Malaysian Bishops Urge Families to Make the Home the First School of Faith

In a new pastoral letter, Archbishop Simon Poh of Kuching reflects on his own journey of faith and urges parents to reclaim their role as the first teachers of Christian belief. His heartfelt appeal comes as the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Malaysia calls the Church to a renewed commitment to catechesis.

This August has been declared Catechetical Month by the bishops, with the theme “We Can Make the World a Better Place”,  “Let each of you not only look to his interest, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:4). The bishops emphasize that what is learned in faith formation must be lived out with hope, shaping society and the world for the better, reported Today’s Catholic.

Archbishop Poh, in his pastoral letter, recalled that his first encounter with the Catholic faith came in the 1970s, when Catholic teachers at St Joseph’s Primary School, Kuching, introduced him to catechesis through the Malaysian Catechetical Book Series. He fondly remembered colourful illustrations, a shepherd seeking a lost lamb, and a father embracing a son in tattered clothes, that helped him grasp God’s love even before he was baptised. “I am eternally grateful to the Catholic teachers for this catechesis,” he wrote.

He stressed that the family home is the first place of catechesis. Parents pass on the faith by bringing their children for baptism, praying with them at meals and bedtime, reading Bible stories, and attending Sunday Mass together. “Education and catechesis must begin at home,” he said, urging parents to be the primary educators of their children in faith.

Archbishop Poh suggested practical ways to nurture faith at home: set up a house altar, teach children the Sign of the Cross, read the Gospel of the day or Sunday, pray together at meals, attend Mass as a family, bring children for Baptism, encourage participation in the Children’s Liturgy of the Word, ensure Sunday School attendance for First Communion and Confirmation, and remain faithful as Catholic parents.

Today’s Catholic reported that the bishops hope this year’s Catechetical Month will inspire Catholics to see catechesis not merely as classroom instruction but as a lived witness, starting at home and flowing into society.