An Introduction: Lent and Easter in the Home

Burning palms to make ashes (Ash Wednesday 2018)

I can't count how many times parents have told me that they want to teach and form their children in the Christian faith, but don't know how. Of course, people know the obvious things: make a big deal out of Sunday morning worship and, for some families, send the kids to Christian school. But how to do this in the home? Where do I start? What resources are out there? What if I don't do it right?

In our home, faith education and formation are laid on rather thick. Maybe some people would say we go overboard. And some might say not to lay the burden of a religious identity on your children; let them find it on their own! But that is not our viewpoint. First of all, Dominic and I can't help ourselves. I suppose that's what happens when you have a combined total of 15-ish years of theological education! But more importantly, we view our children as the first two people to whom we must preach the Gospel and demonstrate how to live a life reflecting our love for Christ. We see our home as a domestic church (an idea we stole from the early church fathers Augustine and John Chrysostom). And this idea is picked up in the Catholic Church's catechism, which says this:

In our own time, in a world often alien and even hostile to faith, believing families are of primary importance as centers of living, radiant faith. For this reason the Second Vatican Council, using an ancient expression, calls the family the Ecclesia domestica. It is in the bosom of the family that parents are 'by word and example ... the first heralds of the faith with regard to their children" (Catechism of the Catholic Church  ¶1656).

The home is a "domestic church" (Ecclesia domestica). And parents are the first heralds of the Gospel to their children. In our house, we don't have a masterplan that we're working off of, and each year we try new things and add others. Most often, I teach in response to questions our kids ask, and I always find that what comes out of my mouth in response to questions is so much better than what I could have planned in advance. Nevertheless, I'm starting this series of posts to try to help other parents get started or build on what they already do in their own homes.

And Lent is the perfect time to begin. Throughout Lent 2018, I will be posting a series of ideas and resources for ways that this season can be meaningful for your children--and, as it always seems to turn out, for you as well! Please leave comments adding your own ideas and resources, your successes and flops, and any other feedback!