Learned, but Not Taught

My three year old has been talking a lot about Jesus recently.  It is incredibly sweet to listen to him say, "Jesus loves the cats" and "Jesus is always with me."  The thing about it is, my husband and I do not necessarily talk about Jesus, using the Holy Name, often.  Rather, we usually say, "Our Lord" when referring to Jesus.

We attend the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, also known as the usus antiquior or Traditional Latin Mass, nearly exclusively.  Because the Mass is in Latin, our child hears variants of the Holy Name with Latin word endings.  And, the J sounds more like an I.

We do pray the Rosary as a family.  When we pray the Rosary, the Ave in English does use the Holy Name.  This doesn't really explain how our child knows that Jesus loves the cats or dogs or the world.

We only have one book that uses the Holy Name, which our child loves.  It talks about how Jesus is with us wherever we go.  This book does explain some of the short sentences he will say.  Yet, sometimes, the conversation goes much deeper than superficial thoughts.

So, how does he know?  Well, I have to believe it is from exposure.  Not from direct teaching, but from living life.  We don't bring books or toys to Mass with us.  He sits quietly and follows along.  We do talk to him about stained glass and stories of saints.  We do take him with us to cemeteries and ceremonies.  And, we expect him to be quiet and behave.

And, these expectations pay off.

And, he has learned very basic truths of Faith.  Not from his parents telling him, "believe this".  He has learned this through the life we live.

I have never felt overly religious.  People who know me probably laugh at that statement.  I grew up in a Catholic home.  We went to Mass.  We prayed.  We studied the Catechism.  We read the Bible.

We lived a joyous life. I still live a joyous life.

I am married to a Catholic gentlemen who loves his faith.  Yet, we do not live an overly religious life.  We take care of our children.  We care for our home.  We attend Mass.  We pray.  We study.  We meditate.  We read.  We donate our time, money, and talents to the Church.  We live a Catholic life.

Today, we were told in the sermon not to view ourselves as Traditional Catholics.  Instead, to view ourselves as Catholics, period.  My whole life, when speaking of faith, people have always said, "But, you are not like other Catholics I know" or "I am Catholic, but I don't do that."  I used to awkwardly answer that I was more traditionally minded, but that explanation never felt right.

Religious and Faith isn't something I do.  It isn't a box I check.  It is part of who I am.  Have I questioned it?  Of course! I took logic and philosophy classes to learn how to question issues of faith and morals in a truly correct manner.  I am a scientist.  I have a biology degree - I even studied genetics and evolution.  Yet, I am still Catholic.

Religion isn't sentiment.  It isn't something I do to feel good.  It isn't something I do to be charitable.  It is something I do for the love of God, or, at the very least, as an exercise in confidence that God is Just.  Religion is a form of justice.  It isn't for us.  It is giving to God what belong to Him.

So, at the end of the day, when my three year old tells me, "Jesus loves us." He is right, but it is my duty to continue living a life that is aligned with the values I wish my children will develop.  I don't want going to Church to be a necessary chore.  I want it to be a natural part of life.

Will I teach my children about God? Well, yes.  It is what is learned, not taught, which I will encourage now though.  Young children need confidence in God, like they need confidence in their parents.