The Stones That We Must Carry & The Churches That We Must Build: (Part 2/2)
In Part One, we set forth the proposition that the church that we as Catholic Christians in the West are called to build in the 21st century is the domestic church. Of course, that begs two questions: (1) what is the domestic church, and (2) how do we build it? These two questions shall be the focus of Part Two of this blog.
What Is The Domestic Church?
To get a sense of what the domestic church is, let’s turn to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which has the following to say:
Christ chose to be born and grow up in the bosom of the holy family of Joseph and Mary. The Church is nothing other than "the family of God." From the beginning, the core of the Church was often constituted by those who had become believers "together with all [their] household." When they were converted, they desired that "their whole household" should also be saved. These families who became believers were islands of Christian life in an unbelieving world.
In our own time, in a world often alien and even hostile to faith, believing families are of primary importance as centers of living, radiant faith. For this reason the Second Vatican Council, using an ancient expression, calls the family the Ecclesia domestica. It is in the bosom of the family that parents are "by word and example . . . the first heralds of the faith with regard to their children. They should encourage them in the vocation which is proper to each child, fostering with special care any religious vocation."
It is here that the father of the family, the mother, children, and all members of the family exercise the priesthood of the baptized in a privileged way "by the reception of the sacraments, prayer and thanksgiving, the witness of a holy life, and self-denial and active charity." Thus the home is the first school of Christian life and "a school for human enrichment." Here one learns endurance and the joy of work, fraternal love, generous - even repeated - forgiveness, and above all divine worship in prayer and the offering of one's life.
(CCC 1655-1657).
Put simply, the Ecclesia domestica - domestic church - is the family. This is where, when the family is functioning properly, children learn to love God, love their neighbor, and grow in virtue and sanctity. This is where children learn that they are loved unconditionally by their mother and father, and loved infinitely more by their Heavenly Father. This is where children learn to forgive and seek forgiveness. Ultimately, it is the foundation and cornerstone for the rest of a child’s life. A prospering domestic church will certainly lead to a flourishing life for that child. However, a decrepit domestic church will lead to hardship for all involved. And if the family, the Ecclesia domestica, is the building block of society, then too many broken families will surely result in a broken society. And, of course, that is what we see today. A society that normalizes divorce and the splitting of a child’s time between his mother and father is broken. A society that normalizes nine year old children having phones and social media is broken. A society that normalizes pumping an entire generation of young girls with birth control from the age of fourteen is broken. Our society is broken because the family is broken. And the family is broken because we have failed to recognize that it is the Ecclesia domestica. The domestic church, similar to a physical church, must be cleaned, nourished, and maintained, lest it crumble. The domestic church has crumbled, and it is our job to rebuild it in the decades and centuries to come.
2. How Do We Build It?
The first step to building and rebuilding the Ecclesia domestica is to recognize that it is going to take quite some time. Construction of La Sagrada Familia, the famous basilica in Barcelona, Spain, began in the 1880s; it is still not complete. St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome took nearly 120 years to complete. Many men, most of whom are unknown to history, spent good chunks of their lives working to build St. Peter’s, only to never see its completion. Think about that…a man could have spent over a decade of his life working to build St. Peter’s, and yet, it was not completed for another century after his death. Yet, without these faithful men working day in and day out to build it, the world’s largest church would never have been completed. These heroes spent long hours carrying stone, marble, etc., for the sake of a building, the completion of which they would never see. Let that be a lesson for us. Day after day, we must carry stones, marble, and more to build the domestic church, the completion of which we likely will not see in our lifetime. We may see small successes in our own personal families or communities, but we likely will never see the Ecclesia domestica, built throughout society, come to fruition. And like many men who carried these stones to build St. Peter’s, our names will likely be lost to history. However, if we persevere, our progeny a half millennium from now may be the beneficiaries of something just as beautiful.
So, what stones must we carry to build the domestic church? Well, first, like any beautiful church, the exterior of the structure ought to look beautiful; at the very least, it should not be ugly. What does that mean for our domestic church? To start, let’s keep the outside of our homes looking beautiful. It does not take much money or time to keep the grass mowed and looking presentable, to plant some flowers, and to ensure the shutters or siding aren’t rotting. A well-kept exterior of one’s home indicates to the community and to one’s children that it is important to live in beautiful places and to build beautiful things – and we live in a society that needs more beauty. As with any physical church, the interior also must be maintained. Perhaps having an abundance of mosaics or stained glass windows in our houses is a little impractical; however, what’s not impractical is hanging pictures on the wall that are (1) beautiful and (2) raise the viewer’s mind to God. For instance, my wife and I recently purchased a water color painting which depicts the Visitation, the meeting of Mary and Elizabeth who are both pregnant. We also have, among others, a canvas of “Saint Jerome” by Caravaggio. These pictures are beautiful, tell a story, and lift one’s heart and mind to God. Indeed, our homes need more of these.
Also key to a physical Catholic church is prayer and the sacramental life. Likewise, our domestic churches need these, too. Prayer, particularly with many children, need not be perfect, but it must happen. And the Church provides an abundance of options to incorporate a prayer life into the ebbs and flows of family life. Praying before meals is a great way to incorporate prayers throughout the day. Praying the rosary, reading scripture, listening to Hallow, reading the Catechism, and praying before bed are all exceptionally easy and quick, and can be incorporated into a family’s life no matter how young their children. Of course, regular trips to church, whether for Sunday or daily mass, is a great way to sanctify a family’s time together as well.
For a physical church, it is not just what’s in the church that’s important; it’s important to keep things out as well. A Catholic church would do well to keep out garbage, drugs, obscenities, etc. So, too, we must keep these things out of our domestic churches, away from our children. Keeping our children away from unfettered access to technology is probably a good place to start. This will certainly aid the effort of keeping perverse views and ideologies away from our households as well.
Ultimately, the key to building the domestic church in the 21st century and beyond is to keep God at the forefront of the home, to promote learning and holiness, and to inculcate virtue. Perhaps this sounds rather simple, but it is these small steps, done day after day, month after month, and year after year, that will gradually rebuild the domestic church. These are the small stones, mortar, and marble that we must carry day in and day out for the balance of our lives. Even if, like many of the men who helped build St. Peter’s, we don’t live to see the fruition of the domestic church or the resurgence of Christendom, we can approach the gate of St. Peter knowing that we did what we were obliged to do. And with any luck, we can look down in thanksgiving upon our ancestors, who in 2400, look around and see nothing but flourishing Catholic families, along with the revival of Christendom once again.
Liam
9/30/2024
