Our Religious Education person keeps telling me that "the family is the first teacher" of the kids for faith. I do not have a degree in theology. I don't know the Bible very well. I am not even a CCD teacher. How can I tell her that she doesn't know what she's talking about when she speaks to me? -- L.

Dear L.

I can see that your concern is very close to your heart and I applaud you for your struggle with it!  First of all, let me tell you to take a deep breath!  What your Director of Religious Education has said is a truth.  But it is not one that should stress you out, but one that should invigorate and challenge you to a higher goal.  

Let me explain.  Home is where life is full of exploration, conversation, and security for children.  It is also the place where children see first hand how life is lived.  What they see, hear, and model there is a clear clue as to how they will view the world.  When they see the family kneel down to say night prayers, or pray at meal time, or grope around on a Sunday morning trying to give everyone a turn in the bathroom as they all get ready to go to Mass, they learn that faith is a part of life.  It is the time they encounter Christ as he lives in us.  (We are the face of Jesus to our children.)  

So much of the faith is about living it.  And that is your role.  You show your children what it looks like to live as a Catholic Christian in the world.  Along with that, the way you share your experiences of faith - like stories of your own First Communion, or Confirmation, etc, then they are free to imagine and ask questions.  It doesn't matter whether you know the answer to a question about God.  What matters is that you are open to discovering the answer with your child.  Your role as one who helps your child encounter Jesus is where your biggest teaching moments come.  

Because of all the time you get with your child, because of the love your child holds towards you, your moments are more important than any other.  Your actions teach.  Your words teach.  And your love teaches.  Learning to relate with Jesus is not about a lesson plan or a degree.  Learning about Jesus is about learning what loving Him is.  

If you don't spend time speaking about Jesus, or modelling Him, then your child won't see the importance of know Him.  So  you don't know the Bible.  Get one that is appropriate for your child's age and read together the stories of the faith.  Your child isn't going to ask you what the 7 Gifts of the Holy Spirit are.  And if your child does, you can research it.  Your child will ask you questions which require deep thinking and conversation.  They may not have a "correct" response per say, and that's when you encourage your child to keep asking and keep praying.  God will lead the right people to you when the time is right.  

The role of the Religious Education program is to supplement what you do.  If you work as a team with your Catechists, then your kids can grow up with a healthy view of Christianity, and be equipped to face the world when the time comes.   But it takes you to lead the way in setting the atmosphere of openness and acceptance to things of faith.  And that is how you are the FIRST TEACHER OF THE FAITH.

Good luck!  I'll be praying for you!!

I was at Mass today and heard about the City of David. Is this Bethlehem? is this Jerusalem? What about the city called Zion? -Angela

Angela,

I too get confused when I hear about the City of David.  Here's what I finally discovered - and which helped abate my confusion:

Zion was a fortress on a Mount Zion which was on the southwest side of Jerusalem.  In 2 Samuel 5:7-10, King David captures that fortress.  Upon his capturing that city, it then became called the City of David.  Because he captured it.  He then chose to live there and as it was so near the city of Jerusalem - and of course because he lived there others moved there and the living area spread, Zion became known as Jerusalem.   According to 1 Kings 2:10,  David was also buried in Jerusalem.  

In the New Testament, Luke calls Bethlehem the City of David.  (2:11)   Then, that title is referring to the place where David was born and raised.  

So, we have to go with the context of the stories when we are listening to the Bible stories.  And we just have to remember that in the Old Testament the City of David refers to Jerusalem, because that is the city he captured and made his headquarters when he was king.  

Your answer?  Usually,  note: Usually, the City of David refers to Jerusalem.  Once in a while it means the city where he was born - and then it is Bethlehem.  Let the context be your guide.

Crystal clear, right? !! 

I have a friend who always says, "Offer it up," when I am in pain. I don't understand what she means. -B

B-

I remember asking a faithful person in the Church what that meant too.  I think it was just in the last year or so.  Here's how I understand it. ... When I suffer any type of pain, I can join hands with Jesus and we can together offer our hurt as prayer, worship, and offering to God.  We can offer it for the healing of others, for the salvation of souls, for lots of things.  The important thing to note here is that I am joining hands with Jesus to do this.  He suffered for us.  We join Him in his suffering and hence give him the gift of ourselves in order that other may be brought to Him.  I hope that makes sense.

Anyone else have ideas on this?

 

Is the Sabbath Saturday or Sunday?

The simple answer is, "Yes!"  
Now the longer answer:   To the Jewish people, the Sabbath day was Saturday.  Sunday was the first day of the week.  They still celebrate the Sabbath beginning on Friday at sundown.  

When Jesus rose from the dead, we are told that He rose on the first day of the week.  "For Christians is has become the first of all days, the first of all feast, the Lord's Day ... Sunday:  We all gather on the day of the sun, for it is the first day ... when God, separating matter from darkness, made the world; and on this same day Jesus Christ our Savior rose from the dead."  Our celebration of Sunday fulfills the commandment to observe the day of worship.  It follows the rhythm and spirit of w weekly celebration of God, Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier.  (CCC 2174 & 2175) 

However, we Catholics allow for a vigil on the Saturday night before to be considered as the Sunday Mass.  ... I think this might come from the fact that the Jews consider that a day starts at sundown.  They get this idea from the Creation story in Genesis.  "Evening came, and morning followed - the first (second, third, etc) day."

Incidentally, a Mass said the day before cannot count as the next day's Mass unless it begins at 4:00pm or later!  ... Oh, so many details!!

To summarize the answer your question, it depends on whether a person is viewing the Sabbath from Jewish or Christian perspective.  Than, it depends on whether you are talking about the evening vigil prior which must be at 4:00pm or later.  

Fasting from meat on Fridays - why was meat chosen for Catholics to abstain from eating? - Linda

Hi, Linda ...

First of all, let's review why we fast:  
- to prepare for special liturgical feasts  CCC 2043
- to acquire mastery over our instincts and freedom of heart   CCC2043
- to express conversion back towards God   CCC 1434
- to obtain forgiveness of sins  CCC1434
- in a nutshell:  to draw closer to God.

But you probably already know all that. 

So what about meat?  There are some "documents that indicate that meat was singled out as being a food Christians occasionally abstained from since the first century.  ... [It] was singled out because it is associated with celebrations and feasts.   ... On top of all that, meat has often been a luxury in many cultures. ... Meat cost a bit more.  Maintaining a spirit of simplicity, people turned to other, less expensive fare." http://bulldogcatholic.org/

Also, my heart tells me that there is more to think about with this question:  Since ancient times the Hebrews offered meat up as their sacrifices in the Temple for things like forgiveness, uncleanness, thanksgiving, etc.  In the New Testament the Jews continued to do so until the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD.  That they chose meat as THE offering to God showed an "value" in their minds of what one should use to approach God about BIG things.

Added to that, think about the things we call meat.  Meat comes from animals that have blood in them.  Blood was seen as the very life of a creature, and as such, it was seen as sacred.  The ancients were forbidden to partake of blood.  (which was why people turned from Jesus when He said, "This is my blood, take it and drink of it.")   Meat then was the most nourishing element in the diet.  When we give up the most nourishing thing in our diets, we stay somewhat hungry, somewhat lacking from the very life-givingness of our meal.  That lacking allows us to then be a little empty, thus giving us room within us, room which we then are called to fill up with God.

Your question was definitely food for thought! (lol)