The handing on of our faith to children has always been important, but we live in an age where relativism has confused the issue. How we feel about something  seems to have more prevalence than the truth. 

In his recently published book, Educating in Christ , Dr Gerard O’Shea, from the University of Notre Dame in Sydney, hopes to share his broad and practical experience of catechesis. He sees the child’s formation in faith not as separate “subject” but the way to mold and shape them as human beings. To be who they were born to be. How to understand God’s love and to love Him in return.   

The following excerpt from the book outlines one of the the key areas of formation of the child. Their moral formation. Possibly one of the greatest concerns of parents today.

The book will be launched in Sydney on 20th June at the University of Notre Dame with Archbishop Anthony Fisher. Books will be available for sale on the night.  Click here for more details. 

Moral Formation of the Child 

Closely related to the relationship of nature and grace is the task of moral formation. Much contemporary reflection on this errs on the side of rationalism, insisting that human beings can intellectually determine their own moral principles. This view was held to be deficient as early as the time of Aristotle’s Eumedian Ethics. Moral formation can sometimes be seen, mistakenly, as a branch of the philosophical study of ethics – that it is merely knowing the correct principles to apply in order to live a moral life. To see it in this way is to take the necessary dimension of “mind” and make it the only relevant consideration. As in all other aspects of catechesis, moral formation requires the usual interplay of body, heart and mind.

Moral Formation of the Body.

Perhaps the most obvious way to make this point about moral formation is to view it from the perspective of the youngest children who are not yet capable of living their lives in accordance with self-chosen moral principles. It can be quite amusing to see young parents in a shopping center trying to reason with a two year old in terms of the moral principles they should follow. This is simply not the way children of that age think. Although it may sound surprising, the starting point for moral formation is the body.

From the time children can walk, wise parents will be ensuring that they acquire good habits—that their actions will be limited by moderation in every area of their existence. Their parents will ensure that they eat properly, speak courteously, move safely, tell the truth, and treat others fairly and so on. Only in the rarest of circumstances are these children actually capable of acting out of intellectually derived moral principles. Mostly, they are simply trained to respond in the appropriate way. Parents may even “walk them through” the steps that they are meant to follow, ensure that they comply, and then congratulate them on doing the job well. This is the way good habits are formed.

The great Italian educator, Maria Montessori, developed a wide variety of teaching tools to assist in this basic moral formation of the body. She referred to it as “practical life” activities, and “training in grace and courtesy.” These activities consisted principally in learning how to care for their immediate environment for themselves—tidying their table, cleaning up after themselves and so on. She observed that these basic tasks involving the body were found to be the basis of future moral action. Montessori and her subsequent collaborators rightly perceived that it is overwhelmingly difficult for the mind to direct a body which has not been “physically habituated” in this way to carry out virtuous acts.

This remains true at every age – human beings must make choices about doing the right thing, even if they would prefer not to. Self- discipline often requires the capacity to overcome the insistent demands of the body. While this is the foundational task of moral action, it remains necessary at every stage of human existence. While it does not constitute moral agency, it is an indispensable support. Self-discipline, or to use its traditional name, self-denial, is indispensable at every age.

Sports psychologists also have a simple phrase for it: “no pain; no gain”. Failure to gain proper control over the body in the early stages of childhood can lead to self-indulgent behaviors of many different kinds; behavioral habits that can be very difficult to change if they have established an early habitual pattern. Regular acts of self-denial and the specific focus on this that is required for each Friday and the seasons of Lent and Advent play a vital role in supporting the moral task of the body.

The problem of the child who has not been properly trained from infancy in proper restraint is exercised is becoming more common. What can be done for the child who lacks self-discipline? Fortunately, there is another traditional plank that has been employed in this task and is still quite popular in normal child-rearing practices – the use of team sports. In this area, it is quite appropriate to demand rigorous physical training to achieve appropriate sporting goals. This practice can be used to make a sound case for more rigorous moral discipline. If we can be careful about what we eat because we need to be fit, surely we can engage in some level of fasting and abstinence for spiritual purposes.

Team sports, however, may come with attendant moral challenges in our contemporary society. Some sporting teams may include members who may be capable of great efforts on the sporting field, but do not have any intention of following through with strong moral behavior. Care must be taken to ensure that the sporting teams chosen are not contaminated with this dualistic behavior – strong physical discipline on the field and weak moral behavior off the field. Nevertheless, the value of team sports is so great that it is worth the effort of parents and parents banding together to form teams where suitable physical discipline is connected with strong moral behavior.

~ Dr Gerard O’Shea is Associate Professor of Religious Education, School of Education, University of Notre Dame Australia (Sydney Campus).

Dr O’Shea is an internationally recognised scholar in the fields of Religious Education and Catechetics. He is a regular contributor to the international magazine “Catechetical Review”, published by the Franciscan University of Steubenville, and he has be widely consulted by Catholic Dioceses within Australia in religious education. 

His most recent publication, Educating in Christ – A practical handbook for developing the Catholic faith from childhood to adolescence – for Parents Teachers Catechists and School Administrators is available in Catholic bookstores around Australia and online. 

Dr O’Shea and his wife, Anne, have five adult children and nine grandchildren.