Passing on the Torch of Faith

Emily Jaminet maintains that parents will never look back on their parenting years and regret taking their children to Mass and helping to nurture their faith.

The Scripture verse, “Let the children come to me” (Matthew 19:14), is a powerful reminder that Jesus loves the little children. It is easy to think of how much we love our children, but Jesus loves them far more than we ever could, for His love is perfect. In my office, I have a beautiful large image depicting the moment when Jesus tells the children to come to Him. He also tells the adults not to prevent them from encountering His love.

This painting reminds me, as a parent, that no matter what, Jesus is always inviting the children to come to Him. Our job as parents is to help foster that relationship. We read in Psalm 8,

O LORD, our Lord, how awesome is Your name through all the earth! I will sing of your majesty above the heavens with the mouths of babes and infants. (Psalm 8:2-3a)

My husband and I decided at the very beginning of our marriage that we would go to Mass together with our family and raise the children in the Catholic faith. This was a priority even when it would have been much easier not to fulfill this commitment, and yet, would it be easier?

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As Catholic parents, my husband and I have journeyed for more than 23 years of taking children to Mass. I recall the good Sunday mornings when I had a sleeping baby in my arms, the pure and simple joy of looking upon that beautiful little face, or when everyone was well-behaved and I felt “good about the Mass experience.”

I can also recall when Mass was challenging. I had toddlers who wanted to run around, be loud, or even through a “fit” over something silly. There were times when our pew was downright distracting, and I can recall at one Mass, a lady got up and moved to the other side of the Church, because my large family was “too much for her Sunday morning experience.” At the time, I was mortified and wondered if taking the children to Mass was worth the hassle and even embarrassment.

Looking back, I wish I had thicker skin and a better sense of humor. I would have appreciated the drama of raising a family, versus allowing moments like this to take away my Christian joy. I can recall the unbelievable effort it took to get out the door on those Sunday mornings, and at times, it was more than I could handle. No matter how I tried, the children would jump out of the van without wearing shoes, get a stain on their shirt in the final minutes of being in the house, or they would accidentally drop the pew with a loud crashing sound.

These early years of parenting felt deflating, yet, I knew that I was not a “bad parent” but we were in a hard season, and this too would pass.

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The fruit of our labor of being Catholic parents is often experienced later. #CatholicMom

This past weekend I looked down the pew at my grown children and saw the same faces that used to squirm, cry, and cause me immense stress. Instead, they were worshiping alongside my husband and me, and my heart was full of joy. The fruit of our labor of being Catholic parents is often experienced later. You don’t realize that you are building up the kingdom of God one Mass at a time, one prayer at a time, one hug at a time. Now is the time to not let the world distract you from what is important, passing on the faith.

Our Catholic faith is a gift, a blessing, a torch worth passing along, and I promise you, you will never regret taking a child to Mass; you will only regret waking up 18 years later and realizing that “you didn’t pass on the faith.” As parents, our job is to do our best in living out the faith, getting them the Sacraments, and teaching them to be rooted in the love of Christ. So if you are in the trenches of Catholic parenting and the hard season, persevere and don’t give up!

I can’t express enough the importance of living out our faith in the home and how it impacts our children’s ability to realize the family’s priority of faith. I believe that where we are as a culture is a true reflection of how poorly we have passed on the Christian faith to the next generation. For a child to know they are created in love and constantly loved by God makes a big difference in cultivating self-esteem and understanding their identity.

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