Christian Education in the Family

By Lou Pizzuti

At the 3rd Plenary Council of Baltimore, 1884, the US Bishops of the day spoke of the necessity of Christian Education in the Home.  While there was of yet no Eastern Catholic hierarchy in the US, the principles are nonetheless applicable to us.

One thing that was stressed was the reading of good materials, among which were listed American History, Biography, and Church History.

Our American culture has, in many ways, changed in recent decades, often for the worse.  The argument can be made that, due to this, history texts written since then are reflective of those changes.  So, those texts may not necessarily fill the need foreseen by those bishops.

However, popular level texts of the earlier era are no less true, and no less available today.

Not being an authority on American History Books, I asked a retired professor for his recommendations.

 
     

Of course, the History of Catholicism in our nation is also important. He recommends the following:

   

“To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child. For what is the worth of human life, unless it is woven into the life of our ancestors by the records of history?” - Cicero