Catholic Parenting

Young people are threatened... by the evil use of advertising techniques that stimulate the natural inclination to avoid hard work by promising the immediate satisfaction of every desire...Pope John Paul II

As practising Catholic parents we want to bring our children up the "Catholic Way". In other words, we want to practice Catholic parenting. We make sure our family attends Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation. We make sure our children memorize and say their daily prayers. But Catholic parenting means more than just teaching our children prayers and making them attend mass as a family.

Among our responsibilities as Catholic parents are to provide our children with a religious education. That is, to teach our children adequately about God, the saints, angels, traditions, scripture, as well as all aspects of spiritual life; to respect the dignity of our children; to give good religious example to our children. We also have a responsibility to discipline our children.

You can easily understand from the following prayer, what the Catholic parenting really means,
Lets Pray:

Parent's Prayer

O Heavenly Father, make me a better parent.
Teach me to understand my children, to listen patiently to what they have to say,
and answer all their questions kindly.
Keep me from interrupting them or contradicting them.
Make me as courteous to them as I would have them be to me.
Forbid that I should ever laugh at their mistakes, or resort to shame
or ridicule when they displease me.
May I never punish them for my own selfish satisfaction or to show my power.
Let me not tempt my child to lie or steal.
And guide me hour by hour that I may demonstrate
by all I say and do that honesty produces happiness.
Reduce, I pray, the meanness in me.
And when I am out of sorts, help me, O Lord, to hold my tongue.
May I ever be mindful that my children are children
and I should not expect of them the judgment of adults.
Let me not rob them of the opportunity to wait on themselves and to make decisions.
Bless me with the bigness to grant them all their reasonable requests
and the courage to deny them privileges I know will do them harm.
Make me fair and just and kind.
And fit me, O Lord, to be loved and respected and imitated by my children.
Amen





PRAYER TO ST. JOSEPH

Father, You entrusted our Savior to the care of Saint Joseph. By the help of his prayers may Your Church continue to serve its Lord, Jesus Christ, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, forever and ever. Amen


PRAYER TO THE HOLY FAMILY

Lord Jesus Christ, who being made subject to Mary and Joseph, didst consecrate domestic life by Thine ineffable virtues; grant that we, with the assistance of both, may be taught by the example of Thy Holy Family and may attain to its everlasting fellowship. Who livest and reignest, world without end. Amen