Lessons From The Domestic Church (at home)

I don't just post a "simple living" idea every day; I try to follow them myself.

A few days ago, I suggested that you simplify your life by teaching your children to take on a few of the household duties you do. Monitor their progress until it seems they have the new skill mastered.

My ten-year-old now gets the mail. That doesn't sound like much, unless you know that our mailbox is not near the house. It requires bundling up in a coat when it's cold and going for a walk down the lane.

I can see her from the doorway. The other day, I watched as she weathered the elements, watched for traffic to pass, and stepped in front of the mailboxes to gather together our mail.

A big, gusty wind came right about that moment and one little envelope went sailing out of her hands and into the ditch. She looked at the envelope, and then turned toward the house without retrieving it. As she walked, the wind took the envelope and sent it across the road and into the neighbor's property.

Not good. What if it is important? What if it is a tax document? Or a letter? Or a check? That happens - sometimes.

When my daughter finally made it back to the house, I asked her about the piece of mail that was in danger of ending up in the Land of Oz.

"Yeah, the wind took it." She said it quite matter-of-factly. No biggie.

I told her to get in the car. I told her that we had to go get it. She looked at me like I was nuts. It's just an envelope, she seemed to say without saying a thing.

I tried to explain the importance of every piece of mail. But my immediate response, my "get in the car now," left no room for misunderstanding.

Our faith is very much the same. If we give our children the impression that even one little bit of it is not important or if we jettison some aspects of the faith ourselves, what hope do they have of keeping the faith?

They need to know, by what we say and what we do, that everything matters. It all holds together. . . or it falls apart.

Make sure your children know that you are very serious about the Catholic faith. Make sure they know that every little bit of it matters. And it will all matter to them.

Lessons From The Domestic Church (at home)