Routine preparation for sacraments expresses their importance

At the beginning of Part Two in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, there is an image of a fresco from the catacombs in Rome. The fresco depicts the story of the woman in Mark 5:25-24, who touched the cloak of Jesus and was healed by her faith. This is the perfect image to convey how the Catechism describes the sacraments as “power that comes forth” from the Body of Christ.

I can get overwhelmed in all the daily tasks of keeping my house running. It gets hard to live a personal sacramental life, not to mention keeping my family active in the liturgical celebration of the church. In teaching my children, it is a challenge to constantly emphasize the importance and reverence we should have for the sacraments. More than once I have come home from work, rushed dinner, then told my two girls, “Let’s get in the car, we’re going to adoration” or “we’re headed to confession,” only to get an eye roll and a complaint of “do we have to?” It’s in these moments where I must step back for a moment, and really look at how I have handled this situation. I learned quickly that just rushing home and making the kids attend liturgical services does very little in teaching my children, not to mention my own faith journey.

My two girls have unknowingly taught me many things about how I should be living my faith. I can’t just pickup and decide to be faithful. It takes preparation and infusion of the sacramental life into our home life. One way I incorporated this into our home life is when I was having trouble getting the kids to bed. I started out with the Rosary but have now gone to praying Night Prayer alongside my kids’ bed. Not only does this prayer show my children that we are united with the whole church in praising and thanking God, it also begins with an examination of the day. By doing this, they are more used to examining their actions and love for God. If we are headed to confession the next day, I make a point to let the kids know that they can use this time to examine their consciences now, as preparation for tomorrow.

Saturday is another day that gets special attention in preparation for the upcoming feast of our Lord. The kids know that I will have more chores and work for them to do on this day, so we can relax and celebrate Sunday. Again, it has the benefit of showing the importance we put on the Lord’s day but also prepares them to receive the sacrament the next day. I still will get the occasional eye-roll, but since expectations have been set, they understand what we are doing is important to the whole family and the church.

Intentional preparation to receive this “power that comes forth” has been extremely fulfilling in our family. I have learned that just teaching the kids or reading up on a sacrament really does little in our own formation or readiness to participate in the sacrament. It has to become part of our daily life.

I am definitely not a scholar, but I do read a lot of the Catechism and in there is a quote from Vatican II that says, “The purpose of the sacraments is to sanctify men, to build up the Body of Christ and, finally, to give worship to God. Because they are signs, they also instruct. They not only presuppose faith, but by words and objects they also nourish, strengthen, and express it. That is why they are called ‘sacraments of faith.’”

Once I was able understand this about the sacraments, I was able to infuse them into our daily life and prepare our family to participate fully in these wonderful gifts from God.