Raising Disciples

6/9/2023

Raising Disciples

Hello Friends,

In a world of confusion, frustration, and souls that are lost, raising a family in faith has never been more important. The values of the world are often contrary to what Jesus is teaching us. A strong faith in Jesus is the foundation we need to withstand whatever the world throws at us.

Reflecting on what it takes to raise a child, the story of Jesus staying behind in the Jerusalem temple and getting separated from his mother and father comes to mind (Luke 2:41-52). Two aspects of this story give us insights into two important aspects of Christian parenting.

The first is that Mary and Joseph thought Jesus was part of the larger caravan and went a day before realizing he was not with them. They entrusted Jesus’ care to their community of family and friends. This tells us that raising a child will necessarily require the help of others who are on the parenting journey with us. The second is that Jesus tells his parents that he was in his father’s house. Here Jesus is showing us that God needs to be central and important in our lives.

For those of us who are graced with children to raise, parenting is the single most sacred and important task we will ever do. Bringing a child into the world comes with the responsibility of providing for their physical and emotional needs. However, the most important thing is to tend to their spiritual needs by leading them to encounter Jesus and to be his disciples.

In the spirit of building a faith community of parents who desire to pass on their faith through their ministry of parenting, we would like to invite you to consider signing up for our next Christian Parenting series, which begins Wednesday, June 14 and runs for eight weeks. In these sessions, you will learn with other parents how to incorporate your faith into the raising of your children to also become disciples of Jesus.

We leave you with the following from a parish parent who participated in our first session:

Participating in the Christian parenting ministry was a blessing for me! I really enjoyed getting to know the other parents, learning about my faith, and helping my family grow closer to one another. The videos and small group discussions helped me to understand what I can do to be a better parent and to live my life more intentionally with my family. One of the best gifts this program gave to me was to realize how important presence is to my son. In this age of being constantly distracted and busy, I have learned to slow down and appreciate the time I have with him. I have also learned how important it is to pray with my son and teach him the importance of faith in his young life. Overall, I highly recommend this ministry if you want to help your children grow in their faith, meet other parents, and build your domestic church! - John A.