A HOME WHERE VOCATIONS GROW

12 Things Parents Can Do

• Talk with your kids about their gifts and abilities, about the importance of their contribution to the church and the world. They should know that every Christian, young or old, has a part to play in building up the body of Christ.
• Pray for vocations as a family –for singles, married couples, priests and religious.
• Avoid disparaging remarks about marriage and the single life. Watch how you speak about bishops, priests, and other religious. Your attitude of respect will help your children be open to God’s call on their lives.
• Build your marriage Growing up in the context of a strong and healthy marriage gives kids vision for every vocation. Minnesota native Fr. John Erickson says he was always “keenly aware” that his parents loved each other. “From them I received the inspiration and desire to give myself fully to someone or something.”
• Spend quiet time with the Lord, and help your children develop this habit, too. Try saying grace at meals and reading Bible stories at bedtime or having an evening prayer time together.
• Keep learning about your faith, and encourage your kids to do the same. How many vocations have been found or strengthened simply because someone read the Catechism, dipped into spiritual writing, or attended a good lecture series on some aspect of the faith?
• Introduce your children to the lives of saints and Bible figures who loved the Lord. For inspiration, it’s hard to beat a story of how God awakens this love in a person’s heart.
• Look for good vocation stories. When appropriate, invite visitors and extended family members to share their experiences with you and your children. It is moving to hear how God calls people to marriage, or service of others.
• What about volunteering as a family? Is there a service project that would be a good fit for an older child? Meeting needs, discovering one’s gifts, seeing others give of themselves—all of this stimulates generosity and desire to follow God’s call.
• Give your children freedom to find and follow their vocations. Talk with them, but refrain from steering them into the religious life or the career you always wish you had chosen.
• Eat dinner together. The benefits of regular family meals are well documented (see www.casacolumbia.org)
• Trust God Your child’s vocation doesn’t ultimately depend on you! Parents can nurture the seed, but it’s God who gives the growth (see 1 Corinthians 3:7)

“Reprinted with permission of The Word Among Us, 9639 Dr. Perry Rd. #126, 1jamsville,MD 21754 Issue Date Lent 2007, www.wau.org, 1-800-775-9673.”

Fall River, NS