explaining the importants of CSR to a baptist QUESTION from Linda on March 3, 2002 Hi, I am a grandmother of 4. One of my grand children attend CSR classes. She is 6(almost 7) and has been under our care for 4 years of her life until my daughter married a Man who was raised a baptist. My problem is that my daughter has stoped coming to Mass since she was married out side the church and cannot recieve communion. She has had all of her children baptised Catholic, the last one without her husbands knowledge(which I knew nothing about until later). Our Preist had done the baptisms with our promise we would see to the up bringing of our grand children in the Catholic faith. Well my son in law is not a active baptist, in fact attended RCIA classes for about 4 months, but he has all the sudden not allowed the oldest girl to attend CSR. I am very upset about this and at a lose of what to do. The only reason he gives is that she has been bad. I have been keeping the peace with him so as not to give him a reason to be mad at us and make the situation worse. My daughter will say she can go then at the last min. make up a reason she cannot go. My grand daughter loves going to CSR and also to Mass. They will say its because she was acting up in school. My daughter and her husband have been having alot of problems with their marrage but of all things I cant see why the children have to suffer. I plead with my daughter to not take God out of the little girls life. Besides prayer can you give me any help? I feel like I am breaking a promise to God and our Preist, besides halting the spiritual progress of my grand daughter. She was looking foward to her first communion! Thank you and God Bless
ANSWER by Mr. Troy Martz on March 18, 2002 Dear Linda:
The situation you describe while tragic for the child is all too common. This problem is not really a Protestant vs. Catholic issue, rather a non-believers vs. believers issue. Both your daughter and your son-in-law have stopped believing in the necessity of God's Grace. Your daughter has shown that she places pleasing her husband above worshipping God in the Mass (the most common form of idolatry today is putting human relationships before God).
Though I cannot solve this problem, I do recommend that you get and read Search and Rescue: How to Bring Your Family into - or back into - the Catholic Church (Sophia Institute Press). This book focuses on changing our attitudes and approaches to bringing loved ones into the Church. One of my favorite parts is a reminder from history:
When St. Monica complained to her bishop that her son wouldn't listen to her about the faith, the bishop told her to spend more time talking to God about Augustine and less time talking to Augustine about God.
The moral of this is that we must always rely on God. You asked Besides prayer can you give me any help? First, you will be in my prayers (and I hope the prayers of all who read this). Second, remember the words of St. Francis of Assisi:
Evangelize always, use words when necessary.
Pax Christi, Troy
PS -- It is always the children who suffer when their parents are unfaithful, either to God, the children, or each other.
Back to Index Page