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Human Development and Faith Reaction Paper

Lauren Thorp

Fr. Raymond Studzinski

TRS 753E

23 April 2020
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Human Development and Faith explores the connection between the complex develop-

ment of human beings in all stages of the life cycle and how it connects to faith and finding over-

all meaning through the ebbs and flows of life. As I read this book, I reflected on how these

chapters would be beneficial to my life as a future wife and mother in regards to raising my own

children in the context of faith development.

The healthy faith of an infant begins to develop in response to the “reliable, consistent,

and predictable response of the parent or caregiver”.1 Because of the infant’s developmental

process, he cannot walk or talk, and as a result, he is completely dependent on his caregiver in

order to keep him healthy, alive, and happy. Although an infant would not have a conceptual un-

derstanding of the concept of faith, the mother can help develop a healthy sense of faith and trust

in the infant by responding and providing to the infant’s needs. For example, when a 3-month-

old begins crying in the middle of the night, the baby is trying to communicate to their caregiver

something that they need. It could be a diaper change or a midnight feeding, so it is the parent or

caregiver’s job to determine the issue. “Just as older children and adults can ask for the help

needed, or as we pray for God’s presence and intercession with the expectation that our ‘cries’

will be answered, so too must parents be the responsive ‘other’ for their infants”. 2 The dynamic

between the parent and child will certainly shift with developmental milestones, but as parents

respond in this way to their infants, they can reflect the love and care that God always provides

for us.

In order to nurture faith for a toddler, Karen-Marie Yust states that parents must provide

opportunities for the child to receive, hear, celebrate, and tell the “story,” or the transcendent his-

tory of God’s saving work in the world. They might “receive” the virtues of the faith by observ-

1 Kelcourse, Felicity B., ed. Human Development and Faith: Life-Cycle Stages of Body, Mind, and Soul. 2nd edition.
St. Louis, MO: Chalice Press, 2015. 138.
2 Ibid., 140.
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ing the behaviors of their siblings, parents, and other family members. Parents could help them

“hear” the story by sharing Gospel readings with them and reading plenty of books about Jesus.

Then, the parents could allow the toddler to “celebrate” the story by developmentally appropriate

games and activities that reflect their understanding. All of this helps the toddler conceptualize

the story, and as a result, provides confidence for them to “tell” the story to others. This strategy

for faith formation is especially beneficial, as it lays a critical foundation for a healthy and strong

relationship with God that can continue throughout their life.

“Spiritual development usually begins to find individual expression at 6 years of age,”3

which is also the beginning of the latency age of children. This makes sense, as the age of reason

is right around this age. Children may ask questions about God in the latency age, and as parents

or caregivers we should provide plenty of opportunity and patience to take time to answer their

questions, even if we have difficulty forming the answer. For example, my 4-year-old niece

asked my sister recently, “If God made everything, then who made God?” These questions de-

serve significant attention as their spirituality develops and any doubts arise, and children ought

to be assured that God is always with them.

Adolescence can be a challenging time to many teenagers, but faith is something that can

keep them grounded and stable, even when their bodies may be changing unexpectedly. Mature

role models who are strong in their faith are beneficial to young adolescent teens, such as youth

ministers, parish priests or deacons, or confirmation sponsors. These role models may provide

helpful guidance to the adolescents during times when they are wanting to pull away from their

parents, or even if they are struggling to understand their faith. “During this stage of faith young

adolescents are synthesizing their own family’s values, morality, and faith, which reflects con-

3 Ibid., 196.
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ventional thinking, wisdom, theology for their worldview”.4 Parents who have had consistent

faith from the start can show their adolescent child the consistent love that God shows us; even

when we are pulling away from God, we are always reminded that God desires a relationship

with us.

This book was helpful to read in light of many joyful conversations my fiancé and I have

had about our future children. Parents who are already grounded in their own faith can provide a

healthy faith formation to their own children by reflecting the love that God always desires to be-

stow upon us. Even as children grow older and adopt views or opinions that are more secular,

parents and caregivers can stay grounded as a consistent beacon of truth and faith. This founda-

tional light can shine even as parents pass away and their children grow older into late adulthood

and their last days on this earthly life.

4 Ibid., 228.