PARENT FAITH FORMATION
The Holding Pattern
If I hear my kids say “I’m bored” just one more time…
Yes, it’s the dreaded, yet joyful, time of year… SEPTEMBER! I do, indeed, feel like I’ve been on a long flight just waiting for the plane to land when the pilot announces, “Good afternoon, folks, we are experiencing a slight back up on the runway… we are 47th to land!”. Summer camps ending in the middle of August is absolutely the devil’s plan for parental insanity, I am sure of it! Don’t get me wrong, I love my kids and I love summertime but I also, LOVE the structure and the hours of a school week!
Even as a kid I really enjoyed school, especially the first day! For me, every September brought a new beginning, a fresh start and an opportunity to renew, reinvent and improve upon the me I was the year before! I know there is something not right about a kid loving the start of school, but even as a teacher I could never sleep the night before, in anticipation of welcoming the new students (and new challenges) the year had in store for me.
September brings a great deal of newness and a great opportunity to reflect as a family- to reintroduce and to recommit to the way we live out our faith. When we think of resolutions, we think January and New Year’s Eve, but it’s challenging to start anew when it’s cold and dreary outside, when the earth seems dead, and we are “in the middle” of a school year.
Now is the time! Take a deep breath of cool morning air, smell the leaves which are beginning to fall, and most importantly, look at your children and where you want them to grow. Can we make more time for weekend liturgy? How can we increase the prayer life of our family? Is there a movie or a book that we can read or watch together that can help us grow in faith? What will our family’s recommitment to faith look like this school year?
Romans 12:2 states “do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and prefect.” God calls us to renewal. When we take the opportunity to recalibrate how we navigate our family’s faith life we align ourselves with God’s Will for our children and for our family. The result is greater joy in our daily living. Our children need (and deserve) more authentic happiness.
This is the generation that can change the world and I am behind them 100%!
Cathy Conlee is the Pastoral Associate for Faith Formation
of St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish in Sparta, NJ
~ an imperfect child of God, wife, mother, sister, friend and an enthusiastic Catholic woman!
September 2017