What Does it Mean to Form an Apostle; and Teaching Our Children that Our Faith is Meant to Be Lived and Shared

Upon reviewing the list of topics suggested to contribute to the parent blog, I immediately locked in on one suggestion, “What does it mean to be an apostle”? I was drawn to the idea that I know these are opportunities for me, as much as anyone reading this to dive deeper, study and grow in understanding. I thought; I need to do that, especially in this area. This idea of being an apostle was something that, recently, I had been praying about quite frequently, and ties into so many messages from the gospel.

We find ourselves often spending time in situations and with people that perhaps our families are not accustomed to. Many times, we find ourselves outside our comfort zones, or in circumstances that are out of the norm for us and our kids. My reaction to almost every one of those interactions, is- “I wish I could just go back home”, hide away, leave that situation, retreat back into my quiet, secure little Catholic bubble that I have come to feel so secure in. But- as years went by, and the moments kept coming and going, Dan and I realized that, no. No, we do not remove ourselves from situations that are uncomfortable for us, and that we are exactly where God is calling us to be. Out of our bubbles, out of our comfort zones, out of our little enclaves where everyone around us thinks, and for the most part acts like us. Of course, it should be without saying, that we all must use prudence, to determine which situations should be avoided, and any occasion that can lead us away from God.

 I have loved East Lake, as well as our high schools and Newman college communities, most especially because we are surrounded by like-minded people. Simply put, that is what is comfortable to us all. Each of these communities are usually made up of wonderful families who are faith filled individuals and are so easy to love and be around. But what about the people that you have to be around sometimes, that aren’t so easy to love? How many times do we find ourselves in these instances? As I reflect on it, for the purposes of this written entry, I realized, most of the time, these people that we find difficult to bear, are lacking virtue in one way or another. This perhaps is unattractive to us, and maybe to everyone, because it really is that goodness, that we see in others, that is attractive. And who is good, but God alone? Whatever goodness we have, is a result of that life of Christ in us, and as Christians, as followers of Christ, we are called to reflect that image of Christ in our words and actions. When we make it a priority to work on living and practicing virtues, we get closer to God, and then we can bring that into our environments that beckon us, to bring Christ’s light into those places. When we see people around us not living very virtuous lives in whatever capacity, it usually comes as a bit of a shock. At least that is how I feel. But we should also feel called to bring ourselves closer to them.

There are people we know who are so far away from God. And, I realized that, as uncomfortable as it is, not to feel like you are with likeminded people, that God is asking us to be there, to give witness to Him, to give the example that on vacation, even though, it will be an inconvenience to everyone, that Sunday mass is an obligation for us and we need to alter the schedule to accommodate for it. That modesty, while at the pool or beach is a priority for us, and can be an example to others that you don’t have to dress so revealing, and still be fashionable too. That we can curb gossip, and change the topic of conversations, that are not becoming of Christian speech. It was obvious to me that in our Catholic worlds, there are many virtues we strive for and try to live, but most often others outside our bubble do not. I think of virtues such as temperance, vanity, pride, purity, detachment from wealth, prestige and power, all as ones that are commonly ignored. When so many around us give into the pride of life and all the temptations that come with it, virtue is not something that comes to mind for most people. I have a feeling most of you are nodding your heads. I am not saying that any of us are completely guilt free of any or all of these, but I would like to emphasize that we are striving to live these virtues. Everyone of us are all drawn to the same temptations, because quite simply, it’s just human nature, and there is nothing new under the sun.

The gospels mention,” And if you shall salute your brethren only, what do you do more (than others)? Do not even the heathens the same thing”? It takes a life lived close to Christ, to be able to salute and interact with those we find hard to call our brethren. But the gospels challenge us to go out into those places to find those people, who aren’t too hard to find!

When Jesus began His ministry, He first gathered the apostles around him, then formed them. He first created a tight community which He instructed. This is so necessary. Having our community where we grow and live our faith is crucial. Then once you are well formed, and have the community behind you, it is then that you can go out, like the first apostles to the multitudes, which is where we always find Christ. In the crowds, amoung the people. But, the emphasis lies in taking seriously the effort to form ourselves well. We should always be looking to learn more. We will never know everything.

“It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20). By constantly listening to his word and through the grace received in the frequent reception of the Sacraments, it will be possible for us to become living witnesses of the Church.

We are co responsible for the mission of Christ and his church. At the end of every mass we are “sent out” to bring the good news of Christ to all. How can we do that if we only hang around those who have already heard about Christ and live by his teachings already? There are so many around us, even those in the pews next to us, who have yet to hear and understand a myriad of major church teachings, and other concepts such as God’s infinite mercy. How many people do we know that distance themselves from the table of the Lord because they feel they cannot be forgiven, when God is always seeking the lost and waiting for each of them to repent and come home?

We are called to mix ourselves into the world, and act as leaven, so as to bring up, raise up, society around us by our example and the very people that we are. And people do notice you!! I really don’t like to be noticed- but they notice us! We give witness to our faith to others by living it ourselves, and being examples to the world around us. These are often simple things that are probably part of the fabric of your lives, but are often eye opening to those outside our Catholic bubble. And, this is not easy in the least. You are laughed at, made fun of, humiliated when you go against the grain, but that is exactly what the first Christians and Christ experienced too. We may not be martyrs in the way they were, but we might possibly be ostracized, or not taken seriously, and that’s ok. Because if you live to be loved by the world around you, you probably are not following Christ as close as you should be.

Often for me and my family, it’s hard for example, traveling outside of our bubble. Anytime people notice the size of our family, or the crazy car we drive, it becomes terribly uncomfortable, but also an opportunity to tell others of the trust and faith we have in God for our family. More often than not, we are mocked or made to feel like we have been irresponsible or over indulgent, or lacking self control, but if only the world could understand why we allow ourselves to be open to children. These are the conversations that may be difficult and uncomfortable, but almost always force conversations about religion, the meaning of life and marital love.

The next line for the topic was, “teaching our children that our faith is meant to be lived and shared”.

We fight daily against many temptations, and as the pull of the world lures us and our children to live such self- centered and ultra comfortable lives. We fight for Christian ideals of love for our neighbor in service and contributing to society with our work well done and offered to God, as well as using our time well and not just filling it with constant distractions and diversions. How can we teach our children or those around us to give of themselves instead of please themselves?

A beautiful lesson to teach our children about our faith comes from Pope Leo XIV’s official papal message for the 100th World Mission Day in 2026. He says that “Being a Christian is not primarily about practices or ideas; it is a life in union with Christ, in which we share in his filial relationship with the Father in the Holy Spirit.” This message causes us to think about why we are Christians and how we are to live out our lives especially as Christians, and to remember that everyone ever created was meant for this truth.

We can teach our children to strive to love God with all their hearts, and to see others as children of God, and that our goal for our friends and family is to help them get to heaven. Doing so, will make it easy to imitate Christ’s own life in service and care for our neighbor. There is a wonderful meditation I listened to somewhat recently titled “Find your Calcutta at home”. You don’t have to go to the other side of the world to serve and love your neighbor. Often it’s right in front of your eyes. Right in our own homes. Something as little as doing chores around the house, or watching a younger sibling, trains them to think less of themselves and children naturally love to be helpful- so ask it of them! I have to admit, I used to think it was kinda mean to have the kids constantly working around the house, or doing what I felt was my job, but now I see what a gift it is to teach them to do their part and learn to work for the good of all. It has also taught them to be more responsible. When they see how much work it is to clean up, or repair something that is broken, they take better care of everything.

Other simple, but daily lessons, of teaching children to pass on the faith, is to be good examples to each other, such as helping them to be kind to one another, even to that sibling who at that moment is not easy to love. Teaching your children to curb their tempers, watch their tongue, look out for each other- even something as simple as offering your preferred seat in the car for example, or letting them be served at the table first. We need to teach our children how to be a good friend, which means loving them, expecting nothing in return. Friendships oftentimes can slip into ones of convenience, and we have all experienced superficial friendships where you are quickly dropped when they no longer need you.

Ultimately everything we do and teach our children revolves around this principle of the Pope. That “the Good News that we are sent to proclaim to the world is not an abstract ideal; it is the Gospel of God’s faithful love, which became flesh in the face and life of Jesus Christ”. Pope Leo XIV

“Only the person who feels happiness in seeking the good of others, in desiring their happiness, can be a missionary”- Pope Francis

And let’s not forget the power of our prayer. With the somewhat recent Feast of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, who declared that she would continue her mission even after death: “I shall desire in heaven the same thing as I do now on earth: to love Jesus and to make him loved, may we always remember that God counts on our prayers for others and we can never tire of asking God to help us to do His work of evangelization.