{"id":41875,"date":"2013-10-09T08:44:18","date_gmt":"2013-10-09T13:44:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.austincnm.com\/?p=41875"},"modified":"2013-10-11T10:11:43","modified_gmt":"2013-10-11T15:11:43","slug":"pope-francis-and-parenthood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2013\/10\/pope-francis-and-parenthood\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Things Pope Francis Can Teach Parents About Parenthood – Part 1 of 6"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Pope<\/a>Pope Francis has taught us quite a bit about parenthood. \u00a0In word and deed and in just the first six months as “Papa”, his words and his actions have taught us and can teach any parent something about raising children. \u00a0Today, we’d like to share some of what we’ve learned from him and to challenge you, as a parent, to add these to your parenting “tool chest”. \u00a0So, in this column, we’ll lay out 5 things he has taught us that we have tried to apply in our parenting. \u00a0In future columns and one at a time, we will focus on them in more detail and attempt to provide you with some practical applications. \u00a0Here they are.<\/p>\n

1. Example<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>– Pope Francis teaches by example first. \u00a0From the very first moment of his pontificate he has been providing an example. \u00a0In humility, from the balcony after being announced as Pope, he requested the prayers of all those people there and bowed his head as thousands prayed over him. \u00a0As an evangelist, he has called us to engage the culture in dialogue, particularly those with little or no faith. \u00a0As a model of this call to evangelize, he has granted a professed atheist an interview to discuss anything that he would like. \u00a0To use an overused clich\u00e9, he doesn’t just talk the talk, he walks the walk. \u00a0All parents can learn from him our need to lead our children by example.<\/p>\n

2. Question<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>– Pope Francis uses questions. \u00a0In his interview with the atheist journalist, he frequently responded to the interviewer’s question with a question. \u00a0For example, when he was asked about certain issues in the leadership of the Church, Pope Francis responded with, “What do you think?”. \u00a0This did two things. \u00a0It made the questioner clarify the purpose of the question. \u00a0It also provided time to form a response to the question. \u00a0For at least these two reasons, we, as parents, should also use questions when our children question us.<\/p>\n

3. Admit<\/em>\u00a0–\u00a0<\/strong>Pope Francis admits that he is a sinner. \u00a0He is not afraid to admit to his limitations and failings, nor is he fearful of agreeing with a person who points to certain failures of the Church and its leadership, particularly when that person is accurate in his assessment. \u00a0The truth sets us free. \u00a0The first step towards realizing that freedom is found in being willing to face the truth about ourselves and our family. \u00a0We are sinners. \u00a0We are not perfect, and our children need to know it . \u00a0They also need to know that we know it. \u00a0As parents, we need to be willing to admit to this to our children. \u00a0Once we do, we can become aware of our need for a Savior, our need for Jesus.<\/p>\n

4. Teach<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>– Pope Francis teaches. \u00a0He teaches complex concepts using simple images. \u00a0When he wanted to convey the idea of the fragility of trusting in money for one’s security, he called money a “soap bubble”. \u00a0When he wanted to relay to Catholics the sacredness of the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Penance, he said that Confession was not a “laundromat”. \u00a0He uses simple, every day images that can be experienced by people of all ages to reveal a point he’s trying to make. \u00a0Who hasn’t experienced a soap bubble popping? \u00a0How about a laundromat? \u00a0Parents need to try to mimic the Pope in his teaching. \u00a0In fact, “steal” some of his images, if necessary.<\/p>\n

5.<\/em> Relationship<\/strong> – Pope Francis builds relationships. \u00a0He makes himself accessible. \u00a0How frequently is he seen kissing little babies on the way to his weekly audience? \u00a0Or washing the feet of an incarcerated youth? \u00a0He desires to be in relationship with his flock, with the “family” for which he is a “Papa”. \u00a0We parents need to make sure that our children know that we desire a relationship, that we long to be close to them even if they’ve fallen or made bad choices.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, these all lead to being in an ongoing dialogue with our children – a necessity for leading our children into a deep, personal relationship with Jesus Christ. \u00a0Pope Francis shows us the way to remaining in a discussion with our children about our faith and how it applies to their everyday experiences throughout their lives. \u00a0We never really cease being their parents. \u00a0It’s ongoing. \u00a0These five provide a “program” so to speak of remaining in dialogue with our children. \u00a0In the next several columns, we’ll dig deeper into each of these facets of Pope Francis’ way of leading his flock, of parenting his children. \u00a0He is a great example of a good parent. \u00a0I guess that’s part of why we call him Holy Father.<\/p>\n

How has Pope Francis impacted your life?<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pope Francis has taught us quite a bit about parenthood. \u00a0In word and deed and in just the first six months as “Papa”, his words and his actions have taught us and can teach any parent something about raising children. \u00a0Today, we’d like to share some of what we’ve learned from him and to challenge… [Read More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":157,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[671],"tags":[55,452,720,1505,1864,210],"class_list":{"0":"post-41875","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-column","7":"tag-catholic-2","8":"tag-christian","9":"tag-parenthood","10":"tag-pope-francis","11":"tag-practical-applications","12":"tag-relationships","13":"entry"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":42689,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2013\/12\/pope-francis-teaching-parenthood\/","url_meta":{"origin":41875,"position":0},"title":"Part 5 of 6 – Pope Francis, Teaching, and Parenthood","author":"Trey and Stephanie Cashion","date":"December 5, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"As with previous Popes, Francis teaches. \u00a0It's his job so to speak. \u00a0As parents, we also are called to be the first and primary teachers, the \"first heralds\" of the faith to our children. \u00a0We can learn a great deal about fulfilling that role by watching him do his job.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Column"","block_context":{"text":"Column","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/column\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Pope Francis","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Pope-Francis-010-300x180.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":42494,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2013\/11\/part-4-6-pope-francis-parenthood-importance-admission\/","url_meta":{"origin":41875,"position":1},"title":"Part 4 of 6 – Pope Francis, Parenthood, and the Importance of Admission","author":"Trey and Stephanie Cashion","date":"November 21, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"By knowing how to acknowledge their own failings to their children, parents will be better able to guide and correct them. (Cathechism of the Catholic Church, 2223) Early in his pontificate, Pope Francis has given parents yet another tip \u00a0- admitting our failings to our children. \u00a0One of the common\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Column"","block_context":{"text":"Column","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/column\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Pope Francis and Holy Spirit","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/Pope-Francis-and-HS-300x221.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":43618,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2014\/01\/four-attitudes-evangelical-parenthood\/","url_meta":{"origin":41875,"position":2},"title":"Four Attitudes of Evangelical Parenthood","author":"Trey and Stephanie Cashion","date":"January 30, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Parents are called to evangelize their children - to be evangelical parents. \u00a0Yet, all too frequently many of us fail to answer the call to share the \"Good News\" with them because we never preach the Gospel to our children. \u00a0We leave that to the priest in the Sunday homily\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Column"","block_context":{"text":"Column","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/column\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Pope Francis","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/8562320076_7962a945e8_o-241x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":42043,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2013\/10\/parenting-example\/","url_meta":{"origin":41875,"position":3},"title":"Pope Francis and Parenting by Example – Part 2 of 6","author":"Trey and Stephanie Cashion","date":"October 24, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Parents have a grave responsibility to give good example to their children. \u00a0(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2223) From the beginning of his pontificate, Pope Francis has led by example. \u00a0He has put flesh on the message, so to speak. \u00a0He as our \"Papa\" has taken ideas, concepts, and truths\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "ACNM"","block_context":{"text":"ACNM","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Pope-Francis","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/Pope-Francis1-300x187.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":42971,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2013\/12\/pope-francis-parenthood-relationship\/","url_meta":{"origin":41875,"position":4},"title":"Pope Francis, Parenthood, and Relationship","author":"Trey and Stephanie Cashion","date":"December 19, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 The end of our parenting should be to build relationships with our children. \u00a0Without a relationship, teaching, questioning, admitting, and giving example - the topics addressed in the previous columns - become less effective. \u00a0This is part of the point the Pope Francis has been trying to make with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Column"","block_context":{"text":"Column","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/column\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Pope Francis","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Pope-Francis-010-300x180.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":42252,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2013\/11\/part-3-6-pope-francis-parenthood-questions\/","url_meta":{"origin":41875,"position":5},"title":"Part 3 of 6 – Pope Francis, Parenthood, and Questions","author":"Trey and Stephanie Cashion","date":"November 7, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Another important tool for parents that we have learned from Pope Francis is the use of questions in our parenting. \u00a0In his interview with an atheist, when asked a question, Pope Francis responded with a question on several occasions. \u00a0We, as parents, can learn from this. \u00a0Questions are frequently\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "ACNM"","block_context":{"text":"ACNM","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Pope Francis","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Pope-Francis-010-300x180.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/157"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41875"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41875\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}