This year during Holy Week my reflections turned to the ordinary people who were present during that week in Christ's life. I wondered if the people who threw down palm branches were the same ones who yelled, "Crucify Him!" or were they hiding at home afraid? I wondered if parents tried to explain all the hoopla in their hometown to their children and how they attempted to do so.
I also considered where my place was during the Easter Triduum. Should I be at the foot of the cross on Good Friday at Church during the middle of nap-time with sleep deprived kids? I figured that wasn't right this year . . . I would do my best, however, to invite my children (mainly 2 yr old JT) to celebrate the Paschal Mysteries with me.
Then, it occurred to me that while I have prayed with James and told him that Jesus loves us and takes care of us, I have not really shared the Gospel with him. This realization somewhat shocked me; after all, my job for two years with FOCUS was to share the Gospel with perfect strangers and newly acquired friends. How had I failed to make this a constant theme with my oldest child? Maybe 2 1/2 years of infancy is not a "failure," but it made me realize that I had been much more verbal about other things (dinosaur names, the plot of The Little Engine That Could, etc.) than I had about the Person who should be the center of my life. Good reality check.
The week leading up to Easter was remedial toddler CCD. We colored pictures having to do with the Passion. We got a little figurine set to talk about the Resurrection. And we began singing Bible/Christian songs and reading Bible stories on a daily basis. [I thought about doing this too, but maybe next year. It was a little old for him.] It was a beautiful week, and the conversation that has continued to stem from this new orientation toward "evangelizing" my son has yielded fruit as well.
For those of you who might have a toddler who is particularly resistant to spiritual things (James was resistant before and still struggles significantly at Mass), there is hope! Keep your introduction to Our Lord positive and work with the child and his or her interests and capacity for attention. Prayer
should be pleasant when possible (like forming a friendship with a
favorite book/show character or a new neighbor kid), and they should
also get a sense of our spiritual family "routine" (like Mass on Sunday
being a non-negotiable) and that they should be somewhat quiet for that. We're introducing evening prayer by talking to him about things he wants to pray for or thank Jesus for and singing the other prayers (The Guardian Angel prayer sung to the tune of "Rock a Bye Baby" and "Jesus loves me"). He lets me know if I forget to sing the angel song with him before bed!
We know that Jesus is "on the radar" now as a friend because of moments like this morning when he showed me his cars all lined up in rows. "Cars praying to Jesus, Mommy. All prayin'!" He also told his Daddy the other night, "Jesus, up there [pointing above his bed]. He not talking. He have a smile."
It warms my heart to see my son turning to His Lord in friendship. What do any of you do to "evangelize" your children within your own "domestic church"?
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