FAMILY AS DOMESTIC CHURCH Assignment (25 points) – DUE WED 11/4
Directions: Envision yourself married with a family in 30 years. Write a 5-sentence paragraph explaining how your family would live out each of the Five Models of the Church as described in Chapter 3 / PPT presentation. Give specific, concrete examples. Please type. You can illustrate.
SAMPLE: The Dyogi Family
1) COMMUNITY - Our family makes sure we spend time talking to one another every day, at least during dinner when we all eat together. If someone has a problem with another family member, we make sure that we try to solve the problem peacefully by communicating our thoughts and feelings. We listen to and respect one another. If someone has an important event that they are participating in (sports, music recital, birthday, sacrament, etc.), we make sure we are all present. If someone in the family is stressed out or sad, we make sure they are okay and do what we can to help.
2) HERALD – We, the parents, read books and listen to talks that strengthen our faith and knowledge of God. The children receive lessons on aspects of the Catholic faith every day, either by teachings, storytelling, or watching religious shows/movies. The family participates in Vacation Bible School during the summers (parents volunteer, kids attend). We, the parents, also volunteer our time to various ministries by giving teaching talks and sharing our testimonies for a number of seminars throughout the year. Our family also gets involved in sharing with others how to work for social justice, particularly supporting human dignity and life, helping the poor, and taking care of the environment.
3) INSTITUTION – Discipline is always Christ-centered in our home. Focusing on the teachings of Jesus and His commandments, we, the parents, are not afraid to “lay down the law” with our children. The children are told why they need to obey the rules of the house because that is how they learn self-discipline and responsibility. We do not allow whining or pouting – period. If a child makes a bad decision, he/she will need to talk about the better choice he/she could have made and decide with the parents what a reasonable and fitting consequence would be. In the end, it is important that we, the parents, make sure that the children know that they are loved even when they make mistakes so that they understand that the rules and discipline are in place to help them become the best people they can be.
4) SACRAMENT – Our family attends Mass together every Sunday and every holy day of obligation throughout the year. We also try our best to make it to daily Mass whenever possible. Adoration is a weekly practice – we stay as long as the youngest child can keep still (at least 15 minutes, up to an hour on a good day). Each child is baptized within the first 2 months of birth, and we pick the godparents according to the good example they provide of a faithful Catholic lifestyle. We receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation once a month, and Dad always goes first to set an example for all the children. All of the children are enrolled in classes to prepare them for the sacraments (Reconciliation, Eucharist, and Confirmation). All the children are exposed to vocations, encouraged to altar serve, and remain open to the call to religious life. If any decide they want to get married, they will follow the direction of our priests and receive as much preparation and guidance that is available through the Church.
5) SERVANT - Our service to the community is guided by the principles of Catholic Social Teaching. Our priority is Life and Dignity of the Human Person, so we do as much as we can to attend pro-life events and volunteer at pregnancy crisis centers. We also enjoy serving at soup kitchens during Thanksgiving and Christmas, and we volunteer at the local food pantry a few times a year outside of these times. Whenever we go to the park or the beach, we first spend some time looking for trash to pick up before we play. There is always extra gloves and trash bags in the trunk so we can do this wherever we notice an area that we can clean up.
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