THE EDUCATIONAL TASK OF THE CHRISTIAN FAMILY(41)

Introduction

For some time now, one of the main concerns of the Church has been the family. No one can deny that the nature and reality of the family have changed rapidly. This has led to “…new relationships, new couples, new civil unions and new marriages, creating family situations which are complex and problematic for the Christian life” (Directory for Catechesis, 233). In the face of these situations, it is all the more important for parents have to play a crucial in transmitting the Faith to their children. After all, they their children’s first catechists or primary faith educators. In fact, the educational task of parents is not limited to catechesis alone. It extends to the education of their children as a whole.

To educate is to transmit life

The document, Familiaris Consortio (FC), on “The Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World” published in 1981, following the 1980 Synod of Bishops on the family, highlights the educative task of the Christian family. According to the document, the family has four general tasks to fulfill. These are forming a community of persons, serving life, participating in the development of society and sharing in the life and mission of the Church (FC, 36).

In this article, we will focus on the second task, that is, serving life, since the area of education falls under this category. Within this task, there are two aspects to consider, namely, the transmission of life and education.

Transmission of Life

The fundamental role of the family is to serve life, namely, to transmit by procreation the divine image from person to person. However, the gift of conjugal love is not restricted only to the procreation of children. It is expanded and enriched by “all those fruits of physical, moral and spiritual life” which the father and mother are called to hand on to their children, and through the children to the Church and the world (FC, 36). It includes the giving of education to their children. In other words, parents transmit life to their children by providing them education.

 

Education

The task of giving education to their children is rooted in the primary vocation of married couples to participate in God's creative activity (CF, 36). Every child has within himself or herself the potential [vocation] for growth and development. Parents have to take on the task and to do their best to help that child live a fully human life. The document adds that, “The role of parents as educators is so decisive that scarcely anything can compensate for their failure in it” (CF, 36).

It means that the right and duty of parents to give education is original and primary in comparison to the educational role of others (such, as teachers, catechists, etc.). It is irreplaceable and inalienable, and cannot be entirely delegated to others or usurped by others. In other words, parents have been appointed by God Himself as the first and principal educators of their children and their right is completely inalienable.

Educating in the Essential Values of Human Life

An important aspect of educating their children means that even in the face of daily challenges, parents must trustingly and courageously train their children in the essential values of human life. Children must grow up with a correct attitude with regard to material goods, by adopting a simple life style and being fully convinced that "man is more precious for what he is than for what he has" (FC, 36). In a society filled with tensions and conflicts and various kinds of individualism and selfishness, they must be taught the meaning of the sense of true justice, which leads to the respect for the personal dignity of each individual and also a sense of true love, understood as sincere care and service to others, especially the poorest and those in most need.

The family is the first and fundamental school of self-giving

As a community of love, the principle that guides it and makes it grow is self-giving. The self- giving that inspires the love of husband and wife for each other is the model and norm for the self-giving that must be seen and practiced in relationships between family members and the different generations living together in the family. Infact, the communion and sharing that are part of everyday life in the home, in times of joy and difficulty, are the most concrete and effective pedagogy for the active, responsible and fruitful inclusion of the children in society and in the world.

Basic right and duty regarding sex education

Education in love as self-giving is also the indispensable factor for parents to give their children clear and prudent sex education. Sex education, which is a basic right and duty of parents, must always be carried out under their attentive guidance, whether at home or in educational centres, including schools. In this regard, the Church reaffirms the law of subsidiarity, which the school is bound to observe when it cooperates in sex education, by entering into the same spirit that animates the parents.

Relations with Other Educating Agents

While the family is the primary educator, it is not the only and exclusive educating community. Parents have to collaborate with other agents of education. All these agents are necessary, even though each can and should play its part in accordance with the special competence and contribution it can provide. The educational role of the Christian family therefore has a very important place in organic educational work in society. This involves cooperation between parents the various educational groups and institutions in society.

The right of parents to choose an education in conformity with their religious faith must be absolutely guaranteed too. But corresponding to their right, parents have a serious duty to commit themselves totally to a cordial and active relationship with the teachers and the school authorities. In case ideologies opposed to the Christian faith are taught in the schools, the family must join with other families and with all their strength and with wisdom, help the young not to depart from the faith.

Conclusion

For Christian parents, the mission to educate has its source in the Sacrament of Marriage which gives parents the dignity and vocation of as educators. So important is the educational ministry of parents that Saint Thomas of Aquinas has no hesitation in comparing it with the ministry of priests: "Some only propagate and guard spiritual life by a spiritual ministry: this is the role of the sacrament of Orders; others do this for both corporal and spiritual life, and this is brought about by the sacrament of marriage, by which a man and a woman join in order to beget offspring and bring them up to worship God."