Dear Theologika,
I heard someone refer to the domestic church. What is it?
Wondering
Dear Wondering,
The domestic church is the church in your home.
We often think that prayer, worship, and acts of charity and justice happen only outside our home in the wider church community and its leadership or hierarchy. However, the church like charity begins at home. The Second Vatican Council reaffirmed this ancient teaching, referring to the Christian home as the domestic church. It is the fundamental unit of the church community.
The domestic church is the place where we first experience love, prayer, and the Risen Christ. The United States Catholic Conference of Bishops has a number of tips for nourishing and growing the church in your home. Families should pray together. Meal time, bed time, in the morning when waking up – all are good times for prayer. Parents should teach their children about Jesus and the Gospel and should be good examples of love and forgiveness. Families should go to Mass together on Sunday and help out the less fortunate.
Ideally, in our lives in family, we share in the life of the Trinity — the life of love.
Blessings,
Theologika
