Elementary Education: August 2009

Benefits of Being a Believer: How Our Faith Sustains Us

By Joseph D. White, Ph.D.

Did you know that believing in God is actually good for your health and well-being? It's true. Recent studies show that there are benefits to being a believer. A solid religious faith strengthens family ties, helps to build closer couple relationships, even helps to forge strong community connections. In good times our faith reminds us that we were created in God's image for the purpose of love; in tough times our faith is a foundation that grounds our very reason for being. Being a believer is good for more than just our souls!

Faith provides values for moral decision making. The values instilled by our faith support rules given by parents to young children and guide teens who may be striving to gain autonomy. The Church’s basic moral teachings help us to understand and clarify right and wrong. Our faith also teaches that God loves us unconditionally and grants us forgiveness for our mistakes and missteps along the way.

Faith is an important source of social support. Several psychological studies have shown that people with active faith lives are emotionally healthier than those without faith. One reason is the support we gain from being part of a larger faith community. When we are actively involved with our Christian family, we know that we are never alone. Social support is an important buffer against the stresses of everyday life, and can sustain us at crisis points, when we feel overwhelmed by difficult situations.

Faith sustains family life and relationships. Couples who integrate faith and family life have healthier relationships. One recent study showed that an integration of religion and marriage “were consistently associated with greater marital adjustment, more perceived benefits from marriage, decreased marital conflict and more verbal collaboration … for both wives and husbands.” In addition, the rituals we practice as a family become both important spiritual milestones and shared family experiences, which promote family identity and cohesiveness.

Five Simple Ways to Keep Your Faith Going Strong

1. Attend Mass as a family: Making Mass a regular part of your family’s week helps to reinforce the message that God loves us through all seasons.

2. Pray together: Use both traditional Catholic prayers and spontaneous prayer.

3. Make sacred space in your home: Signs of your faith throughout the house remind you (and your guests) of what you believe and why. A crucifix, icon or statue of a favorite saint in each of the kid’s bedrooms, for example, can help to teach the faith and create a feeling of safety and security.

4. Practice acts of charity: Visit elderly people in a long-term care facility, volunteer at a food shelf, or cook a meal for a family in your community who is struggling with a job loss.

5. Celebrate the family meal: At the center of our Catholic faith is a family meal (the Eucharist). Try to sit down to dinner together as often as possible, and especially on Sundays. Talk, tell stories and pray together while you eat — this is what Jesus did, and what we do every time we celebrate Mass.

Taken from the Summer 2009 issue of Take Out: Family Faith on the Go.