Getting to know God as a family
Does the heart health of your loved ones matter to you?
The spiritual well-being of your family represents the true heart of your family – the spiritual heart that pumps meaning, connection, and happiness into your life. According to experts, the extent to which your family shares a spiritual life predicts the level of satisfaction you can anticipate from family relationships and from life in general.
What exactly is “spirituality”?
Psychologists argue that the three qualities of transcendence, transformation, and integration are the cornerstones of a healthy spirituality that can help one live a happy and fulfilling life.
Transcendence refers to moments of profound connection with God, filled with awe and wonder. It serves as a reminder that we are a part of “something bigger” and that each moment of life has divine significance and purpose.
Transformation refers to our resolve to accept the necessary changes to become healthier, happier, and more fulfilled individuals. Authentic transformation for the Christian entails embracing God’s plan for our fulfillment in a conscious (rather than merely cultural), willing (rather than coerced), and wholehearted (rather than resentful) manner.
Integration refers to the capacity of spirituality to promote greater peace in our lives, both between us and with others and within ourselves. A healthy spirituality compels us to reconcile any inconsistencies between our beliefs, values, and identity and enables us to live with integrity regardless of where we are or with whom we are.
“Being spiritual” means becoming whole, healthy people who know who they are, what they stand for, where they want to go, and what they need to do to get there.
What does spirituality within a family look like?
Families are very important for each member’s spiritual growth and all the good things that come from it. Without a strong sense of spiritual well-being, it’s easy for families to turn into groups of people who share a roof and a data plan. Family life is mostly about making people, learning from each other, and helping each other live out a mission and goals that everyone shares.
“Heart-Healthy” Family in 3 Easy Steps
There are three foundational practices that can strengthen the spiritual health of a family: worship, devotion, and discipleship.
Worship is the most important way for Catholic families to connect with the spiritual and sacramental life of the Church. Research shows that having shared experiences is an important part of family happiness. When we worship together as a family, it brings us closer to the larger family of God.
Devotion is how families live out their faith at home. This includes things like praying together as a family, following Catholic cultural traditions, and learning how to live out the Church’s view of family life, love, and sexuality. Devotion helps your spiritual health by putting your faith to the test in the lab of your daily life. It keeps you from seeing your faith as a way to get out of things.
Discipleship is about building open-hearted, positive relationships in the home. Rituals that give you time to work, play, talk, and pray together, as well as a lot of one-on-one time and other things that build up your relationships. It also includes activities that help shape people, like reading Bible stories together and talking about questions about faith.
Ultimately, discipleship tasks enable children to open their hearts to their parents’ attempts to form them into godly people, and they assist parents in ensuring that they have taken the time to get to know their children — inside and out — so that they can communicate with their children in a way that is relevant and meaningful.