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- MAMMA
MARGARET
- 150
by Pascual Chávez Villanueva
T
HE
FAMILY CRADLE OF LIFE
THE GUEST
WITH A CAPITAL “G”
It is the family that gives shape and form to all the spiritual aspects of life. It is there that one exeriences and learns the meaning of such spiritual ideas and attitudes as welcoming, listening, forgiving, communion, blessing, gratitude, gift, sacrifice…
P
More than anything else, children need stories that explain where the world comes from, why they are alive and where grand-dad who died recently is now. They want to know why we are here in the world and when we are going to have to leave it. They ask whether God is a man or a woman ... With their questioning children can really stretch their parents’ imagination to its limits, but it is wrong to leave them to be influenced by the answers from elsewhere, since that would be in a sense to betray them. God should be seen as part of the family, and given a welcome as the Guest with a capital “G.” His presence can be experienced in the way importance is given to the interior life, and in special events, in the love shown for each other, in acting in a responsible way towards one another, in being brave, in forgiving, in being hopeful. God isn’t a vague religious feeling, but someone present. Parents, however, shouldn’t forget that most fundamental lesson: “you cannot give what you haven’t got.” Parents shouldn’t be content to “send” their chidren to catechism class. They have to play their own part which is the most important. The Church isn’t a “filling station” providing services. Just as the gift of life come from God through the parents, so the faith comes from God through the parents and the Church. The idea «My child will have to decide for himself later what religion to choose» is totally mistaken from the psychological and human development point of view.
Religious learning occurs in three stages. The first through observation and imitation: children listen with their eyes. A child who doesn’t see Mum and Dad pray will never pray. For the origin and the development of the idea of God the influence of the parents is decisive. Religious attitudes, however, can also be acquired through teaching and guidance: this is the second stage. Children have the right to know and understand the life of Jesus, his words, the thinking and the traditions of the community of believers; then to be “initiated” into a life “with God.” The third way to learn religious attitudes is through the reinforcement that comes from the affirmation of others and from social approval. This is the role of the parish community. The social affirmation that comes from praying and celebrating in common, in the church or in groups, or in the youth centre, makes what was handed on by parents or catechists acceptable and worth living.
