A Recipe for Raising Catholics

My life achievement, my role in (Salvation)History, my legacy...I hope and pray...will be: with my wife, our families and the Church, I raised seven Catholics...real, practicing, believing, hoping, loving, sinning-and-repenting Catholics. Not canonizable saints; no, sinners like all of us, but sinners who know how to receive the incomparable love of Christ, the graces, pardon, strength, and truth our Savior gives us through His Church; not perfect individuals, not fabulously successful achievers, not celebrities, not even "good people"; but living, pulsating, suffering, militant members of the Communion of Saints who think, act, breathe, desire and hope with The Church. The world in which we raised our children was already a sharp contrast from the pro-Catholic, Christian 1950s USA in which we were raised. When our children were born in the 70s and 80s, our culture had already turned dark and hostile to the Catholic way. The recipe we used to pass on our faith and way of life included four crucial ingredients: a Catholic family and home, a Catholic parish, parochial schools, and inspiration from the ecclesial movements. Only the synergy released by the interaction of these four energy fields is adequate to overcome the toxic actors that prevail in our culture. Primary, of course is a Catholic home: where God is evoked, together, in prayer, commonly, frequently, naturally; where the Church and her tradition and practices are honored; where there is care for the poor and suffering; and where we share a sense of our need for forgiveness and pardon. Secondly, the parish: where we are baptized, married, buried; where we learn our faith; where we are forgiven of our sins. The parish, like the family is always imperfect: the priest too conservative or too liberal; too taciturn or too gregarious; too disorganized or overly-controlling. Nevertheless, the parish is where the sacraments are efficaciously performed for our sanctification. Thirdly, parochial schools. These again are hardly utopias; often enough they are not very Catholic or not great schools. Nevertheless, they are a place where the light of faith can openly, unashamedly, freely and boldly be shed on all aspects of reality and human life. Lastly, the ecclesial movements are environments of intense, deep, heartfelt faith. Most of these emerged in the post-Council Church and manifest distinctive and interesting charisms, all for the Church. Particularly helpful for us was the practice of sending our adolescents, during their summers, to special events and experiences: Youth 2000s; World Youth Days; immersion, mission experiences; catechetical camps; NET retreats; and charismatic conferences. It was here that our children saw that it was "cool" for people their own age to avidly, openly, and articulately love Christ and His Church. There is nothing magical about this formula. Not every Catholic would agree. My own nephews, one recently ordained and the other in evangelical vows, received their faith and vocation without attending Catholic schools and with minimum contact with the movements. Indeed, it is a good bet that many of our priests are less than enthusiastic about maintaining parochial schools and about the influence of the movements. Ours is a very "lay" perspective. It worked for us...thanks be to God!