“The most important period of life is not the age of university studies, but the first one, the period from birth to the age of six.” - Maria Montessori
HIGHLAND – The Catechism of the Catholic Church provides direction regarding parents' responsibilities to impart the faith to their children, because it's there that we learn that the Christian home is the place where children receive the first proclamation of the faith.
“For this reason, the family home is rightly called the domestic church. It's a community of grace and prayer,” said Sue Jett, formation leader for the National Association of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, “a school of human virtues and of a Christian charity.”
Jett explained that the home is the first school of Christian life and a school for human enrichment. It is there, she said, that one learns endurance and the joy of work, fraternal love, generosity, even repeated forgiveness.
“So, in essence, God is providing the blessing of a family structure to accomplish our own sanctification through living together alongside one another as family,” she said.
Jett recognizes that while there are many documents regarding the role of parents within the Church, she refers most often to a Vatican II document on the Declaration of Christian Education. It was promulgated to teach the faithful that parents have a very high calling, and since parents have conferred life on their children, they have the most solemn obligation to educate their offspring.
“Hence, parents must be acknowledged as the first and foremost educators of their children,” Jett recited. “Their role as educators is so decisive that scarcely anything can compensate for their failure in it.”
How is the Church supporting families in that effort? At most parishes, there are traditional religious education programs where the parents come to the church, looking for help and support to share the faith with their children. However, according to Jett, most often what is happening is an education in the faith, and she notes there's a distinct difference between formation and education.
“And so, I like to say that children can certainly be educated, have religious education about spiritual formation, and encounter a relationship with God,” she said. “But they cannot have a personal relationship and an encounter with God without education, and so it's those two pieces together.”
While Jett admits there is no one-size-fits-all method for every child, she believes Dr. Maria Montessori's insights provide ways that parents can discern and observe from their child during their formation. These Montessori methods, developed in the 19th century, are used in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, a catechetical program for children ages 3-12, with resources available for those even younger. The curriculum creates atriums – specially designed learning environments – where children use hands-on materials to learn about the faith..
“We provide them the big picture,” Jett said. “Then we look at these individual pieces. It's like a framework for a puzzle that they have to see how all of these things connect.”
Jett said the goal is to help parents see how children develop according to their own unique timeline. Children should not be expected to meet milestones at the same time as their peers, as each child is uniquely designed and was created with their own gifts. It is important however to involve children in religious formation from a young age.
“If we wait until the child is in the plane for the reasoning mind or moral development and they have not fallen in love in relationship with the image of God through the image of the Good Shepherd, can they take that with them?” she asked. “And if they have, they begin to realize ‘Why would I ever do anything to be out of relationship with the Good Shepherd?’”
Chris Magley, of Highland, shared that when he is with his granddaughter he tends to talk to her even though she is just two months old. He notices how observant she is when he speaks and realizes it’s because she can hear well even though her sight may not yet be fully developed.
“That’s kind of what she relies on, her hearing, to absorb what's going on around her,” he said. “We have these little crinkle books that make sounds and she really hones in on that. When you talk to her, she's just very focused on that, because that's all her sensory ability allows her to do.”
The Lilly Endowment, Inc. has gifted the program $1 million through the years to put Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, Inc. to work across the United States. Jett has brought the Great Lakes Regional Program to the Diocese of Gary at St. James the Less in Highland. She shared her appreciation for parish administrator Father Gregory Bim-Merle and the staff, who opened their doors to the program.
“They have been very welcoming and supportive to give us the space here to do this,” she said. “And we are trying to help families become aware of it here, but most especially of who their children are and what their children need.”
For more information, visit cgsusa.org or email susanjettcgs@gmail.com
Tools for Building a Domestic Church
-Begin praying as a family and reading from Scripture daily, certainly before meals, but also first thing in the morning or before bed. Find a time that works for your family.
-Pray a Family Rosary (each member leads a decade, and everyone shares intentions).
-Have a crucifix in a prominent place in the home, and in every bedroom.
-Make the sacraments a regular celebration – take the whole family to confession and Mass.
-Begin family traditions based on the seasons celebrated in the liturgical calendar.
-Make your vacation a holy pilgrimage by visiting the shrines and saints of our land and the world.
-Make worshiping God a priority. Never miss Mass, even while traveling.
-Teach stewardship and charity to your children, through word and example.
-Talk freely about the presence of God in the joys and sorrows of your life.
(By United States Catholic Conference of Bishops)
