APPLYING OUR FAITH TO OUR FAMILIES

CONTENTS

This final module examines how to apply our Catholic faith to our families. Since it is the family which is the heart of society, a strong family constitutes a strong society, and a society built on the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a house built on a foundation of stone. This final phase concludes with three presentations geared toward responding to our Catholic Christian obligation and to our Holy Father's call to evangelization. At World Youth Day in Denver, Colorado, 1993, the Pope issued one of the sternest warnings ever to Catholics: "“Woe to me if I do not evangelize, Woe to you if you do not succeed in defending life". These last three presentations address the issue of evangelizing the family and then move outward to evangelizing society.

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

27. Christ and the Church: A Model for Marriage	In this program Scott shows how the relationship between Christ and His Church is the perfect model for all marriages and expands upon St. Paul's teaching on this most Holy Union.
28. The Holy Family: A Model for the Catholic Home	This program deals with just how it is that Joseph, Mary and Jesus are the perfect model for all Catholic homes. Scott looks at each of their roles in the family and examines the example each one sets for all of us.
29. Children: A Model for Family Growth	In this program Kimberly takes the class through her own study of Scripture and the teaching of the Catholic Church about children. Kimberly explains in detail that, contrary to the view of secular society, these little children are actually blessings from God. They are the embodiment of the total self-giving love of husband and wife and, in a real sense, complete the familial reflection of the Blessed Trinity that was originally intended by God in the marital covenant. This familial reflection gives new meaning to God's word in Genesis, "God created man in His own image and likeness."
30. Catechizing the Family	In this program Kimberly expands upon program 29. She focuses on the vocation of marriage and the call, not only to procreate children, but to educate them as well. Kimberly, drawing from her many years of study as a theologian, and her experience as a mother of four, explains not only the spiritual dimension of this vocation involving children, but also the practical applications of educating them as well.
31. Know Your Rites: Living the Sacramental Life as a Family	In this program Kimberly, drawing from Philippians 1:6, shows how God, through the Sacraments, begins a great work in all who receive them and that it is God who brings that work to completion in each of us. Kimberly takes the class through the seven Sacraments and explains how the Sacraments are God's way of infusing grace, His own divine life, into His children--His sons and daughters. She goes on to emphasize the need for all families to apply these Sacraments to their lives and to make them a part of their everyday experience.
32. Overworked and Underprayed: Catholic Devotions for the Family	This program builds upon program 30. Kimberly begins this presentation with a close look at the relationship between Mary and Joseph and emphasizes the need for fatherly spiritual leadership in the family. From there she continues her discussion of the Sacraments and moves into developing Catholic spirituality as a family.
33. Catechizing and Evangelizing the Family: A Vision for the 21st Century	In this program Scott takes a look at what it means to catechize and to evangelize. Because these two words and their meanings are commonly lumped together without distinction, there is a lack of adequate catechizing and effective evangelization. Scott not only explains what is involved in proper catechesis and evangelization, but offers us as well the techniques to do it. He explains certain methods that work within the family for catechizing children, methods for evangelizing ourselves and methods for reaching out to our separated brothers and sisters.
34. The Great Omission: Why Catholics Don't Evangelize	In this program Scott takes a look at what it really means to be a Catholic--what it means to be in Christ, and how we can impart the Christian faith, especially to our children.
35. The Catholic Gospel: More Than Saving Sinners	In this program Scott draws from the points he brought out in programs 33 and 34. He explains what the Good News is that we are called to share. Scott explains that the Catholic gospel is no less than God establishing sinners as sons and daughters in the Family of God, a truth that has been taught for almost two thousand years.