Wednesday, February 09, 2011

The Trinity that Molds the Catholic Family

"The Church, the Home and the School--these are the trinity that mould our lives, fashion our character and fit us for the knighthood of heaven and the knighthood of earth.

- Each of this trinity has its great work to do. The Church pours upon the new-born the regenerating waters of baptism and makes it a child of God and heir to the Kingdom of Heaven;

- The home represented in the father and mother keeps watch over the seedlings of grace implanted at baptism in the garden of the infant heart and nourishes those seedlings,

- while the school trains will and heart and mind to follow the precepts of truth and hearken to the voice and admonitions of God..."

The foregoing is from a paper that was read at the International Eucharistic Congress in Montreal, September 1910. It was compiled into a book entitled Essays on Catholic Life by Thomas O'Hagan.

We need to remember that back when these talks were first given, in the early part of the 20th Century, almost all Catholic schools in the United States taught solid Catholic doctrine. It would be interesting to find out if any Catholic families during this time period homeschooled their children. 

As I read the essays contained in this book, I will share other excerpts from this very useful handbook for Catholic life.

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