Teach Catholic Religious Education at Home in 7 Steps
At your baptism you were given the gift of faith. At your child’s baptism he or she was given the gift of faith. The gift of the Catholic faith has been passed down for generations and generations. We can and should nurture this gift given to us by God, and we should nurture the gift of faith given to our children by raising them to know, love, and serve The Lord. As parents, it is our right and duty to teach our children the Catholic faith.
I’m going to show you how to raise your children in the faith. Whether they attend your parish’s religious education, attend Catholic school, or are homeschooled, the parents must be the primary teachers of their children’s faith. I will give you 7 steps so you can:
- Become more solid in your own faith
- Enjoy all of the beauty and richness our Catholic faith has to offer
- Instill the faith and good values in your children and prepare them for heaven
Now, let’s dive in to the many beautiful and effective ways you can teach religious education at home!
Why is teaching the Catholic faith important?
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: It is here that the father of the family, the mother, children, and all members of the family exercise the priesthood of the baptized in a privileged way “by the reception of the sacraments, prayer and thanksgiving, the witness of a holy life, and self-denial and active charity.” Thus the home is the first school of Christian life and “a school for human enrichment.” Here one learns endurance and the joy of work, fraternal love, generous – even repeated – forgiveness, and above all divine worship in prayer and the offering of one’s life. (CCC 1657)
As Catholic parents, we must live the faith by word and example. That is how it will be passed on and taught to our children. Remember, at your wedding, you and your spouse promised to “…accept children lovingly from God and bring them up according to the law of Christ and His Church.” Then, at the baptism of your child, you accepted “… the responsibility of training him in the practice of faith.”
Caring for our children honors the 4th Commandment which says to “Honor your father and mother.” This commandment relates to anything having to do with caring for our family, including our children. It is a grave sin to neglect teaching the faith to our children.
Teaching the faith to our children is necessary for the care of their souls. Parents will also receive tremendous blessings and graces for being faithful to God and preparing our children to return to Him in heaven some day! At the end of the day, the goal is heaven.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church also states: “Through the grace of the sacrament of marriage, parents receive the responsibility and privilege of evangelizing their children. Parents should initiate their children at an early age into the mysteries of the faith of which they are the “first heralds” for their children. They should associate them from their tenderest years with the life of the Church. A wholesome family life can foster interior dispositions that are a genuine preparation for a living faith and remain a support for it throughout one’s life. (CCC, #2225)
- We must nurture the gift of faith given to our children at their baptism: I heard a powerful homily recently where our pastor compared the tiny flame of the baptismal candle to the tiny light of faith now given to the baptized child. He said that if the flame is tended to, it will turn into a blaze. It is our duty as parents to tend to this flame in both our children and ourselves.
- We must care for our children spiritually: Many couples prepare physically to care for a new baby – they set up the perfect nursery, purchase the best diapers and clothes, and make sure their baby is fed and kept as healthy as possible. But what about looking after a child’s spiritual well-being? How do we care for our children’s souls?
How to teach Catholic religious education at home
Here are 7 steps for teaching the faith to your children:
- Work on your relationship with God first
- Go to Mass as a family
- Make your home into a domestic church
- Live liturgically
- Read your kids the bible
- Teach your kids the Catechism of the Catholic church
- Learn about the saints
Step #1: Work on your relationship with God first
No matter where you are in your prayer life or faith journey, you must continue striving to know, love, and serve God yourself. Children copy what their parents do. Setting a good example by living the faith and following God’s commandments is essential. Here is a list of concrete steps you can take to grow closer to Our Lord and be a good example for your children:
- Attend Mass every Sunday and make Sundays a day of rest from work and other obligations
- Pray a Morning Offering daily
- Read scripture daily
- Study the Catechism daily
- Receive the sacrament of Reconciliation at least once a month
- Attend daily Mass and/or adoration during the week
- Pray the rosary
- Ask a trusted priest for spiritual reading recommendations
- Complete a Daily Examen before bed
- Pray for your spouse and children frequently
Step #2: Go to Mass as a Family
Go to Mass as a family every Sunday and every Holy Day of Obligation. The Mass is the highest form of prayer, and we are honoring the 3rd Commandment when we make Mass a priority in our week.
Make Sunday Mass a non-negotiable in your family, and reserve this day for rest, free of other activities, work, and unnecessary obligations.
Step #3: Make your home into a Domestic Church
If you struggle to keep Christ at the center of your home this will help you out! The Catechism of the Catholic Church has an entire section entitled “The Domestic Church” starting with section 1655.
The CCC summarizes the Domestic Church in the following way: “The Christian home is the place where children receive the first proclamation of the faith. For this reason the family home is rightly called “the domestic church,” a community of grace and prayer, a school of human virtues and of Christian charity.” CCC 1666
How do we go about fulfilling our call to make our homes “domestic churches?”
To determine this, think of what your 5 senses experience inside a Catholic church.
At Mass or Adoration, we see beautiful statues, candles, and stained glass. We hear Gregorian Chant, Hymns, prayer, and scripture. We smell incense. We taste the Eucharist. We feel the Holy Water when we make the Sign of the Cross. When we realize Jesus Christ is truly present in the Eucharist we feel comfort and peace. Now, we can try to recreate all of this in our homes.
First, we can choose beautiful artwork, statues, and crucifixes to adorn our homes. If you do not have much Catholic décor, start investing in it little by little for birthday and Christmas presents. You could even simply print artwork off of the computer and frame it to start.
Next, create a home altar or prayer room so that your family has a designated prayer space. It should be in a prominent place in your house and include blessed candles, a crucifix or image of Christ, Holy Water, and a statue of Our Blessed Mother and/or other saints.
Right now is a great time to be a Catholic kid! There are plenty of Catholic toys, books, and games to remind us to keep Christ at the center of our life.
Last, pray with everyday your children. Pray in the morning, at meals, and at night. Play or sing hymns together.
Step #4: Live liturgically
Once you have established your Sunday Mass attendance as a family, prayer life, and domestic church, the next step is to embrace liturgical living. Liturgical living is creating traditions and partaking in celebrations that align with the church calendar.
Make sure to note your family members’ baptismal anniversaries and celebrate them by lighting their baptismal candle every year. In fact, living liturgically will allow you to discuss all 7 sacraments at some point with your kids.
Living liturgically allows you to cover a lot of ground in teaching the faith, and if you miss something this year you always have next year to improve upon it!
The church calendar flow in the following order:
Advent
Christmas
Ordinary Time
Lent
Sacred Triduum
Easter
Ordinary Time
During each liturgical season, I recommend:
- Teaching your kids about the different liturgical colors. Invest in some liturgical coverings for your home altar.
- Choosing a few feast days to celebrate each season beside Christmas and Easter, and attend Mass on those days. (For ideas on how to live liturgically in the fall, please check out this post.) I also recommend this cookbook for fantastic recipes and lots of information about different saints and feast days. You can have a delicious cultural dinner while learning about a saint!
- Subscribing to a Catholic kids magazine, Magnifikid, or another Catholic subscription service to help make liturgical living even easier.
My absolute favorite resource for liturgical living is the website Catholicallyear.com. Kendra Tierney is passionate and extremely knowledgeable about liturgical living and has also published various books to help Catholics live liturgically. I own both the Catholic All Year Compendium and The Prayer Companion. I highly recommend her website and books to dive deeper into liturgical living.
Step #5: Read your kids the bible and memorize scripture
Reading the bible with our kids is powerful. Try replacing a bed time story with a bible story. There are many beautiful kids bibles. Just make sure the one you choose is an approved Catholic bible. In addition to reading from a kids’ bible, make sure to read scripture to them from a complete, full length Catholic bible.
Kids are like little sponges that can memorize anything very easily. Try memorizing the Responsorial Psalm every Sunday or another part of the Mass readings with them. Discuss them before Mass so that your kids can become familiar with scripture.
These songs are adorable and have helped our family memorize lots of bible verses! Shows on Formed such as Benjamin Cello and Christine in Action also have songs to help memorize and learn scripture.
Make sure to write scripture on their hearts so that they can know pure beauty and truth!
Step #6: Teach your kids the Catechism of the Catholic Church
The Catechism of the Catholic Church has been around so long for a reason – it’s simple and effective for learning the faith!
My favorite catechisms for reading to and with children are the The New St. Joseph First Communion Catechism and Baltimore Catechism. You can read the St. Joseph’s Catechism to very young children and then they can read it to themselves in the early elementary grades.
When they finish one level you can move them on to the next. Discuss it with them and quiz them on what they read.
Use these Catechism Flashcards to help them learn their faith! You can go over them every night at dinner and discuss them as a family.
Step #7: Learn About the Saints
The saints are our friends in heaven who intercede for us! A person becomes a canonized saint when miracles can be attributed to their intercession. We ask the saints to pray for us because they are now in heaven as close to God as possible! They are like a direct line for our prayers to The Father.
You can learn about the saints throughout the liturgical year. You can also pray novenas when you have a specific intention. For example, St. Monica is a popular saint to ask for her intercession for a family member who has fallen away from the faith. During pregnancy, many moms-to-be pray to St. Gerard – the patron of expectant mothers.
See what saints share birthdays with your family members, and learn about them. Find books about the saints to read with your children.
Now you know how to teach your kids about the Catholic faith
Teaching our kids the Catholic faith is living the faith with them. It is our duty and privilege to pass on the faith that the early church martyrs fought and died for. Do you have any questions about teaching religious education at home? Please leave them in the comments!