A family meal is a time of grace

    As I sit and wonder what I am going to write about concerning “Faith and Family,” several thoughts bombard my brain. One of the first thoughts centered on wondering how the people of New Orleans survived the summers without air-conditioning. Then my mind jumped off into wondering what families did before television and all the electronic devices that entertain people.
    Recently, on a news feature dealing with the “children of the storm,” a young girl was interviewed. In the piece, she said she had reacquainted herself with playing card games with real cards and playing outside more. She was amazed at how much fun it was to go non-tech.
    I suppose it requires something extraordinary to move us out of our comfort zones. Through the years, technology has quietly slithered into our lives under the pretense of simplifying our lives. It was all about making our lives more efficient – at least that’s what we told ourselves. But the cost is sometimes overwhelming.
    We, as families, have lost the art of “talking” to one another on topics other than schedules. In many instances, we have eliminated the evening meal as a family. Just in that, we have lost opportunities to discover what our children are doing, learning and experiencing. We have attached ourselves to computers, smart phones, iPads and other electronic devices to the point we have lost the skills for face-to-face communications.
    Having said all that, my next question would center on faith and how much is being taught to the children in the family by the parents. At baptism, the parents are commissioned to be the “first teachers and the best teachers in the ways of faith.” Passing our faith on to the little ones through word and example is fundamental to the life of any Catholic family.
    Over the coming year, make a concerted effort to alter your family life to incorporate some structure that will accommodate sharing with one another on a regular basis and that will enable the faith to be taught and shared with the children. Create within your home an understanding that the time spent together is time for formation and development in the ways of God.
    The dining room table is the first place to start. Clear it of all the books, bills and circulars that have been piling up to make it unusable for dining. Set a time for the family to gather daily to “break bread,” share the happenings and feelings of the day and make that time sacred. This change alone will have a significant impact on your family.
    I spoke of parents being the first and best teachers of their children in the ways of faith. Our challenge is to ask ourselves that if we are teaching our children our faith, would we consider ourselves to be good resources for that process?  Do we know enough to teach our children correctly and as the Church teaches, or would we teach the basics and call it a day?  
    Begin now to know more about your faith and to be better prepared to teach it to your children.
    Deacon Dave Farinelli is coordinator of marriage preparation and enrichment for the archdiocesan Family Life Apostolate.