I was born and raised in the Catholic faith. I grew up going to church every Sunday, going to religious education classes (CCD) from age 4-18. I completed all of my Sacraments and was married in the church. It was very important to me to get married in the Catholic church because I was raised to believe that if you're not married in the church, you're not married in the eyes of God.
My husband was raised in a similar way. But, he was one of those people who went to church and went through the motions, but didn't really pay too much attention. We've all done that from time to time, I know I have. But, I think that was more of a regular practice for him than a once in a while occurrence.
We started out going to church every Sunday when we first got married. We baptized my son when he was 3 weeks old. Then, when he was about 6 months old, he got really sick. He had a very bad stomach virus for about 4 weeks and was almost hospitalized. We didn't go to church during that time. Then, after he got better, didn't make it back to church for almost a year. Then, it became a once in a while occurence instead of a steady thing. Only in the last month have we gotten back into the habit of going to church each week.
I've always considered myself to be a religious person. I pray all the time, every single day. I'm not one of those people who only prays when times are bad. I pray and thank God each and every day for my son, my husband, my life, etc. I believe that it's important to be grateful for what you have and to thank God often.
I would like to have my son grow up with a strong faith in God and a sense of religion in his life. We taught him how to do the sign of the cross and he knows how to say "Peace be with you." He knows that we go to church to see Jesus and to pray.
I would like to make our faith more of a part of our everyday lives. I would like to say grace before dinner. But, I feel that my husband might not be open to these kinds of things. I've tried to have religious talks with him before and ask him questions about his faith. He always just gives the standard "I believe in God" answers and doesn't seem too open to the conversations.
What is your family's faith like? Do you pray together or alone? Are you and your spouse on the same page about your beliefs? How important is your faith in your daily life?
I would like this to be an open discussion without it turning into judgemental and rude comments about people's religious beliefs and opinions. Please keep it friendly. THANKS!
recommend this
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 42
I think that faith can be a wonderful thing for people who have it, but scary when it is expected that large segments of society should behave according to one religion's beliefs or customs.
Good luck in your pursuit of a family faith that is fulfilling to you and that you can also share with your husband. Hopefully you will find something that works for both of you.
My up-bringing is very similar to yours Jill...and Mike and I are making sure that our kids have a personal relationship with the Lord and Savior.
I have to say, your story and mine are very similar (without the sick child). Add to my story that my mom's older brother is a Catholic priest, and 3 of my dad's aunts were nuns, 1 was a mother superior! Anyway, we found it hard to go to church when the kids were little. We liked going on Sat. nite when there was no nursery. It's worth it to get up on Sundays, with nursery duty, for you to go. Find a Catholic church that is family friendly. Our first church, when we moved, was not overly friendly to our oldest, active son. Our church now is a warm and cozy Catholic church.
It was my husband's idea to register with a parish after we did Marriage Encounter. One day, after we stopped going to our first church, I put it in my daily planner to attend church, since it was Ash Wednesday. It was time to go back. I called the 2nd church and took my 7 & 4 year old to church by myself. SCARY!!!
They were good and I told my husband, I think you'll like this church. We joined in 2000, and we are active in the church now. I signed him up to be a Eucharist Minister, and he loves it. It's something we do together. I am part of the MOMS group and he and my sons (now 14 &111) help mow the lawn.
As for your husband, he will follow in your good example. I cannot count the number of times I went without him. Now, it just seems right. We have both grown in our faith and I think that's why God trusts us with children...so we'll be good examples for them to carry on God's plan.
Yes, God is an integral part of my life, but religious practices are not. I pray almost all the time...it is not essential to have one's eyes closed to pray, nor is it necessary for one to say words out loud. I make mistakes, many actually, but I have the assurance that God will forgive and forget them, and that I can move on the next day, unburdened from the mistakes of the past. The medical profession are astounded that I've lived now for 15 years, whereas they told me that I wouldn't last six months and that I would be in high needs care unable to move more than my eyes. How grateful I am that God disagreed with their learned prognosis!
We aren't really church goers....but we are religious...me more than my hubby.
Do you pray together or alone?
Alone for the most part....I pray like I say I Love you...whenever I think about it and often.
Are you and your spouse on the same page about your beliefs?
We are both Christian....he hates church politics and I tolerate it.
How important is your faith in your daily life?
Pretty important, He is why we are here....and all we have is because of his creation and inspiration.
We don't say 'peace be with you'. We say, "have a blessed day'.
We pray together before meals and end all our prayers with "In Jesus' name, Amen." Or some variation of using Jesus' name.
We attend church at least once per week and if our week hasn't been too busy, we will attend twice.
I pray everday, several times per day.
I READ and obey the Bible in whole and not in part.
WwW.SparkleTags.Com
We pray as a family, and my husband and I pray together. We also prayed with our daughter every night and morning until she was in her teens. She became the leader of her senior class Kairos retreat and her faith is strong.
I think being a parent makes us want to be better people. We want our children to love and know God.
We do not pray together (we only have maybe 2 or 3 times total - both of us are uncomfortable praying with other people, we feel it's very very personal - but that could just be a fear we have), we've only said grace at the table before eating a couple times when we tried to make it a habit and then just forgot. Neither one of us were ever in the habit of doing that growing up, although when we visit certain family members they do and it always warms me to hear it and hope one day we can do that in our own home.
My dad used to be like your husband. He just went through the motions without it being 'personal' to him - but about 7 years ago everything changed, and now he is even one of the leaders at the church teaching classes. He is a very intelligent man and anyone who knows him can see God has a hand in everything he does now. It was never like that before, but he broke down and accepted Christ and now Jesus is in control of his life. It's so amazing to see it. For years my stepmother prayed for him, she set the kids into habits like praying at the table (even if he just does it because you want to - at least it will happen in your home - you could say "I would just like to say grace before we eat, it would mean a lot to me") and such, even through his criticism.
Religious beliefs are so incredibly personal and everyone acts on them in different ways. If it was never personal to your husband, then I pray that one day maybe it will be, but as long as he's in the environment and learning the habits now it may be an easier road later on if he ever comes to the realization that he REALLY needs God in his life, not just as a routine and an afterthought.
Good luck!