Families today are buffeted on all sides by the gale forces of modern culture. We face innumerable distractions — some benign, some far from it. If we don’t guard our hearths, our homes can be consumed by relatively frivolous activities and amusements. This seems to be a particular problem for my family during the summer. I’ve heard the theme song to Wii way too many times this week. There’s nothing wrong with entertainment. But to provide some structure and balance to our days, every summer I try to think of fun ways to explore the Catholic faith with my kids.

I  love the rhythm of the Church calendar. Over the years, my own faith has grown as I learned about new customs and traditions to share with my kids at Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter. But, of course, we can have customs and traditions during Ordinary time, too. This summer, we can show our children that “Ordinary” means anything but “boring”.

Especially because our calendars are less packed, summer is a great time to think about what sort of devotionals or other topics our family doesn’t know much about and then spend some time on them. We might create a Scripture reading plan, learn to pray the Rosary together, learn more about Lectio Divina, or explore the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  For the next few weeks, I’ll explore some of these options.

Today I would like to share with you what I did with my kids last summer. We learned more about the Beatitudes. This was the second time I focused on the Beatitudes for our summer family faith study. I was gratifying to see the growth in my children’s faith and understanding since that first time.

What Are the Beatitudes?

The Beatitudes, which mark the opening of Christ’s Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-12), are very clear promises to us about the happiness we will enjoy if we endure all things in faith and love, sustained by God’s mercy:

• Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
• Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land.
• Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
• Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill.
• Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
• Blessed are the pure of heart: for they shall see God.
• Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called children of God.
• Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

These are the 8 signposts that lead us to happiness. We don’t have to wait until we get to Heaven to enjoy the fulfillment of these promises. Jesus came to live a human life partly to show how to live well, how to love well, and even how to suffer well. If we conform our lives to Christ’s example, we receive these blessings now. How’s that for real immediate gratification? Way better than a Wii game.

As there are Eight Beatitudes, I focused on one Beatitude each week. It worked well. It didn’t take much time; maybe 20 to 30 minutes to introduce the Beatitude through reading, then I’d find crafts, games, or activities to do on another day.

Most importantly, we talked about “the Beatitude of the week” and tried to figure out how it related to real life issues as they arose. Last summer was a difficult one for two of my children. I think our Beatitude study helped them make better sense of what they were going through. It definitely helped me find fruitful ways to comfort and advise them spiritually.

Here are some of my favorite resources for a summer Beatitude study:

BOOKS

Beatitudes for Children by Rosemarie Gortler (great for younger kids). I seem to return to this resource frequently. Each Beatitude is accompanied by a short explanation, a Bible passage, and a prayer. Though this resource is intended for young children, I have used it with my children together even when the oldest was in high school.

Child’s Guide to the Beatitudes by Kathy Della Torre O’Keefe. You might enjoy this one if all your children are aged 8 and older.

Kingdom of Happiness: Living the Beatitudes in Everyday Life by Fr. Jeffrey Kirby. If your kids are all in middle school and older, this would be a superb read aloud. This is the best explication of the Beatitudes that I’ve read. It helped me understand the source of true happiness.

ACTIVITIES

Catholic Toolbox has a list of links to dozens of free activities for teaching the Beatitudes through crafts and games.

Sometimes their link lists are hard to sift through, so here are some promising ideas I found through Pinterest.

Free Beatitudes Matching Game with connections to modern saints from Katie at Look to Him and Be Radiant.

Beatitudes Teaching Ideas, including making a collage, rewriting the Beatitudes in your own words, matching Beatitudes and famous people, and more. Some of these ideas will work great with kids of all ages.