By Susan Ciancio
The Catechism of the Catholic Church is a phenomenal resource that helps Catholics understand our roles and responsibilities within the Church, in our homes, and in our communities.
Throughout the nearly 2,000 years of the Church’s history, Church leaders have put together collections of works that outline what Catholics believe. In 1992, under the direction of St. John Paul II, the Church condensed it all into one volume—the Catechism of the Catholic Church. If you want to know what the Church teaches about any subject, you need only look to the Catechism. It’s a beautiful book rich with teaching and instruction for how to live an authentically faithful Catholic life.
Found among the pages are several sections that address parents’ roles regarding the education of their children. So frequently in today’s world parents feel rushed as they go to work and from one activity to another with kids, and often it’s the education that should begin at home—education in the faith—that takes a backseat to everything else.
Faith should be the most important thing in our lives. But if we don’t teach it, how will our children ever know?
Teaching the faith at home doesn’t have to be difficult, nor does it require hours at a time. It happens in the way that we talk about people, the way we treat people, in the way we explain the world, and in actual teachings. That’s where the Culture of Life Studies Program comes in. You can easily add our downloadable lessons to your nightly or weekend routine. We offer lessons from pre-K-12th grade on a wide range of subjects, including marriage, family, the preborn baby, the saints, and more!
Education in the faith is crucial, and we need only look to the Catechism for a reminder of our responsibility as parents. That’s why we wanted to share some excerpts with you—to help you think about how you can implement pro-life education into your busy lives and to learn how CLSP can help you do so.
1. “The fecundity of conjugal love cannot be reduced solely to the procreation of children, but must extend to their moral education and their spiritual formation” (CCC, 2221).
CLSP lessons help children and teens navigate the world, develop the moral courage necessary to battle a culture of death, and understand that we must respect all human beings from the first moment of creation.
2. “The role of parents in education is of such importance that it is almost impossible to provide an adequate substitute” (CCC, 2221).
We know that parents sometimes have no idea where to start when it comes to teaching pro-life values or the tenets of the faith. Our lessons come with all you need: instructions, discussion questions, suggestions for outside activities, and more. We never leave you wondering about how to implement our lessons.
3. “Education in the faith by the parents should begin in the child’s earliest years” (CCC, 2226).
Our lessons begin as young as pre-K, and all are age appropriate. We begin laying the foundation by talking about the value of all people, by showing the wonder of a developing preborn baby, and by helping children develop empathy.
4. “Parents receive the responsibility and privilege of evangelizing their children. Parents should initiate their children at an early age into the mysteries of the faith of which they are the ‘first heralds’ for their children” (CCC, 2225)
Learning the faith with your children should be fun! That’s why we have so many great lessons that provide activities you can do together or ways to learn as a family. When children see their parents excited about the beauty of the faith, they are more likely to internalize that excitement and exhibit it as well.
5. “A wholesome family life can foster interior dispositions that are a genuine preparation for a living faith and remain a support for it throughout one’s life” (CCC, 2225).
At CLSP, we like to say that families that learn about the faith together grow in faith together. Laying that foundation now will help children remain strong in the face of adversity later.
The most valuable thing we can pass on to our children is our love of God and the Catholic Church. Integrating teachings of the faith into our daily lives is not something that is or should be difficult. It’s something that should be fun and enjoyable. With CLSP lessons, all of this is possible.
Our children are gifts from God. He has entrusted them to us, and our role as their parents is to guide them through the trials of life and to help them get to heaven so that they can spend eternity with our Lord.