As some of you may know, I do not live in a religious family, and I am the only Catholic who lives here. However, I have two younger siblings, one 12 and the other 9, and I would like to teach them about the faith. Since my mother has married and divorced two Catholics now, she disdains Catholicism for the most part, and I'm sure that she would object to me teaching the children the faith, so I believe that I must teach them in secret.

My question to you all is, how should I go about doing this? Are there any materials, coursebooks, study plans, or homeschooling resources any of you can share with me, preferably that are free? How do you all teach your children the faith? Taking the children to Mass is out of the question at the moment, as my mother likes to take them to a non-denominational "church" on Sundays. This seems contrary to my words above, in which I said that I don't live in a "religious family", but the "service" that they go to on Sundays is any thing but religious, as it's more like a Jesus-themed rock concert/therapy session. My mother actually goes there because, and this is her words, "The pastor doesn't tell you to do anything." (except to put in your 10% tithe, of course)

I'm sure you can see how difficult it's going to be to teach these children, as I have to first un-brainwash them from the garbage they hear and see on Sundays, and then teach them about the Catholic faith, while not actually being able to show them the Catholic faith by taking them to a church, to Mass, to confession, or to meet a priest.

Any resources, advice, or suggestions you all can give me would be gratefully accepted. Thank you.

Alex,

As hard as it may sound, you should start by bringing your Mother back into the Catholic Church.  Before you try this, pray on it often.  

If you pray the Holy Rosary daily, make your intention the conversion of your mother.  If you only pray the Holy Rosary once a week, then make your intention the conversion of your mother.  Pray for her unceasingly.  Pray even if you think your prayers are not being answered.  

You can teach your siblings by sharing your catechism with them and sharing the joys and piety you have discovered.  If possible, bring them with you to a Traditional Catholic Church.

You must have a prayer life and you must go to Confession regularly.

Don't underestimate the teaching you are already doing by your example.It may not seem much to you but it will pay off, with prayer.

Can you find a local Catholic homeschool group?

No, probably not. I want to keep this on the down-low as much as possible, and I don't want to arouse any suspicions from my mother. I don't mind buying books myself so much - I just didn't know which ones were good enough to buy! I'll look into the Seton books you recommended.

As hard as it may sound, you should start by bringing your Mother back into the Catholic Church.

That's asking quite a lot! My mother never had a love or a belief in any objective truth. She views religion as something that should make you feel good about yourself, or to feel empowered. Making her believe that truth is more concrete than she's taken it to be would take quite the miracle. However, I will pray for her conversion as much as possible. Do you have any specific prayers or novenas you can recommend to me for this specific purpose?

Given their ages and that you can't really force them to study anything, you might have to wait and draw their interest by your actions. Be willing to discuss things with them as they ask about why you do this or that -- turning down the family BBQ in favor of PBJ on Friday, getting to Mass regularly (perhaps even for mid-week devotions when you can), praying the Rosary, etc.

Those are good suggestions. However, regarding your comment that: "Given their ages and that you can't really force them to study anything," I kind of feel otherwise. Though they're almost teenagers, neither of them has hit the atheististic and anarchist phase of growing up that most teenagers in America seem to go through. Therefore, I have hope that I will be able to nurture a seed of faith in them while I still have the time. Even though my mother has given me no authority over them, they still see me as their "big bro" and do hold me in some high regard, even though it is little. I think I might be able to sit them down and have them study properly, though I can't be sure until I've actually tried.

Don't underestimate the teaching you are already doing by your example.It may not seem much to you but it will pay off, with prayer.

I just hope my example is good enough!

If you are the only catholic (maybe you mean active as much as you can be) are the siblings baptized?

Yes, the children were baptized in a NO Catholic Church. My mother and step-father have a very interesting and very disturbing history with Catholicism. Without saying too much, they made sure that all of their children were baptized, but they never went to Mass, prayed, or ever actually talked about the Faith at all with us. My younger siblings have never made their first confession, nor received their first Holy Communion.

Alex said:

I just hope my example is good enough!

So, you're not perfect yet?

Your sincerity will shine through.

Also remember that you don't necessarily get the faith out of books. Many's the illiterate saint. Not that I'm recommending illiteracy, mind you, but it's not a matter essentially of intellect, but the heart.