How to Teach Being a Christian

How to Teach Being a Christian 

“To the Onondaga people of northeast North America, instilling in their children a spirit of gratitude and generosity is critical to the child’s development and the good of the community.

When an Onondaga child is old enough to understand, the tribe gathers in a circle. The child is brought into the center of the circle and given sweet and cool things to drink. After the child has had his or her fill, a voice comes from outside the circle, crying, “I’m thirsty, I’m thirsty,” and the child is encouraged to take the drink to the thirsty person.

The child is brought back into the circle and served delicious food. After the child eats, a voice outside the circle is heard, “I’m hungry, I’m hungry,” and again, the child is taught to leave the circle to feed the hungry person.

The child returns to the circle and is given beautiful, warm clothes to wear — and a third time, a voice calls from outside the circle, “I’m cold, I’m cold,” and the child is helped to gather up clothes and blankets to warm the freezing person.

The Onondaga people realize that the most effective way of teaching such generosity to their children is to model such kindness and empathy in their own lives.”  [Connections, August 22, 2021 - From Radical Generosity: Unlock the Transformative Power of Giving by M.J. Ryan.]

Some of the most important principles we need to learn in life are the hardest.  Acknowledging that we are responsible not only to our family, but also, to our community is difficult to teach and difficult to live. 

The Christian Call demands total surrender to Jesus’ Will for our life, usually not all at once, most often it is a gradual giving of ourselves to God who then puts us in His boat, with His Spirit guiding us and His Son serving as our rudder.  

Teaching compassion, mercy and forgiveness are difficult life lessons to explain, living those life lessons is even more difficult.

Modeling Discipleship by Living Jesus each day is the best way to teach what it means to be a follower Jesus, a lover of Christ, a disciple of Jesus Christ. 

 

St. Joseph, pray for us.

St. Andre Bessette, intercede for us. 

St. Francis de Sales, pray for us.

“Tune my spirit to the music of heaven.”  [St. Brendan the Navigator]

 

May God Be Praised.