I just love these Father Laux books! (Click above to view them.) They are easy to read, they have questions at the end of the chapters, and The Bible,
The Imitation of Christ, and The Catechism of the Catholic Church are used as references. I know lots of Catholic families use these books but I just had to give my thumbs up too! If you follow Laura Berquist's religion recommendations for the early years (memorization of The Baltimore Catechism books 1 and 2), then when you read these books, everything will be understood clearly. For example, in The New Saint Joseph Baltimore Cathechism, question number four asks, "What must we do to gain the happiness of heaven?" Answer: "To gain the happiness of heaven, we must know, love, and serve God in this world." A few years back, our oldest wrote an essay in answer to a question asked at the end of chapter one of The Chief Truths of the Faith: "What is the purpose of life?"
THE PURPOSE OF LIFE
What do all men desire? All men desire happiness. When God made us, He placed in us a desire to know him. All men are looking for something. They seek their happiness in cars and houses and other worldly things. However, only God can make us truly happy. People who don’t know God, are constantly looking everywhere for Him because of that spark God placed within us. God made us to know, love, and serve him in this world, and to be happy with him in heaven. Only God can fulfill that purpose.
Knowing God is the first step to fulfilling the purpose of life. In John 17:3 Jesus says, “Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.” God wants us all to know him. He wants us to do everything we do in life for him. Unless one knows God, he can not knowingly love Him or serve Him. He could not posses the happiness that only God can ensile.
God loves us and wants us to know him, and he wants us to be happy with him in the next life. God made you. He loves you with all his heart, so you should love him back. Love God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength, because he died for you, and for all so that our sins may be forgiven. Only love of God can cause one to live by God’s law and obtain true happiness at the same time.
Serving God is the final step. Once one loves God, he or she would want to serve Him also. God made us to be happy with him in heaven. He is so good that we should want to do everything he asks. In Psalms 150:6 it says, “ Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.” Everything we do should be done to serve and praise him.
God has given us the means to attain Him through the Bible, and His son Jesus Christ. He has given us the Seven Sacraments to aid us in reaching Him in heaven. He has given us everything we need to reach Him in Heaven. God made us to show His goodness and to make us happy with Him in heaven. For all that He done for us, all he wants us to do in return is to know, love, and serve Him in this world.
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