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Author Topic: Parents' lack of spirit of adventure causing children to lose the Faith.  (Read 938 times)

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Offline Geremia

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I've noticed that traditional Catholic parents' #1 concern about their children is that their children are losing the faith, but these same parents seem so boring. They don't make the Faith exciting for their children. In short, they don't seem to lead their children into battle and be adventurous (attend prayer rallies, political events, confront the culture head-on with them, etc.). There seems to be lacking the spirit of TIA's motto:
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La plus belle aventure du monde, c’est la nôtre
- The most beautiful adventure in the world is ours -
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Offline Matthew

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  • Parents need to love the Faith, love God, love the Blessed Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and have the saints as their friends and real-life role models.

    If the parents are warriors and love the Faith, spending lots of time & effort on it themselves, the children will perceive that the Faith is something truly wonderful, good, and valuable.

    There must be love and spiritual happiness/peace in the household, with serving God as the foundation. There should be "peaceful consciences all around" which is the ONLY foundation of any kind of happiness or peace.

    And yes, it's important for the family to do things TOGETHER, to form close bonds. Including things related to the Faith.

    The Faith is not about pure negativity. If it's all sour faces, privations, isolation, beatings, hypocrisy of the parents, self-indulgence of the parents, etc. then yes, the kids won't be on board.

    And last but not least, children form their idea about God's fatherhood from their father. Is he absent? Well then God is far off and absent, and doesn't love them. Yes, you MIGHT be able to override some of this with enough prayer/study/training -- but human nature is the current of the stream. You will be forever swimming upstream, which is far more difficult. You don't want psychology/human nature to be your enemy, EVER, if you can help it. Psychologically, children get their idea of God from how their earthly father behaves. It's how they learn about fatherhood, authority, Providence, father's love -- and God.

    It's how God created and designed the world. He gives us visible stand-ins (representatives, vicars) for Himself in different contexts: the Pope, our earthly fathers, etc. We call it "having authority". It's why fundamentally, with rare exceptions, Catholics are not rebels. Only under certain very specific circuмstances should Catholics "rebel".

    God created the "Patriarchy". Interesting how that's become the worst thing ever, in current year, according to feminism. Also, Americans are allergic to any kind of authoritarianism -- any kind of top-down authority that doesn't originate with the ones governed (which is ludicrous, if you think about it. If I give permission for you to rule me, then I'm really ruling myself)
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    Offline SimpleMan

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  • It's how God created and designed the world. He gives us visible stand-ins (representatives, vicars) for Himself in different contexts: the Pope, our earthly fathers, etc. We call it "having authority". It's why fundamentally, with rare exceptions, Catholics are not rebels. Only under certain very specific circuмstances should Catholics "rebel".

    God created the "Patriarchy". Interesting how that's become the worst thing ever, in current year, according to feminism. Also, Americans are allergic to any kind of authoritarianism -- any kind of top-down authority that doesn't originate with the ones governed (which is ludicrous, if you think about it. If I give permission for you to rule me, then I'm really ruling myself)

    Agreed.  That is why I maintain that true Catholics make better citizens and even better employees, because they understand the nature of authority, and how it is to be respected and obeyed simply because it is authority, not just because they might get arrested, sued, or fired if they didn't.  (This applies, of course, to those things that fall within the bounds of what must be obeyed, and in the case of a secular occupation, you normally have the option of quitting even if the demands of the job are within the rights of the employer, but you just do not agree with them or do not wish to carry them out.)

    Add to this, I maintain that Catholics also make better attorneys and better judges because they understand the concept of seeing something outside of oneself that is an objective reality, and does not depend upon the wishes of, or advantages accruing to, oneself.  Put another way, they understand that right and wrong, good and bad, true and false, don't originate with the individual.

    Offline SimpleMan

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  • And to be fair, traditionally, it wasn't within the "life kit" of Catholics to seek adventure and to be bold in the practice of one's faith.  You could simply rely upon the priests and the magisterium to set the course, and fulfill your baseline obligations thusly.  That is how the post-Vatican II juggernaut of modernist error swept through like a hurricane, some folks might not have liked the changes, might not have understood their implications, but obeyed because they were told to.  (That, plus the itch to be like the larger society and to have an easier life, marry people they should not or even could not marry, practice contraception, get divorced, eat meat on Fridays, be like Protestants and have a vernacular liturgy, and so on.  There was no shortage of priests telling their penitents that "conscience" trumps everything else, and for many, their moral reasoning began and ended with whatever a liberal priest told them.)

    Offline TheRealMcCoy

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  • The Faith is not about pure negativity. If it's all sour faces, privations, isolation, beatings, hypocrisy of the parents, self-indulgence of the parents, etc. then yes, the kids won't be on board.
    THIS...is where many parents lose their children to the world.  It's why I always admit my faults to my children, who are adults, and own up to past bad choices that had a negative effect on them.  They can see that I live a penitential lifestyle and I don't expect something of them that I don't expect of myself.


    Offline songbird

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  • What disturbs me as a parent, that a priest can say Mass to fast.  So, I actually see, youth of school age, with parents at Mass without missals. I don't like what I see.  Young men with hands in their pockets to receive Our Lord.  Parents, right there behind them.  Young ladies who could wear clothing, more that is and show less skin such as arms and such.

    Now, where is their heart? The elderly see this and say, "Where is the reverence?"   

    Knowledge= shows in attitude, and = to behavior.  It starts at home, parents

    Offline girlytrad

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  • I have the wildest , most absurd suggestion.

    How about everybody focus on themselves, instead of worrying about other people and how they raise their children.

    Men worry about knowing their faith and sticking to in spite of the gaslighting of everyone around them.

    And women learning to be more and more humble everyday.

    Children are naturally adventurous and optimistic. Parents dont need to be "adventerous". They just need to be understanding and, like I said, focus on their duties.

    I know the op means well, but many people are far too idle as trads. If we all had less of a busy body attitude and more solidity in the Faith (like insisting more on modesty and resistance only Mass attendance, and taking less nonsense from even our own clergy who suffer from this intellectual idleness), we would be all better off. 

    Offline Geremia

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  • How about everybody focus on themselves, instead of worrying about other people and how they raise their children.
    It's not just about raising children, but the children's apathy is a bad sign of a bigger problem. Children should be the last ones to lose a sense of wonder and adventure.
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    Offline girlytrad

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  • It's not just about raising children, but the children's apathy is a bad sign of a bigger problem. Children should be the last ones to lose a sense of wonder and adventure.
    If the children are apathetic it is only because the parents are apathetic, in a spiritual sense.

    We're not in this life to have adventures. But to embrace The Cross. 

    Offline Benedikt

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  • Quote from: girlytrad
    If the children are apathetic it is only because the parents are apathetic, in a spiritual sense.

    We're not in this life to have adventures. But to embrace The Cross.
    I fully agree with this post. However, embracing the Cross is the greatest adventure one can ever have. We are not in this life for comfort, novelty, or fleeting thrills. True heroism and eternal reward come from taking up the Cross, following Christ faithfully, and enduring all trials for His love. As Scripture says, “And he that taketh not up his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:38, Douay-Rheims). This is the supreme adventure, the path that leads to Heaven.


    Offline girlytrad

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    Re: Parents' lack of spirit of adventure causing children to lose the Faith.
    « Reply #10 on: August 17, 2025, 11:13:51 AM »
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  • I fully agree with this post. However, embracing the Cross is the greatest adventure one can ever have. We are not in this life for comfort, novelty, or fleeting thrills. True heroism and eternal reward come from taking up the Cross, following Christ faithfully, and enduring all trials for His love. As Scripture says, “And he that taketh not up his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:38, Douay-Rheims). This is the supreme adventure, the path that leads to Heaven.
    Yes indeed. I was going to say that too, but I wanted to keep things brief. Even also to add that all the things that he mentions are active things in the world. Nothing about a life hidden in God, which is superior to an active life. Spiritual works of mercy which are superior to corporal ones.

    Its something all to frequent in the United States, as Americans have historically valued these active things above spiritual.

    It makes me wonder, what so many people would do if they had children who were disabled in some way, and unable to do all these "adventurous" things he lists. Are they somehow not having as much "fun"? Somehow more boring?

    Rather, teaching such children to embrace the cross, which you rightly call the true adventure, they will certainly "level up" and even surpass their more active siblings.


    Offline Seraphina

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    Re: Parents' lack of spirit of adventure causing children to lose the Faith.
    « Reply #11 on: August 17, 2025, 05:21:55 PM »
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  • The entirety of a life of Faith is the adventure. Life includes exciting times, good times, the boring and mundane, the trials and the bad, the sorrowful. All is lived in, with, and through Our Lord. Occasional public battle is included, but that is actually very “surface” when compared with prayer, meditation, and contemplation. Excitement in church is a hallmark of Protestantism. It’s how they (and the novus ordo) try to attract people. It’s emotionalism that quickly burns out. In order to keep it going, something more exciting than the last must be introduced. And so it leads on and on until it ends in burn out. Endless novelty is overkill. Novelty should never be mistaken for progress, the huge lie of V2 and the hierarchy, of the modern world. 
    Clown masses and World Youth Days may be exciting, pro-life demonstrations may be exciting, but it is the day-in, day-out living of the Catholic life that brings peace of heart, a clean conscience, and great contentment. If children are bored, that is a sign something is spiritually amiss. Our Lord suffered three agonizing hours on the Cross. He spent three days in the tomb. He arose victorious from the grave in how much time? He lived 33 years on this earth. Three years were spent in active ministry. That means 30 years were all but hidden. Along with Mary and Joseph, He led an ordinary, “boring” life, or so it may have seemed. Not so, for every routine, everyday, mundane task was sanctified to God and transformed by the Holy Ghost into an act of worship. THIS is what Catholic parents must teach their children.
    One can be a Saint without ever joining a pro-life march, demonstrating for passage of Godly laws, praying in a Rosary Rally, or taking on lgbtq activists. A seemingly “dull” and short life, sanctified by Grace can lift the soul to Heaven whereas a life of excitement spent in good and worthy activities, without the inner fortitude of sanctifying grace can end in Hell. 
    This is not to say Catholics shouldn’t partake of exciting, active apostolates, or that all must retreat to the convent, monastery, or hermit’s cell. For families with children, a life mainly one or the other is impractical and normally imprudent. 
    If children are bored, it’s time to study into the cause of the spiritual malady. Do they really understand their catechism or have they merely memorized it? What about the Scripture and lives of the Saints? Do they know them? Know they are real, not fiction or fable? With what attitude do they see you going about everyday tasks? If Mom tells you to vacuum the living room, yes, that’s not terribly interesting, especially if the vacuum bag or canister needs emptying. What, however, if Our Lord instructs you to vacuum the living room? You’d be thrilled to do it. In reality, since it is by God’s Authority that Mom can tell you to vacuum the floor, you are actually doing it for Him, not just your Mom.