Father Joseph Noonan, OFM
The Blessed Mother’s Place in the Home
There are those who place great importance on how a home is decorated. All pictures, furniture and such items must be the right type and style and often according to the season at hand before it is found acceptable. This usually displays a worldly attachment but may be acceptable to a point. What is the point, or where is the line when such things are unacceptable?
In a Catholic home, one needs to allow for Catholic “décor” i.e., sacred images which will identify your home as one where Catholics reside. If one enters a Catholic home and must look at length for a crucifix, picture or statue, there is a question concerning the faith of the Catholic adults in this home.
Catholic homes don’t need to look like a religious goods store, but there ought to be a number of images, especially crucifixes, in the home. Externals, or sacramentals, are a public display of one’s faith. They should not be the center of the faith, for that should reside in one’s heart and soul, but one should be willing to “announce” to the world who and what you are.
There ought to be points of emphasis in the home. The first ought to be the crucifix. If possible, crucifixes should be placed throughout the home, preferably in each living space. Next, pictures or a statue of the Blessed Mother ought to hold a place of prominence. It should be obvious to the serious Catholic that images of both Our Lord and the Blessed Mother need to be in the home.
The visible reminders are a way to keep holy thoughts and aspirations in your mind and heart. This is an example of “out of sight, out of mind.” We have been told from our Catholic past that the home should be “a little church.” This must be understood correctly.
First, a Catholic usually finds it easy to pray in a Catholic church. The local church ought to be a place of quiet peace and comfort. It is the house of God. Our Lord resides there sacramentally. It is unlike any other building on the earth. It is, indeed, set apart from all other so-called churches, synagogues, or mosques.
Although different, the home should be a place where one should find it easy to pray. Moreover, the parents should begin to teach the children at an early age to pray. The most important point concerning this is for the parents to teach them to love to pray. Children should be encouraged to pray and pray often. When this is done with great care, you will have established a spiritual foundation for the child and made it easy for him to love God more each day.
Parents should understand that after the love of God a child needs to be encouraged to love the Blessed Mother. This is so elementary to Catholicism parents should find it second nature to the Faith.
Children are best taught through visuals. They need a picture, a statue, or perhaps a holy card of the Blessed Mother. Once children see that the parents love Our Lord and the Blessed Mother, it becomes much easier for the children to follow this most important example.
Prayers to the Blessed Mother are perhaps the best way to establish a true devotion and love of Mary. Does your family pray the rosary each day? Have parents ever considered doing this on a daily basis? It is unfortunate that too many parents either have never developed this devotion or do they have the desire to do so.
For those parents who wish to increase their devotion and be a good example to their children, there are a few things which one might suggest they do to assist their children. It has already been suggested to pray the rosary each day. This is the best example for children. When children see parents praying and are able to tell that the parents truly want to pray, they will be motivated to pray, also.
A picture or a statue of the Blessed Mother will assist the parents and motivate the children. Depending upon the age of the children and their ability to understand a few verses in the Scriptures, parents might find it helpful for the children to understand who the Blessed Mother is. The more information children have about the Mother of God along with positive encouragement and reinforcement, the more likely it is they will develop a devotion to her.
Living the Catholic Faith without a devotion of some degree to the Blessed Mother makes no sense. How does one proclaim to love Our Lord and yet ignore His Mother? This sounds too much like Protestants who ignore the Blessed Mother and yet claim to have a true love of Our Lord. Does one really expect Our Lord to acknowledge you in Heaven if you have ignored His Mother?
Children who live in a two-parent home and have parents who truly love them, usually have a great affection for their mother. When a mother shows love for the child from the time he is born, the child finds it easy and natural to return that love. It is no different with the Blessed Mother.
Children must be told who the Mother of God is and why Catholics love her. There will be many different facts which they will learn as they get older. One hopes the increased knowledge will increase the love, also. The difference, of course, is that here one is speaking of a spiritual love for a spiritual mother. This takes on a very different perspective. The parent, though, should not think their children are not capable of understanding or of loving the Blessed Mother. There is something about the Catholic heart which desires this motherly love, but the parents need to educate and encourage their children.
It is always a good idea to have books of an appropriate age about the Blessed Mother in the home. Parents should not simply rely on a catechism book or the lessons of a teacher to convey the relationship between the laity and the Blessed Mother.
The earthly mother’s love for her children cannot be replaced. It is quite indispensable. She is able to convey things through sentiment which the father is unable to do so. Starting at a young age is important. When a mother is able to begin to teach the basic prayers and how to love praying, must has been accomplished.
When children learn how and why to love the Blessed Mother, the Faith will look different. It is not simply the memorization of catechism questions or the basic prayers, but it is centered around love. The love of God and the Blessed Mother ought to be at the center of the Catholic life. It should begin in the home and display itself throughout daily life. Parents ought to find this duty joyful and fulfilling. Love brings with it, its own type of peace. Allow the love of the God and the Blessed Mother reign in your home!