Keeping kids Catholic :)

[utunumsint]

Just think, you were poorly catechized and turned out to be a devote Catholic! Good for you!

Trust me. It was a minor miracle.

My brothers are all pretty much fallen away.

God bless,
Ut

 

[utunumsint]

One other thought - if they enjoy evening mass - you could always go Saturday night instead of Sunday and still do CCD on Sunday. Just a thought.

On the other thing - stormtroopers are clones. Therefore they really don’t have souls and I would assume really don’t experience death like we do. Yes, it is a cop out but hey sometimes you just have to enjoy a movie for what it is.

Oh boy. Now do clones really not have souls? That is a big philosophical can of worms that I’ll maybe reserve for when he’s a little older.

God bless,
Ut

 

[utunumsint]

I guess when I was thinking about using Star Wars to teach the Faith, since like Em said they loosed interest in these obsessions pretty quick, I was thinking in broader terms. Not so much which character is which but more along the lines of morals and virtues. Who chose good, who chose evil, who was heroic who was a coward etc., and relate it to real life scenarios or biblical characters and saints. There are many saint who, though they didn’t have light sabers fought and died for the faith (St. Joan of Arc comes to mind). St Michael the archangel is pictured with swords etc. I guess what I’m saying is, if he likes the good vs evil epic battle type stuff there is lots there to draw some lessons on virtue and morals from. And aren’t we all engaged the most epic good vs evil battle of all? Appeal to his sense of wanting to be on the good guys side and being a hero and fighting for good.

I think one thing you really have going for you and should encourage is that your son has a good and active imagination. That is important IMHO to foster in him, becasue it helps with the more mysterious and intangible things about our Faith.

You’re right, of course. Imagination is really important, especially in the early stages of faith development. I guess its making that bridge between populare culture, and our faith that is the dificult part. I try it from time to time, but what I usually get is a blank stare.

Still, maybe that is an inherent part of faith. Our faith is not fiction or fantasy, so maybe that is why it is hard to make the jump from fantasy to faith. I guess what I’m saying is that the faith is about real people, and real things, and real concepts, whereas fantasy is just that: make-believe.



God bless,
Ut

 

[joandarc2008]

One thing that may help is when he is playing his good vs evil games whether Star Wars, He-Man, whatever - you can ask them to play out different Biblical stories or different stories of Saints.

 

[joandarc2008]

Oh boy. Now do clones really not have souls? That is a big philosophical can of worms that I’ll maybe reserve for when he’s a little older.

God bless,
Ut

Oh no - that is a big can of worms - not to mention trying to explain what a clone is.

 

[Maria65]

Well, I always thought the Jedi Knights were sort of like warrior monks.

 

[joandarc2008]

Well, I always thought the Jedi Knights were sort of like warrior monks.

St Joan of Arc did have a really good movie though and a sword. My eleven year old stepdaugther liked it so much she chose her as her saint to study in CCD.

 

[samovila]

I don’t think being Catholic and liking Star Wars are exclusive of one another. Your kid can do both. My 2.5 year old is crazy for Dora the Explorer, but I don’t think that means she loves Jesus any less. Some other ways we keep faith in our house besides going to Mass each week are to sing spiritual songs often, pray together daily, have religious objects around the house and mention them often, celebrate the kids’ patron saint days with a special meal, and to use religious and saint themed coloring books.

 

[NSFrame]

I am the only one of my three siblings who has been “kept Catholic” AND I’m the only one who never attended Catholic school. I’m not sure if that is related or not.

In any case, I think you can’t force a kid. Trying to do so is going to create conflict, and you do not want him to associate church and God with conflict.

It’s more about having it available to him everyday, in many different forms, so that something, some day, will “pull” him. I know for me a big part of my faith formation was due to a young priest we had in our parish when I was in junior high, which really set my life on course for being a committed Catholic. Another big part, though, was simply having my mother explain why we did what we did whenever it came up, in an age-appropriate way. For example, at Mass, if someone giggled during the consecration, Mom would give you the evilest possible eye and then at home she explained WHY it was so sacred and why we needed to be reverent during that particular part of Mass (and then you would be punished ). Because of my mom’s thorough yet understandable and also heartfelt explanations of various parts of Catholic faith, I “got it” and internalized it and still hold her beliefs true. So many Protestant friends of mine have been awed at my explanations of Catholic faith, saying that most Catholics they know have no idea why they do what they do, and are thrilled to hear real explanations for things like Lent. (and I only possess a slightly-above-average knowledge, having been humbled by some people on this forum).

I think genuinely understanding the faith is the first step, and then it is up to the individual to embrace it. Anyone who thinks Catholicism consists of a series of hoops to jump through is never going to become a lifelong Catholic.

 

[utunumsint]

I am the only one of my three siblings who has been “kept Catholic” AND I’m the only one who never attended Catholic school. I’m not sure if that is related or not.

In any case, I think you can’t force a kid. Trying to do so is going to create conflict, and you do not want him to associate church and God with conflict.

It’s more about having it available to him everyday, in many different forms, so that something, some day, will “pull” him. I know for me a big part of my faith formation was due to a young priest we had in our parish when I was in junior high, which really set my life on course for being a committed Catholic. Another big part, though, was simply having my mother explain why we did what we did whenever it came up, in an age-appropriate way. For example, at Mass, if someone giggled during the consecration, Mom would give you the evilest possible eye and then at home she explained WHY it was so sacred and why we needed to be reverent during that particular part of Mass (and then you would be punished ). Because of my mom’s thorough yet understandable and also heartfelt explanations of various parts of Catholic faith, I “got it” and internalized it and still hold her beliefs true. So many Protestant friends of mine have been awed at my explanations of Catholic faith, saying that most Catholics they know have no idea why they do what they do, and are thrilled to hear real explanations for things like Lent. (and I only possess a slightly-above-average knowledge, having been humbled by some people on this forum).

I think genuinely understanding the faith is the first step, and then it is up to the individual to embrace it. Anyone who thinks Catholicism consists of a series of hoops to jump through is never going to become a lifelong Catholic.

True. Very true.

I remember as a teen going up to receive communion with a friend of mine, then on the drive home, I said to him, “Lets go back and get some more munchies.” My mother turned around and slapped me on the top of the head. She never said a word why, but the event stuck with me. Now I have a very reverent Eucharistic piety. Its funny how sometimes the smallest things can have a profound effect.

God bless,
Ut

 

[Cat]

He’s a little boy. Let him play.

Relating Star Wars to the Christian faith is going to be difficult, because little ones of six are not capable of thinking abstractly. In fact, most people can’t think abstractly until they approach puberty.

So when you tell him that Luke represents Jesus (or whatever), he won’t understand what you are trying to tell him, and he may get confused.

So my suggestion is–let Star Wars be Star Wars and let Jesus be Jesus.

The values that he is absorbing from Star Wars, e.g., heroism, self-sacrifice, love, wisdom, strength, humor, creativity, etc. will help him as he gets older to understand the Gospel.

Just make sure that anything he becomes obsessed with imparts good basic values. Harry Potter is an example–a lot of people get worried about the “witches” but they need to see past that and realize that the story is a method of imparting values of friendship and selflessness.

My suggestions are to pray for your children often, make your “demands” reasonable (weekly Mass, CCD when the time comes, grace before meals, bedtime prayer, perhaps a travelling mercy prayer), and above all else, LIVE out your faith in YOUR daily life so that your kids can see that it is important, not just something that you talk about.

If you push “religion” too much, he will be turned off. He may obey you out of obligation and pay lip service to the rituals, but when he is older, he will beat a fast path to the door of the Church and not come back. So a wise parent will ease off.