cross” with humility and reverence.  Our outward prayers are a witness to others. Our prayers are not just words we have been saying for years.  Our behaviors as adults are shaped by the experiences of our childhood.  Can you remember a time when someone taught you about Jesus or taught you to pray?  Does that childlike curiosity still inspire you to love the Lord?  When you enter a Catholic Church or pass by a Tabernacle, do you remember to show reverence for the presence of Jesus?  Find ways to honor your creator.  Find ways to love the one who first loved.   “We love because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19)

 Love wants to be with the beloved.    

Here’s what the Scriptures have to say:

1 John 4:8 – God is Love

Psalm 139:14 – I praise you, so wonderfully you made me; wonderful are your works!

Jeremiah 33:2-3 – Thus says the Lord who made the earth and gave it form and firmness, whose name is Lord:  Call to me, and I will answer you; I will tell to you things great beyond reach of your knowledge.

Hebrews 4:16 – So, let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.

Author: Beth Zanotelli, Family Life Coordinator for the Diocese of Palm Beach

Do you want your children to have a good life?  Do you want your kids to be successful and flourish in the world?  Not many parents would answer “no” to those questions.  There are also not many parents who wake up in the morning and say, “I would like to be a lousy parent today.”  Most parents want the best for their children, and many work tirelessly to create a life that is better than the life they had growing up.  Or maybe they try to repaint the fairytale life that they knew.  What a joy and honor it is to raise children.  Of course, it comes with great sacrifice and constant care, but raising children is truly a gift!

The most important question we should be asking is, “How can I help my child live a holy life and get to heaven?” We are called to baptize our children as part of our Catholic faith. During a baptism, when the priest or deacon is about to pour the water, parents, Godparents, and all present are reminded, “Make it your constant care to bring your child up in the practice of the faith.” This responsibility comes from the understanding of who is the “ultimate owner of the child.”  Psalm 139:13 says, “You formed my inmost being; You knit me in my mother’s womb.”  God is the original parent and “owner” of our children, while mothers and fathers are the biological “foster parents” who have received the child on loan from God.  One of the parents’ most important duties is to teach their children about the genuine love of God. Much of this is taught by loving encounters and experiences within the family.  Parents also must teach their children to pray.  Prayer must begin at birth and continue throughout life.  Faith needs to be a constant for the baptized, and prayer sustains faith. 

How do we teach our children well?   How can we do a better job of bringing them up in the faith?  One way is to live the Liturgical Calendar.  Teach your children about Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter, but go even deeper and look at each day as a journey in faith.  Who is the Saint of the Day? Find a way to celebrate at least one Saint each month (three or four would be better).  It’s not that difficult, in February there is already a day for St. Valentine, and in March, St. Patrick.  You could learn about the Patron Saint of your Parish and celebrate by making a recipe from the country they are from.  Choose a patron saint for your family and celebrate along with the patron saint of each child.  Do you celebrate the anniversary of their baptism?  Why not, it is when they became Children of God. When you start teaching your child colors look at what color vestments the priest is wearing at Mass. He will wear green in Ordinary Time, what are the other colors he wears? (HINT: purple, white, red)

Our faith is best taught through lived experience. Another way to teach the faith and about the life of Jesus is to pray the Rosary as a family.  October is the month of Our Lady of the Rosary, how many ways could you count the 10 Hail Mary’s in a decade of the Rosary?  You could count on beads, stickers, jellybeans, pompoms, cupcakes, and the list goes on.

As we each try to live the Liturgical Calendar, look for groups that meet to pray and play.  Catholic Tots, Religious Education activities, and Catholic Scouting groups like American Heritage Girls, Little Flowers, Blue Knights, and Trail Life are great groups.   Connect with other families to share ideas and build community. Like-minded people will help you grow your faith and teach your children well.

Here’s what the scriptures have to say:

Proverbs 22:6 – Train a [child] in the way he should go; even when he is old, he will not swerve from it.

Deuteronomy 6: 5-9 – You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your strength.  Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today. Drill them into your children.  Speak of them at home and abroad, whether you are busy or at rest.

Psalm 139:13-14 – You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb.  I praise you, so wonderfully you made me; wonderful are your works!

John 3:5 – Jesus answered, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.