There are some parents who think that after they have their child baptized, they should just send him or her to a Catholic School or to the religious education program -- their role of catechizing their children is over. They expect that the school or religious program will make the child grow in his or her faith. We all know that the first teachers of the faith are the parents, and they need to continue giving the example of practicing their faith. They should talk to their children about God, should pray together, go to Mass, and receive the sacraments. Otherwise, those young people will not take the gift of faith seriously. They will only perceive it as another subject they need to learn at school. Jesus in His parable talks about those seeds that had no chance for growing because they were sown in bad ground, dry and rocky. If we plant the seed of faith into the hearts of our children during that first sacramental moment of Baptism, we are responsible for helping them make that seed grow. We can’t just expect that others will do that for us.
