Especially for families this time is a challenge, but even without Corona we are asked where we get the strength? Where do we refuel?
But besides sports or excursions, there are other forms of compensation. In particular, it is the Mass on weekends and the prayer of the Church together with the children, the Lauds on Sunday. It is a fixed time on Sunday when the whole family gathers around the table. We sing the Psalms, read a word from Scripture, and talk about what this word says to us and how each person is feeling at the moment. In short, we all place ourselves under this word.
The scripture is opened up completely unprepared and everyone hears a short passage with the question, do I find myself in this word? Do I believe that God is speaking to me through it? For us as a family, a door opens in these moments. In this space of living together, which is very different from the daily hustle and bustle, it is easier to really talk about how we are doing or with whom in the family or outside it is more difficult. Often we are surprised what comes out in such moments of prayer. Even though in everyday life there are always opportunities to talk to each other and the whole family is together at meals, it is often not comparable to this time of family prayer. During Lauds, subliminal quarrels become visible, worries are expressed, unexpected feelings break out, and a long overdue reconciliation finally becomes possible.
We as parents also realize it is a gentle "reset."
In the best case, the air in the family after Lauds is different than before. So we can start the coming week anew, trusting that we are not walking alone.
