• Written by Katie Edwards

I have been asked to write a little something for our St. Joseph’s Website on a regular basis.  The main idea is to help parents evangelize their children in the faith.  These will be practical suggestions as I am a practical person.  I have been teaching Religious Education for somewhere around 25+ years.  I have taught at the pre-school and kindergarten, 7th grade, and high school levels. 

I was fortunate to have twelve years of Catholic education.  My blue collar parents raising eight kids made quite a sacrifice to send us to Catholic Schools in LaCrosse.  When I was old enough I had to help pay for my own tuition.  I am very grateful to my parents.  I was also fortunate enough to go through my education at a time when basics were still being taught.  The 1970’s and 1980’s religious education and a large part of the 90’s was a lot of fluff and no stuff.  Consequently, many young adults today know very little about their faith and believe it doesn’t matter which denomination as long as you believe in God.  This means they don’t know how to explain the faith to their own off-spring.  Also, as a religious education teacher, I found the curriculum so shallow, that I had to beef it up or ignore it all together and build a curriculum.  Of course, this didn’t kill me as I learned a lot along the way.

I would like to use this opportunity to suggest ways parents can help educate their own children.  I can also suggest resources for parents to educate themselves if the faith.  

It is through the vocation of the Sacrament of Marriage that God has chosen to bring new citizens into the Kingdom of Heaven.  The main function of this vocation is to be open to bringing children into the world and raising them up for the eternal kingdom.  This makes parents the main educators in the faith of their children. It is our primary function as Christian parents. Therefore it is important for the training to begin at home.  It is most helpful for the teachers, if we don’t have to spend time teaching things they should already know when they reach us. 

The following are suggestions for our little people.  Begin by having a time when a prayer or two is said regularly.  Two times that come to mind are mealtime and bedtime.  Teach your children to make the Sign of the Cross.  By doing it before and after your prayer, they will learn it rather quickly.  Two and three year olds can learn it.  My pre-school grandchildren know how to do it.  A meal time blessing is a good place to start.  Here is one: Bless us oh Lord, for these Thy gifts, which we are about to receive, through Your bounty, through Christ our Lord. Amen. 

The bedtime prayer I learned from my Mother before I started school was the following:

Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God’s love commits me here.  Ever this night (day) be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen.  Then of course the blessings came.  (Now this can get lengthy if the little people aren’t eager to shut their peepers and go to sleep.)

God bless Mommy and Daddy, sisters and brothers, and all those for whom we ought to pray. Amen.  

I can’t help but think that our Blessed Mother and Our Lord have a smile as they hear the voices of the little people. 

More on prayer next time.  Also, we will have more to say about Angels in the future.

In the mean time….God bless all of you and your families.

Katie Edwards