The religious potential of children

I adapted the following article, which is one I wrote for the parish where I work as a children's coordinator.  It's about recognizing a child's "religious potential," and pondering faith through the eyes of little ones.  
    

Children are naturally filled with wonder and curiosity about some of life’s biggest mysteries:  Where did the world come from? Who is God? Is God the man in the moon? Does God see everything I do…even when I brush my teeth? What is heaven like? Where is my soul?

Too often we dismiss a child’s inner need and longing to reflect deeply on God.  In fact, in many ways, we’ve convinced ourselves that they’re too young or simply not interested!  We cite the following laundry list as evidence:

·     They don’t sit still during Mass;

·     They get bored easily; 

·     They’re too young to read the Bible;

·     They’re too young to grasp prayer;

·     They have a short attention span, etc.

While some of the above may be true, it is even more certain that children have an innate interest and love for the mysteries of God.  We see it in their eyes when, with awe and curiosity, they ask questions about the Divine.  Sofia Cavalletti, an author and Catholic educator who was inspired by the faith life of children, coined the phrase “religious potential of the child” to describe the capacity that children possess for growing in their love for God. She recognized that children all over the world of various ages, socio-economic backgrounds, and cultures have at least one common desire: to know God.

As a parent, grandparent, godparent, educator, or anyone who is entrusted with the care of nurturing a child’s religious potential, you have the great privilege of tending to that little spark within your child so that it can grow into a flame rather than smolder.  Cavalletti suggested the following as advice: "If we want to help the child draw nearer to God, we should with patience and courage . . . seek to go always closer to the vital nucleus of things. This requires study and prayer. The child himself will be our teacher if we know how to observe him."

6 Ways to Help Nurture Your Child’s Spiritual Life

1.     Break bread as a family.  If you don’t already have the custom of sitting down to eat as a family at least one night a week, choose a day and begin.  Have your child help cook the meal and lead grace.  Look for recipe ideas, prayers, and dinner conversation starters at: www.gracebeforemeals.com

2.     Reflect on God’s Word with your child. Choose a kid-friendly Bible and prepare your child (and yourself!) for Mass by reading the upcoming Sunday’s Gospel.  Ask your child what they liked about the reading or what was confusing.  Let the conversation spark prayer.  (Find the Mass lectionary at: www.usccb.org)

3.     Celebrate feast days.  Children love a good party! (And who doesn’t?)  The Church calendar provides us with many opportunities to celebrate the lives of holy people and favorite saints.  Have your child choose a feast day and celebrate it by honoring that saint’s life.  For example, St. Vincent de Paul (Sept. 27) devoted his life to the poor. After reading about his life, have your child help collect cans or clothes to deliver to those in need.  (See a list of saints’ feast days by visiting www.americancatholic.org.)

4.     Create a prayer corner at home.  Choose a special place in your child’s room and designate it as a place of prayer.  Have him/her place a Bible, crèche, colorful rosary beads, plants, holy cards or chimes in this little space to remind them to pray always!

5.     “Adopt” a child or family.   Introduce your child to the notion of caring for our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world who are in need by involving your child in sponsoring a child or family.  Have them help raise money, write letters, draw pictures and pray for the person you sponsor.

6.     Look for moments of sacred opportunity. In the hectic bustle of our daily routines, it’s easy to forget to give our gratitude to God.  In moments of “down time,” like in the car on the way home from school, ask your child to list the things they enjoyed about the day.  This exercise in gratitude can help your child to pause and ponder God, even amidst a busy schedule and the noise of the day.

Embracing poverty

Dorothy Day, the famed Catholic social activist who embraced a lifestyle of voluntary poverty (and who is one of my role models), said: “We need always to be thinking and writing about poverty, for if we are not among its victims its reality fades from us. We must talk about poverty, because people insulated by their own comfort lose sight of it.”  I’ve been giving a lot of thought lately to what it means to embrace poverty.  What is poverty, and what does it look like?  Is it the image of unkempt street people standing in a line at a soup kitchen?  Or perhaps a hungry, malnourished child yearning for a crust of bread? Or the muddy squalor of tents pitched as shelter in the midst of a cholera outbreak in the aftermath of an earthquake? 

What does poverty look like?

When it's these images of utter despair and destitution that come to mind, it is odd to think of poverty as a desirable attribute, as something to be embraced.  And to be sure, abject poverty that leaves one in desperate need of the most basic necessities--like health care, food or clean water-- should be absolutely abhorred.  Yet, the paradox of the Gospel is that it announces blessings on the poor.  One of the most fascinating motifs throughout the Gospels is the depiction of a kingdom—not where the rich and powerful rule—but an upside down kingdom where the last are first and the poor are blessed.   This is a stark contrast to our society, which treats poverty of any kind as if it is a contagious disease, something that needs to be sequestered, ridiculed, and feared.

Dorothy Day

The more I contemplate what poverty means for my own life, the more complex and slippery the notion becomes in my mind.  To what extent should one pursue poverty?  Just enough so as not to draw attention to oneself?  Enough so that you’re still living comfortably or enough that it’s a constant sacrifice? Does Gospel poverty entail foregoing all material possessions with the exception of those needed to survive?  If so, does that mean giving up technology or small luxuries likes movies, computers, and television? Or does it just mean giving up having the newer iPhone in favor of your older but still-functioning cell phone?  If poverty is a central Christian concern, then why are not all professed Christians concerned with it?

In his book Happy Are You Poor author Thomas Dubay raises these and other complex questions about poverty.  Questions that don’t have simplistic answers.  Is poverty only expected of a certain few, like religious persons, he asks?  If not, and poverty should truly be embraced by all, does poverty look different for a single person (like me) than it does for parents raising small children and different from that of a priest or religious sister or a retired couple?    The book doesn’t leave you with neat or pat answers, but it serves as an examination of conscience of sorts.  It’s an invitation to look more closely at the choices and decisions you make in your day to day life, because those decisions impact others’ quality of life—be it directly or indirectly. 

I think poverty in one’s life can look different at one life stage than it does at another, but the guiding concept throughout one’s life remains the same.  We should always be striving to give as the Giver does, selflessly and with love, emptying ourselves of our attachments to those things that obstruct our relationships with others and with God.  Ridding ourselves of greed and possessiveness.   Few of us are able to do this alone or all at once.  It is a process that is undertaken throughout one’s life, and we can do it with the support of others, a little at a time.  We can embrace poverty in small ways and watch as it transforms the ways we think and relate to the world and those around us.  

How do you embrace poverty?