by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI
Psalm 84 is one of my favourites. I remember as a child sitting on the floor with my siblings listening to my mother read this psalm and explain the meaning of the words to us. It was from her that we learned that we will find strength in the Lord. It was she who urged us to live always in the house of the Lord.
Recently, my father, siblings and I prayed in the rose garden at the Crematorium in London where her ashes were strewn. I thank God that my mother took such care to pass on the Catholic faith to us. Parents are the primary teachers of the faith to their children.
Our Catechism notes: “Parents receive the responsibility and privilege of evangelising 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. They should associate them from their tenderest years with the life of the Church. 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…
“Family catechesis precedes, accompanies, and enriches other forms of instruction in the faith. Parents have the mission of teaching their children to pray and to discover their vocation as children of God. The parish is the Eucharistic community and the heart of the liturgical life of Christian families; it is a privileged place for the catechesis of children and parents…Children in turn contribute to the growth in holiness of their parents” (2225-2227).
This last sentence should remind parents that in order to transmit the faith, they must live it; they must be living witnesses/Christian role models; they must imbibe Gospel values. The fact that society is becoming more and more secular makes it even more imperative that parents, parishes and Catholic schools play their part to strengthen the faith of our children.
In the face of the many social ills that confront us, we must ensure that our children learn that God is our rampart and shield; it is He who gives us grace and glory. He is the source of our strength. Our happiness comes from dwelling in the house of the Lord. This means that we must know what is required of us if we are to dwell in His house.
As a child, what helped me to understand what ‘our vocation to be holy’ meant was listening to my mother’s stories about the lives of saints and about the parables in the Gospels; learning to pray from the heart – including reciting the rosary as a family; and attending Mass regularly and understanding the Eucharist.
I still have some of the cards she used to give us with prayers at the back to encourage us to pray. The simple act of praying before and after meals teaches children to give thanks for what God has provided. Jesus Himself gave thanks to God before he “broke bread”, e.g. when he fed the multitude (Matt 14:15; 15-32-38).
In preparation for Respect for Life Week, CCSJ’s Parish Link Coordinators agreed to write prayers for a prayer book which some of you will have seen. One of CCSJ’s youngest members also contributed to the prayer book. You can access the prayers on CCSJ’s website, and those who contributed said they found it to be a spiritually uplifting experience. As I stated in the introduction to the prayer book, we must never be too busy to pray. In fact, our Scriptures tell us that we must: “pray constantly; and for all things give thanks to God because this is what God expects you to do in Christ Jesus.”(1 Thes 5:17-18). Romans 12:12 tells us to “keep on praying”.
During his daily Mass on October 8, 2013, Pope Francis focused on the importance of prayer and forgiveness in the life of a Christian. He said: “The Lord tells us ‘the first task in life is this: prayer. But not the prayer of words, like a parrot, but the prayer of the heart, gazing on the Lord, hearing the Lord, asking the Lord’…When coming from the heart, we know that prayer works miracles…”
And when we stray from the paths of righteousness, like Zaccheus in Luke 19:1-10, it is our faith that will help us to return to the house of the Lord, for He has come to seek out and save those of us who are lost. May salvation come to all our houses. Amen.
