Catholic Identity: The Joy of Catholic Parenting

Catholic Identity Activity

What does being Catholic mean to you? Express your faith with a printable, personal Catholic Identity booklet. Download the free booklet with instructions and a corresponding Catholic identity sticker set to affix to completed pages.

The Gift of Faith

When a gift is given, it should be received as a whole, which may be contrary to how we approach giving and receiving gifts today. So, being Catholic means to recognize how precious the Catholic faith is and striving to receive the fullness of what this gift offers. Here is how I think about it.

Sacramental Life

Being a Catholic Christian first means to understand what make Catholics different than other Christians. The center of Catholic faith recognizes the Eucharist as the source and summit of our faith. So, consistent and active participation at mass is essential to being Catholic.

But being Catholic is not limited to mass attendance. Living a full sacramental life is also part of being Catholic. That means participating in all the sacramental gifts the Church offers and/or requires is part of being Catholic. For example, think about the sacraments of initiation, healing, and vocation.

We are initiated into God’s family through Baptism where our adult faith is confirmed at Confirmation. We receive the fullness of Jesus through the real presence in the Eucharist. We receive forgiveness and restore our relationship with God through Reconciliation and receive spiritual or physical healing through Anointing of the Sick. Finally, our vocations lead us to follow Jesus through Holy Orders or in marriage.

Church Teachings

Combined with living a sacramental life, we continue to learn about the faith and what the Church teaches, love ourselves and others through Jesus’ words and example, and develop a personal relationship with God through prayer.

The Joy of Catholic Parenting

One of the hurdles to overcome in a growing Christian faith life is to recognize the dignity of others and the willingness to put others before yourself. I recall hearing the secret of J-O-Y: Jesus, Others, You. JOY! Not only should we put Jesus first, but we should also regard others as more important than ourselves (Phil 2:1-4). This can be an extremely difficult pathway to finding joy.

As parents, however, my wife and I have always found joy in providing for our children. From birth, through the toddler years, school years, and now young adulthood, we feel we have always put them first. Sacrificing for our children has resulted in great joy seeing them grow as individuals, family members, and classmates. Probably the most rewarding moments were seeing them grow in the Lord and in their Catholic faith.

I recall all the missed homilies due to crying children and wondering “Why are we even here? We aren’t getting anything out of it.” Well, if you know, you know! It wasn’t until the adolescent years that we recognized that our children were assessing situations and making decisions based on their Catholic faith—many being contrary to their peers or secular society.

Being Catholic is a personal decision for them as much as it is for me and my wife. However, there is no greater reward for a Catholic parent than to see your child(ren) embrace the beauty of the Catholic church and the fullness of life that that brings.

Daily Life

I incorporate being Catholic into daily family life through a combination of words and actions. Family life, as I see it, are the normal activities a family shares throughout a day, week, or year.

Our faith example was an important aspect of life and very prominent in our family. Weekly mass attendance, prayer, and faith related conversations over meals provided a strong foundation for developing an authentic faith life. We volunteered as catechists and served as a marriage sponsor couple, often hosting engaged couples at our home. Our children witnessed our example of a lived faith, which helped develop a Catholic worldview and sense of Catholic identity.

As we now have young adults who live at home, and our lived examples haven’t changed much, integrating being Catholic has taken on a much more explicit verbal direction. From controversial topics to actual situations, we attempt to support a clear way of looking at things through the lens of our Catholic faith to enable healthy and good decision making.

Models of Catholicism

I like to share that as a Protestant, I experienced what I refer to as the primary colors of salvation. First, confess that you are a sinner. Second, confess that Jesus is Lord and died to save us from our sins. And third, get baptized as an outward sign of an inward decision to follow Christ. These steps are generally understood as the Protestant pathway to salvation.

After coming into the Catholic Church, one of the beautiful things I found was a life of conversion and salvation expressed through the depth of Catholic spirituality. This is what I mean by the fullness of faith found in the Catholic Church. “Cradle” Catholics tend not to recall a moment of salvation because their Catholic Identity is shaped throughout a lifetime of conversion that leads to eternal salvation, versus a single event.

Catholic spirituality is shaped by Jesus’ example, scripture, tradition, and the lives of the faithful, especially those recognized and canonized by the Church. There are many saints whose lives have contributed to Catholic spirituality and shapes our Catholic Identity.

As for the models that I look to for being Catholic, there are many living Catholics who inspire me. However, I lean towards saints such as St. Therese of Lisieux for her little way to holiness, St. Ignatius of Loyola for his resiliency to overcome self for God and for developing the Spiritual Exercises, and Saint Patrick for his example of witness and teaching using imagery.

In Summary

This article is second in a series on Catholic identity. Visit the Sadlier Religion Blog to read previous and upcoming guest posts written by individuals who serve the Church in many ways. Each author will reflect on what Catholic identity means to them personally in their life and work.