In your classroom, you see children from a rich diversity of cultures. Your students may speak several languages, and they may even belong to different faith traditions. Culture is the way one sees and understands the world. Culture is like an invisible set of glasses that I put on that helps me to see and interpret the world. For us, culture is the water in which we swim, which means that we are often unaware of how we are shaped by our culture.

At Mass, we pray, “You never cease to gather a people to yourself, so that from the rising of the sun to its setting, a pure sacrifice may be offered to your name.” Our Catholic Church is present all over the world, and Catholic people bring the beauty of their traditional art, food, music, and languages to their lives. In each expression of the Catholic faith, we find the unity of love for Christ, the Blessed Mother, and the Saints. If we wish to work across cultures as one Church, we must become aware of our own culture and the cultures that shaped us.

Out of my family's cultural experiences, I have woven a tapestry of faith and life. I’m an American, but I usually say that my ancestors were Scottish and Italian. My Catholic faith comes to me through my Italian heritage, but I credit my Protestant Scottish mother for instilling in me a love of the Bible. I can make both scones and cannoli, and I know how to dance the Highland fling and Tarantella. My Christmas tree has plaid ribbons and dainty angels. I am enriched by both cultures.

Celebrating Our Roots. Help your students to appreciate the strengths of the cultural traditions of their own families. Ask them to share one food, piece of art, song, or holiday custom that their family practices because they learned it from their elders.

Learn How Other Catholics Celebrate. Invite young people to explore how the Catholic faith is celebrated in cultures that are not their own. For information about the role of Catholicism in dozens of other countries, check out the colorful book from RCL Benziger Our Family Devotions.

This book celebrates the many ways people of different cultures express the Catholic faith in their churches, neighborhoods, and homes. As the Good News of Jesus spread around the world, people in every culture found special ways to express their faith in God.

Learn More About Saints’ Cultures. A different saint is featured in every chapter of your Blest Are We Faith in Action series. Many saints were missionaries who brought their own cultures to new lands, and they were also enriched by the customs of the people with whom they ministered. For example, go deeper into the cultural backgrounds of Fr. Damien of Molokai (born in Belgium) or Blessed Miquel Pro of Mexico using the Catholics and Cultures website and the free RCL Benziger Saints Resource website.
 

About the Author Dr. Lauri Przybysz specializes in equipping families to live their vocation to be domestic churches and signs of God’s love. Lauri received the Doctor of Ministry from the Catholic University of America, and she has been both a Catholic middle school religion teacher and a faith formation coordinator at the archdiocesan and parish levels. She is the mother of six children and grandmother of 21.

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Our Family Devotions

It is our prayer that through this book, your family will experience God in new ways in their everyday lives. May the diverse and rich traditions of families and the Church from around the world lead you to find new ways of living out your faith. May the beauty of these devotions remind us that we are one family in Jesus Christ, sharing God’s love in our homes, churches, and communities.

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