What does the General Directory for Catechesis

tell us about faith formation in the home?

The witness of Christian life given by parents in the family comes to

children with tenderness and parental respect. Children thus perceive and joyously live the closeness of God and of Jesus made manifest by their parents in such a way that this first Christian experience

leaves decisive traces which last throughout life…

GDC 226

… This childhood religious awakening which takes place within the family is irreplaceable.

GDC 226

Indeed “family catechesis precedes…accompanies and enriches all forms of catechesis” GDC226

Parents transmit and bear witness to human and religious values…this is a true ministry...

GDC 227

• more witnessed to than taught

• more occasional than systematic

• more on-going and daily than structured into periods GDC 255

If you Google ‘Holy’ this is what you get...

And this...

And this young lady!...

A bit of a gap in our thinking...

But if you Google just ‘family’ you get these guys...

Again a bit of a gap...

Are we happy to ignore this gap or step over it?

Maybe this is what we imagine by a holy home...

A beacon of hope within our community

Where morning and evening prayer are often shared...

Grace before meals never missed...

And things are so holy in this household even the dog gets in on the act!

But maybe the reality is somewhat different...

And for our single parents...

...feels a bit like this.

Life has us in a spin...

And if only the arguments in my house were this civilised...

If we are clay in the potter’s hands, as families do we sometimes consider ourselves to be unlikely clay?

Unlikely clay?

In what ways might you consider your home to be holy?

Let’s just stop and reconsider a minute...

When we clean that loo...

Look after that relative...

When we are up in the night...againand againand again

When we are dealing with yet another load of washing...

Or another dripping tap...

When we are stood at the edge of that cold field...cheering joyfully...

When we look to the wisdom of our elders...

And indeed share our own...

When we make all of these sacrifices as parents...

Because God

is present there

as love

When we consider our environment...

Doing all that recycling...

Caring for that dog who

prays with us...

When we take time to ponder the simple things...

When we stand in awe and wonder at God’s creation...

…because God’s presence graces all creation!

When we are a life line to those in need...

When we stick together through thick and thin...

And keep smiling...

When we keep talking when, actually, we’d really rather not...

When we care for the lonely...

Or tolerate our loneliness for the sake of our vocation...or maybe for the sake of the children...

…because relationships within the

family reflect God’s

relationship with us.

Unlikely clay? I don’t think so...

Our home lives can seem a little rough, colourless and jagged round the edges...even hairy at times...

But when considered carefully, actually contain something of tremendous worth

We need to realise it and have it affirmed

Nuts whole

holy nuts!