Tag: Children

Introducing the Theology of the Body

Photo: Shutterstock

Photo: Shutterstock

St. John Paul II’s teachings can help students navigate through cultural confusions

When classes start this fall, our Catholic students will begin their year of growing and learning surrounded by a radically revisionist culture that opposes the Christian understanding of the human person, the body and marriage.

Whether they attend public school, private school, Catholic school or home school, they need to be prepared to respectfully and clearly face the challenges of gender ideology and gender confusion. They need to be formed well to understand and handle pressures from early sexualization, rampant pornography and dismissive attitudes toward the commitment of marriage. We parents are entrusted to be the primary educators of our children, whether we send them to school or teach them ourselves.

Luckily, there is now a theological treasure that can help amid the current confusion: St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. These teachings offer a beautiful vision of our sexuality that leads to wholeness, holiness, and true freedom — exactly the opposite of the “anything goes” approach to the body, self-determination and sexuality which the culture is proposing.

The teachings of the Theology of the Body are rich and dense. There are many books, speakers, curricula and resources out there to help unpack them, and I heartily encourage further study. Here, briefly, are a few of the core concepts from the Theology of the Body that can help our children.

Many of the core concepts are found in this verse in the first account of creation in the Book of Genesis (my translation): “God created the human person in his own image; in the image of God he created the human person; male and female he created them.”

“God created”: Creation is a gift from God. Our existence, and each human life, comes from love and is destined for love. Creation is something we receive as gift, with gratitude and awe.

Cultural idea this opposes: Atheism and radical individualism — God does not exist, and we can “create” ourselves in our own image, according to our own ideas, preferences and desires.

How to help children understand the truth: Inculcate awe and wonder at the excellence of the created world around us and point back to the Creator. One of my friends takes her toddler boys on nature walks in which they marvel at the design of spider webs and fern leave patterns. “Where did this come from?” she asks them. “I didn’t create this. Did you?” “No,” they answer. “Who did?” God did, they are reminded.

“The human person”: What and who is a human person? Matter (the dust of the earth) and spirit or soul (the breath of God), integrated. Matter is good and matter matters — it is an essential part of our humanity. What we do with our body matters morally.

Cultural idea this opposes: Dualism, promoted by René Descartes and now the culturally predominant view of the human person — body and spirit are dis-integrated, and the body is way inferior. The “real me” is what I think, my mind (or spirit), which inhabits the less-important, less-relevant body like a driver in a car.

How to help children understand the truth: It starts with normal ways to teach respect for the dignity of the body that most parents do naturally: good nutrition, hygiene and self-care teach respect for the dignity of the body. But to go further, talk to your children about how your body is you just as much as your mind.

Two more key concepts follow, but they will have to wait for a later column. For now, be thinking about how you can teach your children and teens these important truths: “In his own image he created the human person” and “Male and female he created them.”

Want help from great resources? Try these:

Helping kids and teens deal with the scandal

Photo: ShutterstockThree tips for addressing clergy sex abuse and the cover-up with your children

How do we talk to our young children and teens about clergy sex abuse and the cover-up by bishops? It is good that victims’ stories are getting heard like never before. It is healthy for the church that systematic cover-up be exposed and addressed. Yet, for most Catholic families, struggling through this “summer of shame” has been a blow. Cardinal McCarrick’s double life. The Pennsylvania grand jury report. The controversy surrounding former papal nuncio Viganò’s accusations, and Pope Francis’ enigmatic response. Faith has been shaken, trust has been broken, and learning about the accounts of abuse may have caused secondary trauma for many. How do we address these difficult topics with our children? Continue reading “Helping kids and teens deal with the scandal”

A Better Way to Care for Women’s Health

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Bella has painful and irregular periods.

Anna suffers from endometriosis.

Marylin deals with polycystic ovarian syndrome.

Pamela has acne.

They were all prescribed the birth control pill to control their symptoms.

But there is a better way! A way consistent with the dignity of women and authentic sexuality, a way that treats underlying causes and respects a woman’s total health, a way free of the Pill’s risks of depression, weight gain, nausea, cancer, blood clotting and early abortions.

Continue reading “A Better Way to Care for Women’s Health”

The Challenges – and Blessings – of Bringing Kids to Mass

Photo composite: M. Laughlin/ShutterstockPhoto composite: M. Laughlin/Shutterstock

Six tips for heading off toddler terrorism in the pews

“My brother set the Advent wreath on fire.” Jennifer Fulwiler is a mom of six young children and the author of “Something Other Than God,” which chronicles her conversion from atheism to Catholicism. A year ago she invited her blog readers to share their worst experience taking children to Mass, and she received scores of stories in reply. Stories of toddler terrorism, untimely bodily emissions and utterly mortifying utterances, and yes, even a flaming Advent wreath. As I read through them, I was simultaneously reduced to helpless tears of laughter, bonded in warm and knowing camaraderie with all my fellow Catholic moms and dads in the trenches, and sighing in relief (at least my children have never run careening away from my grasp toward the altar during Mass — yet!).

Continue reading “The Challenges – and Blessings – of Bringing Kids to Mass”

Marriage vs. Cohabitation

Ten reasons God’s plan for families is good news for everyone

Madeline and Matt Example have been together five years. Because of a choice they made, they are in a category of couples who are statistically happier, healthier and better-off financially than their neighbors, Caitlyn and Chris. They will stay healthier, live longer, accumulate more wealth and report higher levels of happiness and satisfaction in their relationship and in their whole lives. Their household is less likely to witness violence or abuse. Their 2-year-old daughter, Maggie, is in the safest, healthiest and happiest categories of kids. Because of her mom and dad’s choice, she is at the lowest risk of child poverty; she is likely to succeed in school and be a happy adult.

Caitlyn and Chris have also been together five years. But because they made a different choice, they are in a group that statistically reports lower levels of happiness. They are more likely to get sick, suffer from anxiety or depression, and will likely not live as long. Despite having similar jobs as their neighbors, Caitlyn and Chris have lower incomes and smaller savings. Sadly, abuse and violence is more likely in their household, between them and against their 3-year- old, Cooper. Compared with Maggie, Cooper is at a much greater danger of child poverty and academic problems.

Continue reading “Marriage vs. Cohabitation”

Lent and Easter in the Domestic Church

“God bless you and keep you,” my husband says, tracing the sign of the cross on our wiggly daughters’ foreheads. After our family finishes our night prayer in the living room, and the squabble discussion about whose turn it is to blow out the candle on the family altar is peaceably resolved, each of our girls receives her blessing. “God bless you and keep you,” I also pray for each of them, marking them with the sign of the cross as well. This pairs well with a bedtime hug.

This simple daily practice is one way that we try to live out our family’s vocation to be a domestic church. Through baptism and the sacrament of matrimony, Christian families live their daily life “in the Lord.” Just like the universal church, the Holy Spirit forms the Christian family into a communion of persons, a communion of life and love. Jesus is present in their midst and works in and through them. Continue reading “Lent and Easter in the Domestic Church”

Christmas and January in the Domestic Church

Christmas lasts until Jan. 10 this year.

Though the stores have switched their displays from Christmas décor to weight-loss accessories and Super Bowl gear, if you visit any Catholic Church you will encounter smells like pine, balsam and incense. You will see Christmas trees sparkling with lights and sanctuaries lush with velvety poinsettias. You will hear Christmas songs sung at Mass. And you’ll hear the story of the Nativity over and over again. It is as if we need time to let the grace of Christmas soak in.

By late December, however, our consumer culture is sick of Christmas. It has been celebrating it since November with a glut of holiday products and treats, a frenzy of seasonal activities, and lots of shopping. But the church has been waiting for the Lord through the holy season of Advent with silence, prayer and penance. Now that he is here, the church is ready to revel in Christmas with all her senses!

Continue reading “Christmas and January in the Domestic Church”

Top 10 Ways to Make a Family Rosary a Reality

Praying together doesn’t have to be such a struggle

You know that the rosary is a powerful, Christ-centered prayer, and you would like to pray it as a family to bring its many benefits into your household. You envision a reverent domestic scene, gathering with your children around the family altar. They are purposefully fingering the appropriate beads and reciting the Hail Marys and Our Fathers with devotion. In Latin. Gregorian chant wafts softly in the background. Angels smile.

In reality, the children sprawl in various attitudes of beleaguered exhaustion on the couch and floor. Your tween daughter’s rosary is intricately woven between her fingers as if it were auditioning for a new career as brass knuckles. Whether you have eyeball-rolling teens or couch-acrobatic toddlers, here are 10 creative ideas for incorporating the rosary into your family’s daily routine in ways that are engaging, meaningful and, most importantly, doable.
Continue reading “Top 10 Ways to Make a Family Rosary a Reality”

The Importance of Fatherhood

Pope Francis’ advice for fathers: be present, practice mercy

Daddy!” This call can mean so many things. It could be a delighted greeting at the end of a workday: “You’re home!” Or a proud, “Watch me do this!” On the other hand, “Dad!” could also express indignation at a boundary set — an important but less popular duty of fatherhood. “Dad!” could mean, “I’m scared — hold me!” or “Your turn, catch!” “Dad?” could mean, “Can you explain this/fix this/give me my allowance?”

What does it take to be a good father, to respond well to all those calls for Daddy? In two recent talks, Pope Francis (whose title, papa, means “daddy”) reflected on this. He said it takes presence and forgiveness. Continue reading “The Importance of Fatherhood”

Celebrating Spiritual Motherhood

All women, mothers or not, have a special gift of receptivity to the human person

There is something about a woman’s beauty that is life-giving. The radiance of a bride on her wedding day becomes the loveliness of a new mother’s smile as she gazes at her infant. Our grandmothers are beautiful because of their loving hearts, which nurture ours. The beauty of the Blessed Virgin Mary shines especially in her “yes” which brought the life and grace of Christ to us. And all women, married or not, and regardless of whether they have ever had children of their own, have a beautiful vocation to “spiritual motherhood.” Continue reading “Celebrating Spiritual Motherhood”