Dejia Solomon, 12, is anointed with chrism by Father Christopher Nowak during Mass April 2 at St. John of God Church in Central Islip, N.Y. Sixteen young people from the parish Rite of Christian Initiation of Children program were baptized, confirmed and received first Communion during the liturgy. (CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz)
CATECHETICAL SUNDAY, SEPT. 20
When we think about parents as primary catechists of the Christian faith we often conjure up visions of formal instruction. But the new Directory for Catechesis states that “parents, with their daily example of life, have the most effective capacity to transmit the beauty of the Christian faith to their children.”
It’s a statement reinforced through the Catechetical Sunday 2020 theme: “I Received From the Lord What I Also Handed On To You.”
Chrislyn Villena, director of religious education for St. Joseph Church in Hilo, shared a story that illustrates how even the smallest gestures of family life help children and parents grow together on their journey of faith.
“I believe that, in Jesus, even though we are sinners, we are given hope. Jesus desires to heal and restore us. In turn we are to be agents of hope, healing and restoration for others in his name. That is exactly what I witnessed in a family who recently was fully initiated into the Catholic Church.
“I felt such an overwhelming burn in my heart to be that special agent for the three catechumens — a wife of a Catholic spouse and her two sons — and to join in prayer with select representatives who came to the Mass and witness the power of Jesus in the sacraments.
“The music ministry, the families of the two musicians, the sacristan, our pastor, the three catechists who journeyed with them through the catechumenal process and their spouses, and even my husband were present at the liturgy. We gathered to celebrate and welcome our new family members.
“The husband/father of the newly baptized wept with tears of joy at the sight of his two boys being baptized, confirmed and receiving their first Holy Communion. He realized that Jesus had called them to baptism, that the Holy Spirit would continue to guide them for the rest of their lives, and as a family would strive to be worthy of the privilege of receiving him in the Eucharist.
“He shared that the boys were concerned about ‘messing up’ during their Rites of Initiation. All he could do to respond to them was give them a huge hug and hold them. He already took an active role in their preparation by attending classes with them and by bringing them with him to Sunday Mass each week. He kept on leading them to Jesus especially once churches re-opened.
“His wife shared that when she received Jesus in Holy Communion she shed tears of joy, and she said, ‘I trembled when I received the Body of Christ and felt goosebumps all the way back to my seat.’”
Transmitting the beauty of the faith comes in many forms. But sometimes, it’s in the small gestures — a hug, a message of reassurance, or shedding a tear of joy in receiving the Eucharist — that we most effectively hand on to our children what we, ourselves, have received from the Lord.
Jayne Ragasa-Mondoy is the director of the diocesan Office for Faith Formation/Religious Education.
