If Sunday is supposed to be so fun, why do we drag our kids to church (asks the congregation as we walk in with three small children)?  Why do we read the liturgy? Why do we care what spiritual people have to say about God? Why do we read spiritual books?

As parents, we help shape our children’s worldview, and I think it’s important to help them see the world from a spiritual perspective, to have a positive framework to understand the world.  God tasks us not only with encouraging our children’s mental, emotional, and physical development, but also their spiritual growth.  Yes, we lead by example, but we also explicitly teach kids spiritual truths.  My family reads the Bible together, especially the twenty-third psalm.  We participate in the liturgy.  We read inspirational books at home.  Frankly, that’s how I keep my sanity.

During the service, we read various books with flaps (Where is Spot?  Dear Zoo and First 100 Trucks and Things That Go).  But my favorite is First 100 Trucks.  These are books that help me get through the service with a toddler. What do we read at home?

I want to highlight one book that we have read through several times. I would say “Find a book!” and my middle son would consistently bring me this one.  I found it at a bookstore after my parents’ business trip to Italy.  My folks had a chance to hear the Pope speak in person during their cardiology conference in Rome.  Pope Francis inspired my parents, and they could not stop talking about how kind he was, what a good presence he had.  So, I thought, why not read a book he wrote?  And if I liked it, why not read the book to the kids?

I loved this book.  Kids wrote to the Pope, drawing a picture to accompany their question, and he answered some of these letters.  The questions, drawings, and responses were compiled into this book called Dear Pope Francis: The Pope Answers Letters from Children Around the World.

Let me offer a peak inside:

A child from Portugal asks Pope Francis what he feels when he looks at children around him.  The Pope writes that “seeing a child is seeing the future.  Yes, I feel great hope because every child is our hope for the future of humanity.”

A girl from the Philippines asks Pope Francis why parents argue.  The Pope answers that “we all argue.  We are all human. Even I have argued.” But the key is “parents must try never to end the day without making peace.” The Pope advises the girl to help her parents, “not to talk badly about your dad to your mom, and not to talk badly about your mom to your dad.”

A boy from the Dominican Republic asks if our deceased relatives can see us and the Pope replies that “they are smiling down on you from heaven.”

A boy with a scientific mind asks what God did before God made the world.  The Pope writes “before creating anything, God loved.  That’s what God was doing: God was loving. . . So when God began making the world, he was simply expressing his love.”

A teenage boy asks what sin is too big to go to Heaven.  Pope Francis relays a story about a French priest, John Maria Vianney.  A parishioner asked Father John Maria what will happen to her husband who committed suicide by jumping off a bridge.  John Maria Vianney replies “Look, between the bridge and the river, there is the mercy of God.”

(Sigh) Yes, this book calms my children and me.  No book is perfect (and no mouthpiece is ideal), but this book is pretty close.  When I feel down or out of sorts, I read this book with my children, and I feel renewed.  Hope it helps you, too.

love and peace,

Elena