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 know Jesus said we won't be married in heaven, but what does that mean for me and my husband? That makes me sad and a little scared. What will our relationship be in heaven? Will he still love me? Will I still even know him? -- Katherine

Katherine,

What a lovely caring question you ask!  You are right: Jesus told the Sadducees who asked him whose wife a woman would be who had married seven brothers, each one after the one before him had died.  Jesus told them that they did not understand Scripture or the power of God.  He said that when people rise from the dead they will neither marry nor be given in marriage but will live like the angels do - in unmarried status.  (Matthew 22:23-32)

This is not something to be afraid of, because Jesus promises us that He has a wonderful place for us in heaven (John 14:2 - 3).  He also promises that there will be no tears, death, mourning, or crying out in pain (Rev 21:4) in heaven.   Heaven will be like nothing we have seen or heard before (1 Cor 2:9).

So, if I take all those promises and think about what that means for me, and I know that I don't want to forget my husband or have him forget me in eternity, and that I still want to love the spouse I so dearly love on earth, then I need to think deeper into what Jesus must really be saying to me.   ...

First of all, I know that God IS love.  In heaven I will be with God, in the presence of LOVE at all times.   I know that God is relational and wants us all to love each other (remember the Golden Rule:  Love one another as I have loved you (John 15:34) and that the 2nd greatest commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself (Matt 22:37 - 39) ).   So, I am guessing that God will bless us in our heavenly place by permitting us to mingle with and continue to love the people we already love.  

Because no one has come back and explained the details of heaven I am guessing that if I apply what Jesus has said, I will recognize my beloved spouse in heaven.  We will be happy to see each other and happy to be with each other, but we will have no need for the sexual intimacy we had on earth because the LOVE of God will be way more than sufficient to meet our intimacy needs.  The lovemaking act will not be necessary.  I would guess we would recognize each other as someone we dearly loved, and we will be very happy, and we will still be fabulous and close friends.  But, friends in an even more special way than we were as spouses.   I also think that our love for God will overshadow all other relationships and we won't have to worry about what our prior relationship was on earth.  

I don't know how much I answered your question, but I do know that God always keeps God's promises and that heaven will be better than we can imagine!  Hope this helps soothe your worries.
Remember:  God knows everything.  God knows more that we can even imagine with our human brains.  God has it all figured out and God will take care of us!