Living Catholicism: Time Away with the Family

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October 15, 2004

Time Away with the Family

Growing up in a developing suburban area, my childhood was often quite busy. My father was self-employed and my mother stayed at home with all of us - five boys and one girl. In addition to having six children to manage, my mother also took care of seven other neighborhood children while their parents worked. Needless to say, during the week our home was a hub of activity. In light of all this, my parents felt it necessary for our family to get away from time to time. Our favorite destination was a local monastery that had been built on 200 acres.

This practice of combining leisure with spirituality made such a difference in our life as a family. In addition to being a place of adventure and mystery to us children, it was also a place of prayer and Church history. We interacted with various monks and learned about monasticism firsthand. Eventually, we began going to the monastery on a monthly basis for time together as a family and for monthly confession. One of the founding fathers of the monastery was our family's confessor and spiritual director. Our family's spiritually was substantially influenced by this holy priest.

By incorporating leisure and spirituality, my parents taught us a valuable lesson; our Catholic Faith should permeate every aspect of our lives. As a family we would have picnics by the monastery lake, go for walks through the surrounding woods, and climb the trees in the orchard. Yet we would also go to confession, visit the monastery church, and pray our family rosary in the car on the way home.

My parents provided us, as children, a unique environment of faith and fun. In this day and age we need to make time to get away with our families. Granted, not everyone has a monastery near their home, but I would suggest finding a local park, a parish with recreational facilities, or any other place where your family can spend quality time together away from the TV, video games, phones, internet, etc. Make time together fun, but, at the same time, try to incorporate some spiritual aspect into the day. If you go to a park talk to your kids about the wonders of God's creation or try praying the rosary on the trip home. It is those little steps in developing your family's faith and devotion that have the greatest impact on the lives of your children.

As a family, we were Catholic. The living out of our Catholic Faith influenced the lives of many of our friends and neighbors. My best friend growing up eventually converted to Catholicism. He and his wife are now raising four children of their own. Together we now run this blog and two other sites as well. My wife ad I recently had our first child. As a family we have renewed the tradition of my childhood of going to the monastery for time away with the family.

May the Holy Family always bless and guide you and your family. Amen.

Posted by HolyFamily at October 15, 2004 09:43 AM