Take role of godparent too seriously?

[SalesianSDB]

Hi everyone, I had a quick question that I have been thinking about the last few days.

I am the godfather to my 6 year old cousin and my mom, who is in a coma, is the godmother of her sister, my 8 year old cousin. They live about four hours away so I haven’t seen them in a very long time (though for the older one’s first penance I mailed a couple coloring books and the lives of girl saints).

I will be visiting my cousins and uncle next week and I was thinking of getting something, like a large pink wooden rosary or The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe DVD, or another book, for the girls even though there’s no special occasion.

I want to take the role of godfather seriously, but also don’t want to come off as the crazy religious cousin. How do you find the balance, especially when you barely see them?

Thanks, God bless.

 

[McMcMe]

I have fond memories of each Christmas, Easter and birthday getting a religious book, puzzle or other item from my godparents whom I very rarely saw. As a teen I would laugh and roll my eyes at the rosaries, Amy Grant CDs and whatnot. But to tell the truth, over the years their constant gentle nudging had a great influence on me returning to the faith as an adult. Don’t worry about being the crazy religious cousin–that may well become a term of endearment for them one day.

 

[Dorothy]

Hi everyone, I had a quick question that I have been thinking about the last few days.

I am the godfather to my 6 year old cousin and my mom, who is in a coma, is the godmother of her sister, my 8 year old cousin. They live about four hours away so I haven’t seen them in a very long time (though for the older one’s first penance I mailed a couple coloring books and the lives of girl saints).

I will be visiting my cousins and uncle next week and I was thinking of getting something, like a large pink wooden rosary or The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe DVD, or another book, for the girls even though there’s no special occasion.

I want to take the role of godfather seriously, but also don’t want to come off as the crazy religious cousin. How do you find the balance, especially when you barely see them?

Thanks, God bless.

What you would like to do sounds wonderful! The young ones will love it.

 

[runningdude]

Hi everyone, I had a quick question that I have been thinking about the last few days.

I am the godfather to my 6 year old cousin and my mom, who is in a coma, is the godmother of her sister, my 8 year old cousin. They live about four hours away so I haven’t seen them in a very long time (though for the older one’s first penance I mailed a couple coloring books and the lives of girl saints).

I will be visiting my cousins and uncle next week and I was thinking of getting something, like a large pink wooden rosary or The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe DVD, or another book, for the girls even though there’s no special occasion.

I want to take the role of godfather seriously, but also don’t want to come off as the crazy religious cousin. How do you find the balance, especially when you barely see them?

Thanks, God bless.

The faith needs to be regularized. If getting a rosary or religious books happens every Christmas, then the faith seems a little less strange and foreign.

Neither of my Grandparents were overtly, bible-thumpingly religious, but attended mass and had various religious trinkets decorating the house. Same with my parents, minus the trinkets. It made an impression on me, that the faith is just a part of life, not some discrete, standalone thing.

Going through some boxes of my Grandparent’s in my basement, I really got an idea of how integral and no-big-deal the faith was in the Polish neighborhoods of Connecticut back in the mid-part of last century… there were SO MANY rosaries neatly wrapped up and tucked out-of-sight in a box!

 

[CrispSnowflake]

I think that’s a good idea. At least you are a godparent that wants to get involved. My godparents (and confirmation sponsor- that my mom picked) do not get involved.
You are a great godparent. Keep it up!

 

[quiet52]

Aw, be a persistently joyful crazy religious cousin! It will be appreciated, if not in the short run (and I think it would be), definitely in the long run. And it’s the long run that counts – it’s both a responsibility and privilege to help someone make it to salvation.