What I have done ... I failed to do.

An article in America reminds me of an incident many years ago.  I had stopped by the home of one of our small group leaders, a middle-aged mother of four, to go over some material for the upcoming sessions.  The kids were home from school, and the oldest sat nearby.  During the course of the conversation the mother made some comments about the principal and some of the teachers at the school.  I did not comment much, mostly because of the child sitting at the table with us.  Later that week she commented that 'we' need to be careful what 'we' talk about, since Bobby was repeating the conversation to all of his friends.

The America article concerns keeping our children in Church.  It is a good article and offers some solid insights.  Mostly it is about formation of the children outside of the catholic grade school or R.E. program.  If we want our children to be catholic, our lifestyle has to be catholic as well.  As I am apt to repeat, "Offer a blessing rather than a curse" includes how we discuss our concerns and situations involving one another.  If the Church is always wrong, or simply a place to get sacraments, then most likely we will not be having catholic children.  It is very telling when we do sacramental preparation and couples speak about having a child "blessed" in baptism, or when marriage preparation becomes about aisle length, that we have not done a good job of passing on our faith.

Our Faith, and especially our Catholic faith, is meant to be lived out within and outside of the church.  We attend Mass on Sundays as well as attend to reconciliation and prayer.  Most importantly we are somehow involved in works of charity, we seek forgiveness within our families, and work to establish a compassion and understanding of all people.  In his Lenten message Pope Benedict XVI commented, "Humbleness of heart and the personal experience of suffering can awaken within us a sense of compassion and empathy."

The cliche for peers who are slightly older was that "there are starving people in China who would love to have your food."  As wrong as the statement is, it is important to convey a message of concern and compassion for all men and women.  Like any family the Church has its dysfunction, but it is founded upon the selfless love as found in the Paschal Mystery.  Despite our brokenness God calls us to a life of holiness.

In our domestic Churches we live the saying, 'Where charity and love prevail, there God is ever found.'  The catholic faith remains part of us when it is lived as a relationship with us as opposed to an entity that we engage from time to time.  I remember an old man who stopped by our office for assistance, telling me that he was catholic.  He proceeded to make the sign of the cross for me.  That was nice but our faith has to be more than external signs or indicators.  We are the Body of Christ and live as a communion of faith.  We convey what we believe in word and in deed.