-Teach your children how to lead family prayer. Give them opportunities to lead grace at meals, the rosary, and other family prayer times. Teach them that they have an important contribution to make to the family’s spiritual well-being!
-Review the fruits of the Holy Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, long suffering, mildness, faith, modesty, self-control, and chastity). Ask yourself on a regular basis, “Which of these virtues would make our family stronger this week?” Ask each child to identify one thing they will do to work on that virtue. Talk about your efforts over dinner.
-Talk with your children about the ways their good choices proclaim that “Jesus is Lord!” at school or with friends. Talk with them about the fact that God has a mission for their lives and that whether at home, school or with friends, they are called to lead by example and try their best to bring out the best in others.
Be Creative
These are just a few ideas to get you started. Use your own creativity to identify more ways you can celebrate your family’s connection to the sacramental life of the Church. The more you do, the more you can enjoy the good fruits that, nurtured by sacramental grace, will grow on your family tree.
For more information on how to help your kids get more from their faith and celebrate a grace-filled home life, check out Parenting with Grace: The Catholic Parents’ Guide to Raising (almost) Perfect Kids.
Editor’s note: this article first appeared on Patheos and is reprinted with permission.
image: Shutterstock
