By this time you have purchased all the new school supplies from teacher lists, stocked up on lunch snacks, color coded the family calendar with lists of activities, and maybe even had your kids’ backpacks blessed at Mass. You are as prepared as you can be for the start of the new school year. Whether you’re sending kids to school for the first time or the 12th time, this time of year can be chaos.
Some people live for a schedule, while others will miss measuring the days by the amount of sand collected in the backseat of the car and sunlight left in the sky. Whichever camp you are in, I welcome you into “back to school” mode. As you adjust, you may start questioning how you can spend those small pockets of time as a family among the carpools, extra curriculars and responsibilities.
Just as we pencil in our activities, we need to pencil in our intentional family faith time. When you put it on the calendar and make it a priority, it becomes that much more important to you and your children. You will notice yourself looking forward to taking a deep breath, praying with your family, or attending Mass.
There are a few simple ways to start. Family dinner doesn’t always happen around the dining room table, but you can always pray before you eat with your children. Penciling in Mass on your calendar is a huge move to making faith a family priority. Though attending the same Mass time each week promotes fellowship, learn to adapt your Mass time to your family’s availability that weekend. If you need to change your “regular” Mass and go another time, it’s better than missing it entirely. If you prioritize receiving the Body of Christ as a family each week, or however often your family attends, you will see a dynamic shift in your family’s faith life.
On the flip side, if your family thrives on routine, choose a Mass time and stick to it and then create a fun morning Mass routine that your whole family can enjoy. And the promise of donuts after receiving the life-giving Bread of Jesus Christ is often an incentive.
Parents spend a ton of time in the car with their children during the school year going from place to place. The car is a great place to set the precedence for open conversation. At minimum you may already ask your kids about their school day, and their answers are usually varying from oversharing to grunts depending on their ages. Instead, be more specific and intentional about inviting God into that conversation. Ask your children questions like, “Where did you see God today?” “Did anyone do an act of kindness that Jesus would be proud of?” “What did you do today that you want to do better tomorrow?” “How do you plan to show God’s love to someone this week?” These types of questions may sound different to you at first, but they can open your children up to an ocean of answers.
Don’t get so overwhelmed by the idea of bringing faith into your routine that you end up doing nothing. Pick one place to start and grow your faith alongside your children.
I pray this school year is a fruitful one for your family. May God be with you and your family in this time of new curiosity and learning.
Lisa Ann Limongello is the parish catechetical leader in St. Luke Parish, Toms River, and the three parishes that compose the Catholic Community of Hopewell Valley – St. James, Pennington; St. George, Titusville, and St. Alphonsus, Hopewell.
Back to School Prayer
Loving Father, Creator of all that is good, we ask your blessing on *insert names of your children* as they enter their new classrooms and step onto the field (court/mat/etc.).
I pray that they know You have their back always and everywhere: on the school bus, as they walk to class, when they miss their parents, as they make a new friend, and as they turn away from making fun of someone who is different.
I pray they feel loved and that they love themselves. Open their minds to all they need to learn, fill their hearts with Your love, and bless their hands with Your kindness and creativity.
– Amen.