Bringing the family back to deep Catholicism

[LostTime]

Greetings!

I am on a quest for advice. I am a Catholic who has made mistakes within my family. While I was raised “cafeteria style” in my Catholic home, I knew I wanted something different. I started out raising my child in a fairly traditional manner, but faced a lot of backlash from friends and family alike. The pressure began to get to me. When the traditional church I was attending left my parish to open up a TLM mission about an hour further than we already traveled, we just resigned to attending my parish church, which preaches a kind of “Catholicism lite” that has not helped our family spirituality. Having to go back to work further hastened things since I’m out of the house more than I want to be. The parish school is ok academically, but the practices they teach run counter to my own beliefs (Communion in the hand is one. I know it’s an acceptable practice, but my husband and I have been teaching our child why we don’t receive this way. Her teachers have responded by calling us “old fashioned” and letting her know that it’s ok to “get with the times” ). My husband is completely uninspired by the local mass… and seems to be slowly sinking into the “cafeteria mindset” that pervades the parish.

So, I’ve been trying to get back on track. I have become more vocal about traditions with my kids’ teachers, and have been researching different school and church options. I’ve even been researching the economic feasibility of working part time from home while the kids are in class, just so they have a consistent presence as opposed to school/daycare/two hours of parent time. I have worked to limit media time and increase prayer time-- and this seems to be the hardest hurdle. It’s all too easy for the TV to go on, or the internet to come up and hours to get wasted.

I’m beginning to wonder if it’s just too late. Surely, others have been in this position! As the kids get older, my urgency grows stronger. I would LOVE to know if there is a book, a blogger… someone who might have STARTED their family on a secular path (either within the church or outside of the faith), but who journeyed to bring them back to a more integrative sense of faith-- daily family prayer, cutting down on (or cutting out!) modern media, etc, etc. Even recommended books on maintaining a strong sense of faith in the swirls of secular culture would be appreciated!

Thanks for your time!

 

[PetiteFoi]

Greetings!

I am on a quest for advice. I am a Catholic who has made mistakes within my family. While I was raised “cafeteria style” in my Catholic home, I knew I wanted something different. I started out raising my child in a fairly traditional manner, but faced a lot of backlash from friends and family alike. The pressure began to get to me. When the traditional church I was attending left my parish to open up a TLM mission about an hour further than we already traveled, we just resigned to attending my parish church, which preaches a kind of “Catholicism lite” that has not helped our family spirituality. Having to go back to work further hastened things since I’m out of the house more than I want to be. The parish school is ok academically, but the practices they teach run counter to my own beliefs (Communion in the hand is one. I know it’s an acceptable practice, but my husband and I have been teaching our child why we don’t receive this way. Her teachers have responded by calling us “old fashioned” and letting her know that it’s ok to “get with the times” ). My husband is completely uninspired by the local mass… and seems to be slowly sinking into the “cafeteria mindset” that pervades the parish.

So, I’ve been trying to get back on track. I have become more vocal about traditions with my kids’ teachers, and have been researching different school and church options. I’ve even been researching the economic feasibility of working part time from home while the kids are in class, just so they have a consistent presence as opposed to school/daycare/two hours of parent time. I have worked to limit media time and increase prayer time-- and this seems to be the hardest hurdle. It’s all too easy for the TV to go on, or the internet to come up and hours to get wasted.

I’m beginning to wonder if it’s just too late. Surely, others have been in this position! As the kids get older, my urgency grows stronger. I would LOVE to know if there is a book, a blogger… someone who might have STARTED their family on a secular path (either within the church or outside of the faith), but who journeyed to bring them back to a more integrative sense of faith-- daily family prayer, cutting down on (or cutting out!) modern media, etc, etc. Even recommended books on maintaining a strong sense of faith in the swirls of secular culture would be appreciated!

Thanks for your time!

I read the desire in your words to get back into the traditional Catholic culture and all I can think is “right on!!”
Firstly, I don’t think it’s EVER too late - My parents, siblings and I all became Christian at the same time - I was 13, my youngest brother was 10, my older sister 17.
We made serious changes in a relativly short amount of time:

• cut out cable/tv
• girls wore dresses/skirts. (we had to re-learn what modesty meant, so we started at square one…)
• a year later we were homeschooled
• my mother who used to tell me that it only made sense to live with someone before marrying them, encouraged chastity and waiting.
• daily devotionals etc.

One of the things you can do is start following the Liturgical calender.
There’s a great book:
The Catholic Home: Celebrations and Traditions for Holidays, Feast Days, and Every Day
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/511736M6BTL.BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01.jpg

Which I bought and am still reading through. It describes the holidays/feasts/etc through the liturgical year and gives you the scripture, prayer, history AND a whole section called: “Celebrate at home” - a description of how you can bring it personally into your home and celebrate it with your family.
It’s an amazing book! (I have the kindle version)

I’ve also heard really good things about this book:
The Domestic Church: Room by Room
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51NVr6evvSL.BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01.jpg

Make sure to keep praying, letting your children pray and encouraging them.
Does each child own a rosary? Can you pray through the mysteries together? Maybe some prayer cards of a saint they admire? Or even a book on the stories of saints?

As a child I liked being able to “carry around” what was important to me, depending on the ages of your children - I think it’d be extremely interesting to watch something of theirs become “blessed” (rosary/medallion?)
And depending on the ages you can get what are called “Table Prayer Dice”


You roll it before/after your meal and read the blessing.

Just a few ideas from someone trying to bring the catholic culture back in as well.

Peace,
~ PetiteFoi

 

[robwar]

Greetings!

I am on a quest for advice. I am a Catholic who has made mistakes within my family. While I was raised “cafeteria style” in my Catholic home, I knew I wanted something different. I started out raising my child in a fairly traditional manner, but faced a lot of backlash from friends and family alike. The pressure began to get to me. When the traditional church I was attending left my parish to open up a TLM mission about an hour further than we already traveled, we just resigned to attending my parish church, which preaches a kind of “Catholicism lite” that has not helped our family spirituality. Having to go back to work further hastened things since I’m out of the house more than I want to be. The parish school is ok academically, but the practices they teach run counter to my own beliefs (Communion in the hand is one. I know it’s an acceptable practice, but my husband and I have been teaching our child why we don’t receive this way. Her teachers have responded by calling us “old fashioned” and letting her know that it’s ok to “get with the times” ). My husband is completely uninspired by the local mass… and seems to be slowly sinking into the “cafeteria mindset” that pervades the parish.

So, I’ve been trying to get back on track. I have become more vocal about traditions with my kids’ teachers, and have been researching different school and church options. I’ve even been researching the economic feasibility of working part time from home while the kids are in class, just so they have a consistent presence as opposed to school/daycare/two hours of parent time. I have worked to limit media time and increase prayer time-- and this seems to be the hardest hurdle. It’s all too easy for the TV to go on, or the internet to come up and hours to get wasted.

I’m beginning to wonder if it’s just too late. Surely, others have been in this position! As the kids get older, my urgency grows stronger. I would LOVE to know if there is a book, a blogger… someone who might have STARTED their family on a secular path (either within the church or outside of the faith), but who journeyed to bring them back to a more integrative sense of faith-- daily family prayer, cutting down on (or cutting out!) modern media, etc, etc. Even recommended books on maintaining a strong sense of faith in the swirls of secular culture would be appreciated!

Thanks for your time!

I am not sure but you seem to be picking a fight with the school about how the receive communion which hand or mouth is both acceptable and equal. This really isn’t something to fight over with the school and the parish and counter productive in that as your children grow and attend other Catholic Churches they will be seeing both. Likewise, what are you implying by Catholic Lite? While it is good to want a more observant Catholic home life, if you become militant about it with others over minor issues like how to receive communion which may not be the norm in this Catholic school and parish then you will be pushing off and putting off others, your child’s teacher doesn’t control the norm of how communion is distributed, it is the priest. If you are instructing you child to receive by mouth while everyone else in the class is doing the hand then that become more a a distraction and “look at me” and a sign of superiority with others. Is that what you want? A more observant household is what happen in the home, not how one received the Eucharist at any Catholic Church.

 

[LostTime]

I did not intend to sound militant… I just feel flustered over certain things.

With the communion bit, I’m ok with both hands and tongue, but am annoyed that the kids are being told that in the hand is the “only way” and that we as their parents are in the wrong! When my son came home and said that his religion teacher called us “old school” and that we needed to “catch up,” that seemed uncool in many ways. Other parents have expressed concern that their students have been told that the church needs to “get with the times” on the topic of contraception too (though my kids are not quite old enough to hear that kind of thing!). In my mind, the communion bit could be a teaching moment… a way to explaining the various traditions and the various ways of the church throughout time (as we do at home). Instead, it seems to be moving towards a parents versus kids thing (making me wonder what I’m paying tuition for!).

…and I guess that’s what I mean by Catholic Lite… maybe “Catholic in name only” would be a more descriptive way of putting it. It makes me think of the now infamous video between Penn and Piers and the notion of “pick and choose” elements of the faith (angelqueen.org/2013/03/07/outspoken-atheist-penn-jillette-penn-teller-defends-catholic-orthodoxy-on-cnns-piers-morgan-tonight-3613/).

 

[LostTime]

PetiteFoi… wonderful! I’ll take all of these to heart!

I read the desire in your words to get back into the traditional Catholic culture and all I can think is “right on!!”
Firstly, I don’t think it’s EVER too late - My parents, siblings and I all became Christian at the same time - I was 13, my youngest brother was 10, my older sister 17.

 

[TexCatholic4JMJ]

I read the desire in your words to get back into the traditional Catholic culture and all I can think is “right on!!”
Firstly, I don’t think it’s EVER too late - My parents, siblings and I all became Christian at the same time - I was 13, my youngest brother was 10, my older sister 17.
We made serious changes in a relativly short amount of time:

• cut out cable/tv
• girls wore dresses/skirts. (we had to re-learn what modesty meant, so we started at square one…)
• a year later we were homeschooled
• my mother who used to tell me that it only made sense to live with someone before marrying them, encouraged chastity and waiting.
• daily devotionals etc.

One of the things you can do is start following the Liturgical calender.
There’s a great book:
The Catholic Home: Celebrations and Traditions for Holidays, Feast Days, and Every Day
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/511736M6BTL.BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01.jpg

Which I bought and am still reading through. It describes the holidays/feasts/etc through the liturgical year and gives you the scripture, prayer, history AND a whole section called: “Celebrate at home” - a description of how you can bring it personally into your home and celebrate it with your family.
It’s an amazing book! (I have the kindle version)

I’ve also heard really good things about this book:
The Domestic Church: Room by Room
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51NVr6evvSL.BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01.jpg

Make sure to keep praying, letting your children pray and encouraging them.
Does each child own a rosary? Can you pray through the mysteries together? Maybe some prayer cards of a saint they admire? Or even a book on the stories of saints?

As a child I liked being able to “carry around” what was important to me, depending on the ages of your children - I think it’d be extremely interesting to watch something of theirs become “blessed” (rosary/medallion?)
And depending on the ages you can get what are called “Table Prayer Dice”
http://www.catholicfamilygifts.com/images/products/detail/toy-game/11387.jpg

You roll it before/after your meal and read the blessing.

Just a few ideas from someone trying to bring the catholic culture back in as well.

Peace,
~ PetiteFoi

What great suggestions all of these are!

 

[Southern]

I agree! And you should stick by the Fundamentals of your Faith! It was the secular groups that stopped us from receiving in the mouth and also saying the St. Michael the Archangel prayer once Mass was over. Our hands are not meant to touch the Host. Only consecrated hands. There have been to many changes that offends Our Dear Lord and he has made it known and will make it known even more so in the future. His answers come through miricles and wisphers every second of the day. We just need to listen more. And for your children. You will have to come before God and answer for your own children not the teachers or whoever although they will have to answer for their own account but you will have to answer for your own children till they reach a certain age. GOD BLESS you for standing for your Beliefs and KEEP your faith alive!

 

[detoutcoeur]

Greetings!

I am on a quest for advice. I am a Catholic who has made mistakes within my family. While I was raised “cafeteria style” in my Catholic home, I knew I wanted something different. I started out raising my child in a fairly traditional manner, but faced a lot of backlash from friends and family alike. The pressure began to get to me. When the traditional church I was attending left my parish to open up a TLM mission about an hour further than we already traveled, we just resigned to attending my parish church, which preaches a kind of “Catholicism lite” that has not helped our family spirituality. Having to go back to work further hastened things since I’m out of the house more than I want to be. The parish school is ok academically, but the practices they teach run counter to my own beliefs (Communion in the hand is one. I know it’s an acceptable practice, but my husband and I have been teaching our child why we don’t receive this way. Her teachers have responded by calling us “old fashioned” and letting her know that it’s ok to “get with the times” ). My husband is completely uninspired by the local mass… and seems to be slowly sinking into the “cafeteria mindset” that pervades the parish.

So, I’ve been trying to get back on track. I have become more vocal about traditions with my kids’ teachers, and have been researching different school and church options. I’ve even been researching the economic feasibility of working part time from home while the kids are in class, just so they have a consistent presence as opposed to school/daycare/two hours of parent time. I have worked to limit media time and increase prayer time-- and this seems to be the hardest hurdle. It’s all too easy for the TV to go on, or the internet to come up and hours to get wasted.

I’m beginning to wonder if it’s just too late. Surely, others have been in this position! As the kids get older, my urgency grows stronger. I would LOVE to know if there is a book, a blogger… someone who might have STARTED their family on a secular path (either within the church or outside of the faith), but who journeyed to bring them back to a more integrative sense of faith-- daily family prayer, cutting down on (or cutting out!) modern media, etc, etc. Even recommended books on maintaining a strong sense of faith in the swirls of secular culture would be appreciated!

Thanks for your time!

Thank you so much for writing. No, it’s not too late. (You know where discouragement comes from, right?) You are doing a GREAT job! You’re in in my prayers.

I agree! And you should stick by the Fundamentals of your Faith! It was the secular groups that stopped us from receiving in the mouth and also saying the St. Michael the Archangel prayer once Mass was over. Our hands are not meant to touch the Host. Only consecrated hands. There have been to many changes that offends Our Dear Lord and he has made it known and will make it known even more so in the future. His answers come through miracles and whispers every second of the day. We just need to listen more. And for your children. You will have to come before God and answer for your own children not the teachers or whoever although they will have to answer for their own account but you will have to answer for your own children till they reach a certain age. GOD BLESS you for standing for your Beliefs and KEEP your faith alive!

The post by Lost Time and your reply made my day–many thanks!

**GOD ** BOTH!

 

[robwar]

I did not intend to sound militant… I just feel flustered over certain things.

With the communion bit, I’m ok with both hands and tongue, but am annoyed that the kids are being told that in the hand is the “only way” and that we as their parents are in the wrong! When my son came home and said that his religion teacher called us “old school” and that we needed to “catch up,” that seemed uncool in many ways. Other parents have expressed concern that their students have been told that the church needs to “get with the times” on the topic of contraception too (though my kids are not quite old enough to hear that kind of thing!). In my mind, the communion bit could be a teaching moment… a way to explaining the various traditions and the various ways of the church throughout time (as we do at home). Instead, it seems to be moving towards a parents versus kids thing (making me wonder what I’m paying tuition for!).

…and I guess that’s what I mean by Catholic Lite… maybe “Catholic in name only” would be a more descriptive way of putting it. It makes me think of the now infamous video between Penn and Piers and the notion of “pick and choose” elements of the faith (angelqueen.org/2013/03/07/outspoken-atheist-penn-jillette-penn-teller-defends-catholic-orthodoxy-on-cnns-piers-morgan-tonight-3613/).

Why don’t you and other concerned parents sit down with the priest and discuss this?
The person who said this might have said it out of frustration or feeling threaten. The better way is to iron all this out with the priest. Yes Piers Morgan and other like him in the media are embarrassing. Really, an atheist gets it better than someone claiming to be Catholic. But if they were orthodox and knowledgeable in their faith, then Piers and Joanne Behr and all the rest probably won’t be in the positions they have. A real orthodox Catholic wouldn’t even be past the door with CNN etc.
Back to what was said, there are two extremes about receiving the Eucharist but one needs to realize that the Church allow both. Yes, the rubrics of one Mass may favor one or the other but both are acceptable.

 

[Cat]

I agree! And you should stick by the Fundamentals of your Faith! It was the secular groups that stopped us from receiving in the mouth and also saying the St. Michael the Archangel prayer once Mass was over. Our hands are not meant to touch the Host. Only consecrated hands. There have been to many changes that offends Our Dear Lord and he has made it known and will make it known even more so in the future. His answers come through miricles and wisphers every second of the day. We just need to listen more. And for your children. You will have to come before God and answer for your own children not the teachers or whoever although they will have to answer for their own account but you will have to answer for your own children till they reach a certain age. GOD BLESS you for standing for your Beliefs and KEEP your faith alive!

Refer to italics (mine)–You do realize that this is not what the Catholic Church teaches? Why are you teaching something different?

 

[Cat]

I’ll be honest here–I think you sound like you look down on everyone in your parish. I think you really need to do some serious praying about your attitude, and that you should make some appointments with your parish priest and be willing to submit to his advice.

If your kids pick up on this kind of “superiority complex” and start acting superior to all the “lite Catholics” or “Catholics in name only” (as you label them) in their school, they will quickly find themselves ostracized and alone in their school. That’s really a terrible thing to pass on to your children–that many other Catholics are not serious. How do you know? Do you have any friends in the parish? Do you know the people that you are criticizing?

Please listen to a mom who is now 55 years old and has raised two lovely daughters, and has seen many Christian families, both Protestant and Catholic, make the mistake of trying too hard to control their children. If you hold your kids down too tightly and lock them in a “fortress” and fill them with horror stories of “the world,” and tell them that there are demons behind every bush and strive to keep the gates of modernity closed and locked while you revel in the past, your children will strain against their bonds and eventually, when they have the opportunity, they will break away and it will be very hard to ever get them back again. They may submit with docility and sweetness while they are young and have no choice, but inside, they are biding their time and waiting for the Day of Escape. I’ve seen it happen over and over again. Please be very careful and use a light touch.

I hope this post is helpful to you and others.

 

[Southern]

Refer to italics (mine)–You do realize that this is not what the Catholic Church teaches? Why are you teaching something different?

What, that tradition has changed in Vatican II? God does not Change. The only thing he changed was when he carried his Cross he said “See I come to make all things new.” Which means he is the new Adam and his Mother is the New Eve. He reversed all that was wrong from the Old Testament starting from the First sin of Adam and Eve which was disobedience. Everything he did he reversed what happened in the Old Testament with his own life up until his death on the Cross. Example: His obedience to the Father when he gave his life erased the sin of Adam’s Disobedience by eating the Fruit of the tree. He placed the Church upon Peter and yes man has made error through the years with the Church but the fundamentals of our faith did not change. Vatican II changed that in the
60’s to suit the changing world. Maybe you never attended a traditional mass to know this in which I am sorry. I teach the truth. God’s Truth not man’s! Secular groups changed this and if you do not believe that then watch the Church over the next few months! And by secular groups I am sure you know what I mean. God Bless!

 

[Southern]

I’ll be honest here–I think you sound like you look down on everyone in your parish. I think you really need to do some serious praying about your attitude, and that you should make some appointments with your parish priest and be willing to submit to his advice.

If your kids pick up on this kind of “superiority complex” and start acting superior to all the “lite Catholics” or “Catholics in name only” (as you label them) in their school, they will quickly find themselves ostracized and alone in their school. That’s really a terrible thing to pass on to your children–that many other Catholics are not serious. How do you know? Do you have any friends in the parish? Do you know the people that you are criticizing?

Please listen to a mom who is now 55 years old and has raised two lovely daughters, and has seen many Christian families, both Protestant and Catholic, make the mistake of trying too hard to control their children. If you hold your kids down too tightly and lock them in a “fortress” and fill them with horror stories of “the world,” and tell them that there are demons behind every bush and strive to keep the gates of modernity closed and locked while you revel in the past, your children will strain against their bonds and eventually, when they have the opportunity, they will break away and it will be very hard to ever get them back again. They may submit with docility and sweetness while they are young and have no choice, but inside, they are biding their time and waiting for the Day of Escape. I’ve seen it happen over and over again. Please be very careful and use a light touch.

I hope this post is helpful to you and others.

I feel sorry for you and I will pray for you! Shame on you for judging this person seeking answers. However it is true if you keep kids from the world too much it is a culture shock when they get out on their own. But if our children cannot learn tradition and what we can pass down to them then who will they turn to? This person is raising their child the best way they can and to their knowledge. Do NOT judge them for that. Christ installed tradition in our hearts and Heaven is in our hearts. That is why this world is not our home. Heaven is! And our God given talents is what we pass on to our children to teach them and pray that they find their way to Christ.

 

[admonsta]

I am in a similar situation to you, OP. Our TLM is an hour away, they do have a monthly Mass nearby, so we go there whenever we can.

I am very aware of the differences between the two cultures - many of the people from my local parish think I’m over-the-top, because I receive on the tongue, I take all my kids to Mass, every Sunday, they make their first Holy Communion as soon as possible after they turn 7 and, because the TLM priests require a very high level of understanding, my kids have a very thorough knowledge of their catechism (this happened after they told me off for being lax, and showed me that I myself had a poor knowledge of the catechism).

The school has not said anything to put down the differences of my children, and I don’t require them to receive on the tongue at the local Mass (because they are too embarrassed to be different there), but I do hope that they understand what I have taught them, and when they are old enough to stand up for what they believe, they will do it. We’ll see.

Don’t give up. Don’t look down on others who are not at the same stage of their faith as you, but don’t lower your standards either. Your vocation is to raise your children to be great saints. Keep your eyes on the prize, and be a humble example to others.

 

[Lance_O]

I did not intend to sound militant… I just feel flustered over certain things.

With the communion bit, I’m ok with both hands and tongue, but am annoyed that the kids are being told that in the hand is the “only way” and that we as their parents are in the wrong! When my son came home and said that his religion teacher called us “old school” and that we needed to “catch up,”.

I agree with you so much about this and would be confronting this school and teacher about this. BTW, receiving Communion kneeling and on the tongue is the preferred method of the Universal Church. Watch this YouTube video from 2-3 years ago of my former Bishop, now Cardinal Burke, talk about Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s desire to move the entire church back to this holly and pious practice or receiving on the tongue. So many parishes these days treat the reception of the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord like they are going through the Drive-Thur lane at the closest fast food restaurant during peak lunch hour time. Further more, NO one can be denied communion on the tongue as stated in paragraph 92 of [Redemptionis Sacramentum](http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/c...0423_redemptionis-sacramentum_en.html#Chapter IV). Stick to your guns with your children and the proper reception of Holy Communion in a holy and prayerful way while in the state of Grace.

Other parents have expressed concern that their students have been told that the church needs to “get with the times” on the topic of** contraception** too… Instead, it seems to be moving towards a parents versus kids thing (making me wonder what I’m paying tuition for!).

I would leave this “trendy” parish for one that is faithful to the Magesterium. Sorry, I don’t know how else to put it. You can try to offer a teaching moment to them, but don’t expect it to go anywhere. You really need to have a talk with the parish priest about the things the teachers are telling the children. We don’t belong to the parish closest to where we live because of the way the liturgy is celebrated with the abuses. Fortunately, we only have to drive 10 miles to a faithful parish. The souls of my children are more important than exposing them to spiritual decay and disobedience/heresy.

I’m fortunate to live in an area that has a really good parish that: celebrates a very reverent OF Mass, only one EMHC is used, a lot of the parish receives on the tongue, and some Latin is used the entire year. Also, my parish priest routinely preaches against abortion and contraception and liturgically “SAYS the Black and DOES the Red”. I’m also fortunate that have another parish and a very beautiful shrine (with Communion Rails) within 30 minutes of driving that offers the EF Mass as well. Our family mainly attends the OF Mass, but will try to attend the EF Mass once a month as well. We feel it’s important our kids know both forms of the Mass.

My wife and I have been married for 10yrs, 9 months and 11 days. We have four kids, ages 8-1 and our kids are currently being home-schooled. We are fortunate enough to be able to make the financial sacrifice for my wife to stay home with our kids. I was not raised in any faith at all (crossed the Tiber Easter 2002) and my wife (cradle Catholic from a ‘trendy’ parish) is the only one of her three siblings that still attends Mass. We also have been labeled as “Old School”, “Extremists”, have been told “you take that religion c**p too serious”, “how many kids are you going to have”, blah, blah, blah, blah. We are very fortunate to be friends with five families that are like ours which helps out a lot. The results: Our kids play Mass at home with vestments we made for them, do well in nightly prayer time and offering up their intentions, they are polite to adults, play well with other kids, do excellent during Mass and ALL other public places we go. My 8 year old who will be receiving First Communion in a few weeks knows more about the faith then the most teenagers being confirmed these days and knows not to receive while in Mortal Sin has already been to Confession twice during Lent. We also limit the TV time to a minimum as well and control what they watch.

I don’t mention all of this about my kids to brag, but to let you know you are not alone in rejection of the ‘cafeteria catholic’ mentality that is to common in so many dying parishes. Good luck to you and your family as you strive to live faithfully and more deep in your faith. It’s tough when you don’t have much support from family and friends.