The challenge of praying and living faith with children: how to do it?

If you want to pray with your children, you must first play with them

Written by MICHAEL AND ALICIA HERNON

When people ask us what the goal of our family ministry is, our answer is simple: world domination!

Joking aside, the worldwide reach is what we want for Our Lord and his Church: to bring everything to Christ through love and conversion. Our participation in this redemptive action begins simply by proclaiming Jesus Christ as King and living accordingly. In the family, this royalty is lived through love: the love between the spouses and all the members of the family that flows from love for the Lord. When truly lived, this love is a powerful evangelical witness and can truly bring many souls to Christ.

Where does this "world domination" plan begin? Jesus made it easy by giving us devotion to his Sacred Heart.

When a family places an image of the loving heart of Jesus in a place of honor within their home, and when each member of the family offers his heart to Jesus, in return he gives them his heart. The result of this exchange of love is that Jesus can therefore transform their marriage and their family. It can change the heart. And it does all this for those who proclaim and claim to be the good, merciful and loving king of the family. As Pope Pius XI said, "In truth, (this devotion) leads our minds more easily to know Christ the Lord intimately and more effectively transforms our hearts to love him more ardently and to imitate him more perfectly" (Miserentissimus Redemptor 167 ).

Where does devotion to the Sacred Heart of Christ come from? Between 1673 and 1675, Jesus appeared to Santa Margherita Maria Alacoque and revealed his Sacred Heart to her, burning with love for humanity. He told her that on the first Friday after the Corpus Christi holiday he had to be put aside to honor his Sacred Heart and make repairs for all those who do not love him and honor him. This devotion spread like a fire among Christians and it can be argued that it became more relevant only as the years went by.

This year, the party falls on June 19th. This is a great opportunity for families to examine their relationship with the Lord and start doing everything out of love for him. Jesus gave Santa Margherita Maria many promises in exchange for loving his Sacred Heart, and these were distilled in the "12 Promises of the Sacred Heart".

"Our Redeemer himself promised Saint Margaret Mary that all those who would thus honor her Sacred Heart would receive abundant heavenly graces" (MR 21). These graces bring peace to the homes of families, console them in difficulty and pour abundant blessings on all their endeavors. All this only for having enthroned him in his legitimate place as King of the family!

What does all this have to do with the game? A very wise woman once said to us, "If you want to pray with your children, you must first play with them." After considering our experience as parents, we realized that this is true.

There are many ways in which play opens a child's heart and mind to God. It is through our natural relationship with our children that we form their first images of God. "Their parental love is called to become for the children the visible sign of God's own love ", from which every family in heaven and on earth takes its name" "(Familiaris Consortio 14). Putting the image of God in a child's heart is a great responsibility for parents, but as John Paul loved to proclaim, we must not be afraid! God will give us all the grace we need if we ask for it.

Furthermore, when we play, we participate in recreational activities: we are recreating ourselves. The game helps us all to remember who we really are and what we are made for. We were not made to be alone, but to connect with others. We were made for communion and in this we can find happiness and purpose, as well as our children.

Furthermore, we were not made for hard work: we were made for joy. God intended to make us rest and enjoy the world he created for us. From a child's perspective, playing with his parents is truly joyful.

In the game, we are strengthening a connection with our children, which deepens their sense of belonging, to us and even to God. Teach them that they have a place and an identity. Isn't this the desire of all our hearts? Your child can more easily believe that God loves them because you love them. This is what the game communicates.

And finally, from the parents' point of view, the game reminds us what it is like to be children and that the similarity with children is an essential element of prayer. Jesus made it clear when he said: "Unless you turn around and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18: 3). Getting to the level of a child and being vulnerable and simple, and perhaps even a little silly, reminds us that only through humility can we draw closer to the Lord.

Now some parents, especially those with teenagers, know that suggesting that "family time" can be welcomed with rolling eyes and protests, but don't let that put you off. A 2019 study revealed that seventy-three percent of children ages five to seventeen said they wished they had more time to connect with their parents.

So what is the Play and Pray challenge? From June 12 to June 21, at the Messy Family Project we are challenging parents to do three things: having an appointment with their spouse, spending a fun day with the family and weaving the Sacred Heart of Jesus into your home, publicly proclaiming that Jesus is the King of your family. Not only do we have a list of ideas for cheap and fun family days and cheap dates, but we also have a family ceremony to use for the enthronement ceremony. Visit our website to join the challenge!

One last encouragement is this: don't lose heart when things don't go your way. Life gets confused! Plans with a spouse are turned upside down when a disagreement occurs or a child gets sick. The struggles break out among the children who should be having fun. The children get angry and their knees are skinned. It does not matter! Our experience has been that even when plans go wrong, memories are still made. And no matter how perfect or imperfect your enthronement ceremony is, Jesus is still king and knows your heart. Our plans may fail, but the promises of Jesus will never fail.

We hope and pray that you will join us for the Pray and Play challenge and also encourage your friends and family to participate. Remember, the goal is the domination of the world: of the Sacred Heart of Jesus!