It all begins with an invitation…
Here is my Catholic culture story…yes, when my husband I began dating over 35 years ago, he invited me to go to Mass with him one Sunday.
I had not been to Mass in about 20 years…
Yes, I am a revert to the faith, born a cradle Catholic, as the oldest of four children, I was the only child who made my first holy communion, it was soon after that my parents left the church.
NO more Mass, no more talking about God. Done in our family life!
As I reflect back, I actually was invited back into the Church several times throughout my young adult life.
There was a college friend who would ask me go with her. I turned her down.
Then of course, sad but true, my dear grandmas who prayed for me constantly and invited me into prayer and the Church. But I was “too enlightened” to embrace the gift of faith they were offering.
Then came my husband’s invitation…
God’s actual grace came in the guise of my very dear and adorable husband. God is so good and so patient!
This time I said yes, and in turn to the possibility of JOY. My life was never the same.
Pope Saint John Paul II said …
”An authentic culture cannot fail to bear the mark of that healthy restlessness so wonderfully described by St Augustine in the beginning of his Confessions: “You have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you”
So I said YES to my husband’s invitation, and one Mass led to another, and another, and another. Soon we were finding rest in Christ’s love.
I longed to become a full member of the Church before we got married so we studied together for my confirmation, he was by my side, in a way a revert too! My husband was my confirmation sponsor a few months before we got married!
I remember too, the first sacramental I was given on that special day, a rosary! I still have it.
As a revert, I was a babe in the woods trying to build Catholic Culture in my family.
I did not know how to say the rosary but again that invitation opened me up to God’s grace and just like a child I learned little by little the prayers, those prayers became our first Catholic Culture tradition. We built a family tradition with prayer at the center of our homeschool lives.
What I have learned over these 35+years is that what is essential to living the Catholic culture in your family and in turn your homeschool simply boils down to living the Christian life but doing so in community!
Culture is a Shared Way of Life.
What better way to live that life than by choosing the homeschool lifestyle in community with fellow homeschoolers!
As Pope Saint John Paul II says,
”The cultural atmosphere in which a human being lives has a great influence upon his or her way of thinking and, thus, of acting”
The little things done with simple, yet focused intention, repeated over time become the fabric of a rich and beautiful tapestry of our unique family’s Catholic cultural life.
The threads are beautiful individually but when woven together they create a true work of art…one pleasing to God.
What are these, they are the everyday opportunities that God has put into our lives.
Our YES to marriage and our openness to life yields abundant graces too numerous to count. Sometimes they lay so obviously in our path but the busyness of life causes us to be distracted.
But first and foremost, I want to encourage you to seek your unique family’s path.
You and your family are unrepeatable events in all of history.
That is HUGE, this is your time, and your moment to serve.
You and your family are called to holiness, to spread the Good News BUT in the simple yet profound life as a Christian family and especially one that discovers, grows, and learns together in a homeschool lifestyle.
It need not be in ways that are showy or noticed by the world’s standards, or Instagram worthy!
So back to the community, as I said it is not just another social platform!
It is truly all about building culture.
What is Culture?
Culture is a singularly a human thing! So you won’t find it it through tech that is dehumanizing, as so many online platforms are today.
The “real world” is the human universe that has been redeemed and transformed by the atoning death of the Son of God.
Culture as defined by Pope Saint John Paul II is…
“…that dimension of the human universe in which the self-understanding of individuals and peoples is formed and is transmitted to new generations. Because the Church is first and foremost evangelical, the Church must, in this post-Constantinian epoch, be the evangelizer of cultures.”
Thus, since culture includes language, ideas, beliefs, customs, codes, institutions, tools, techniques, works of art, rituals, and ceremonies, among other elements.
Our Catholic Homeschool Community is in effect a Culture Evangelizer because it’s…
- People = Community members, newbies to veterans
- Language = Eucharistic and Sacramental
- Beliefs = Our Catholic Faith front and center
- Customs = Living the Liturgical Life in our Domestic Churches
- Ideas = Reimagine Education with Homeschooling
- Behaviors = Discover, Wonder, Sharing, Encouragement, Guidance, Support
- Tools and Techniques = In our content, courses, workshops, and events
The Deepest Level of Culture
We are called to a life rich in fellowship, a re-creation of that first fellowship of the first disciples. Through the years we have had many people woven into our family’s tapestry simply by inviting them into the fabric of our daily lives.
What moves people at the deepest level is culture…A civilization of love and to live in truth every single day.
The priest who married us 35+ years ago, God rest his soul …also baptized our children, he often said that God’s ways are simple, it is we men who tend to over complicate things. The washing away of original sin in the Sacrament of Baptism is complete by the simple matter and form of water and the Sign of the Cross.
I like to share with you the profound words of two beautiful saints that call me and hopefully inspire you with your Catholic Culture in your home.
The first is from Mother Teresa…she says…
“We feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean, but the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.”
And this one from Pope Saint John Paul II…
“Faith which becomes culture is the source of hope.”
Together we are doing something profound which ultimately results in a daily answer to God’s call to holiness.
What are we doing?
Well firstly, you have said YES to marriage, to children, and the all important role as your children’s primary educators in the faith.
Here is the really awesome thing…
We are doing this in community, in our Catholic Homeschool Community! We do this virtually with over 8000+ Catholic families from all over the globe!
Our Community is Different
As we know, all too well, doing anything virtual can often pull us away from being fully present for our children and family.
Let’s face it technology can be a blessing or a curse.
But with careful discernment and intention, tech can be a true blessing.
That’s where our Catholic Homeschool Community comes in. It is not Catholic social media, it is radically different. How???
You never do passive, mindless scrolling.
You never waste precious time.
You never feel depressed, anxious, or jealous.
Instead you intentionally make a point of showing up each week, to be “fed” friendship in each other, authentic honesty, as you journey together in that community center!
Social Media is about selling you lies…
The Catholic Homeschool Community is about rejoicing in the TRUTH.
The Catholic Homeschool Community is different because it is NOT social media. Nope!
Our community is created with a PURPOSE.
It is created to nourish and sustain you in your call to holiness. Our community is truly Catholic culture building.
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