{"id":42043,"date":"2013-10-24T07:39:19","date_gmt":"2013-10-24T12:39:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.austincnm.com\/?p=42043"},"modified":"2013-10-24T09:39:27","modified_gmt":"2013-10-24T14:39:27","slug":"parenting-example","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2013\/10\/parenting-example\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope Francis and Parenting by Example – Part 2 of 6"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Pope-Francis\"<\/a>Parents have a grave responsibility to give good example to their children. \u00a0(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2223)<\/em><\/p>\n

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 and concretely put them into action in front of his family, the Church. \u00a0 All of us, as parents, should learn from this and know that the best way we can lead is to lead through the concrete actions of our life, to lead by example. \u00a0 We must, in a sense, make truth, grace, love, and mercy “incarnate” so that our children can experience them in the flesh, in concrete form. \u00a0We must lead by having a sacramental sense, by making visible, the invisible.<\/p>\n

It is important to note that this is the way God chose to interact with His children too. \u00a0He provided concrete examples, in and through His body, of the invisible realities which He came to reveal. \u00a0He didn’t just tell us the way. \u00a0He was<\/em>\u00a0– that is, He is –\u00a0<\/em>the way. \u00a0His life, passion, death, and resurrection point us in the direction we need to head. \u00a0All Pope Francis is doing stems from his taking the way God chose to communicate to His children and putting it into action in his own life. \u00a0As parents, we must follow suit – \u00a0not only telling our children the way, but also showing them the way. \u00a0In fact, we are called, to the extent that we follow Jesus, to become the way – to be conformed into His image that they may come to know Jesus through us. \u00a0Here are a few practical ways to become the way for our children:<\/p>\n

1. \u00a0Pray<\/strong>\u00a0– The invisible God exists. \u00a0He makes Himself present in the Eucharist, in the Liturgy, in the Bible. \u00a0Do we really believe it? \u00a0If this God really exists and He loves us and we truly desire to be in relationship with Him, wouldn’t we spend time with Him? \u00a0Do our children see us in the Adoration Chapel or on our knees at home? \u00a0Does the Mass become the highlight of every week? \u00a0Do they see us reading the Bible? \u00a0Do we talk to Him in prayer throughout the day in a way that our children can see? \u00a0Children know what and who we care about based on the time and effort we spend on those things and with those people. \u00a0To lead by example, to show them the way, we must be seen in our actions – in this case, in our prayer – putting God at the center of our life. \u00a0So, when you take your kids to religious education or faith formation, instead of dropping them off and leaving, stick around for 15 minutes and read your Bible in the adoration chapel or better yet, go early and have adoration time with your children. \u00a0Let them catch you reading the Bible in the morning before breakfast. \u00a0If He’s important, make time for Him and make sure your children know you are making time for Him.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0Forgive and Ask for Forgiveness –\u00a0<\/strong>We learn about forgiveness through example. \u00a0Oddly enough, the Church seems to suggest that the best way to be an example of forgiveness is not by forgiving as much as it is by asking for forgiveness. \u00a0In the Catechism (2223), we are told, “by knowing how to acknowledge their own failings to their children, parents will be better able to guide and correct them.” \u00a0When was the last time you thought that the best way to correct your child was first to acknowledge your own failings? \u00a0The next time you mishandle something with your child – i.e., lose your temper, over-react, not deliver on a promise, etc. – try to be an example by actually telling them specifically what you did wrong and then asking for forgiveness from them. \u00a0Say the words, “will you please forgive me” and wait for the answer. \u00a0Please don’t accept, “it’s ok.” \u00a0Ask them to say, “I forgive you.” \u00a0Trust the Church on this one and see the impact.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0Make Sure our Actions match our Teaching<\/strong> – Check your actions against what you say to your children. For example, if we tell them that they should obey our rules or the rules of their teacher, do they see us obeying the rules? \u00a0Do we drive 75 in a 65 mile an hour zone? \u00a0If we tell them to tell the truth, do we, at the same time, tell them to tell someone on the phone that we’re not home when we’re standing right there? \u00a0We must challenge ourselves to live according to the same standard to which we are calling our children. \u00a0 We need to be a concrete manifestation of our words and our teachings. \u00a0As parents, we must be like Christ. \u00a0That is exactly what Pope Francis is doing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 and concretely put them into… [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,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","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":[3,671],"tags":[55,127,452,2890,720,165,1505,74],"class_list":["post-42043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-acnm","category-column","tag-catholic-2","tag-children","tag-christian","tag-family","tag-parenthood","tag-parenting","tag-pope-francis","tag-prayer","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t