Fighting for Our Rights as Parents and The Catholic Family

Picture source Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Gifts Be sure to check out their other fine gifts.

In a previous post I directed your attention to the attack on families worldwide. What can we do to combat this growing threat?

As Catholics Christians, we know that God will always prevail over the Devil. Therefore, one thing that we should do is pray and pray unceasingly.

Another thing we can do is to sign a petition calling for an amendment to the Constitution in order to protect our rights as parents. My friend Sheri of Classical Education in Paradise has provided us with a link to Parental Rights. They believe that

The best way to protect children and their parents is an amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

You may also consider placing a Parent Rights Support button on your blog like Sheri did.

The Family is the Microcosm of the Church

Contemplating the truth of the family as a microcosm of the Church makes us see clearly the primacy and the mission of the family in the following ways:

1. it perpetuates the Church which Jesus Christ established in this world;

2. the presence of God is realized in the family;

3. the family witnesses to the presence of the Church in its day-to-day life;

4. the efforts of the family to be united to God help the entire Church to advance;

5. the family strengthens the communion between God and each of its members.

by Francis Xavier Cardinal Nguyen Van Thuan

More quotes by Cardinal Thuan:

The family is a microcosm of the Church, the Church in miniature. The Lord is present in his life, death and resurrection in a mystical way in the members of the family. This reflection throws light on he meaning of the Catholic family and has the power to change it.

Having children is not only a response to the need to carry on the family lineage, but also a participation in the Body of Christ. The education of your children is the training of the faithful who will continue the worship of God the Father. Discover and admire the noble design which God has for your families.

You help your children to become children of God by teaching them to be active members of the Body of Christ. As parents your duty is to guide your children along the way in every respect and in every virtue.

Christ desired to build up his Mystical Body by means of the family. The Church may alter its methods of preaching, its various organizations, but the Church will always expand by means of families. The faith is spread through dynamic and healthy family units.

The education of children is a 'school of perfection' for parents. Children possess a critical outlook and are sharp observers. They oblige you to carry out your role sincerely, and thereby help you to advance.

If we maintain that the world of labor should be sanctified by laborers, then we must believe that the Catholic family should be the primary apostle to other families.

People evaluate Catholic marriage according to the criterion of holiness in Catholic families.

Morning and night prayers in the family - or better put, times of family prayer- fulfill the duty of the family to become a community of Christians, one unit of the Church, according to the words of our Lord: 'For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them' (Mt 18:20).

The Catholic family is apostolic through its witness. You must show that you have been called to holiness and that you live a married life that is pleasing to God. Share with other families the grace and the happiness which God has bestowed on your family.

When you sit side by side together in God's presence, it is a time of truth and of wonderful discovery. It is a dose of immortal medicine. The atmosphere of the family changes and many thorny problems are solved with mutual understanding. Where once a husband and wife might have lived together in a kind of 'peaceful co-existence,' now they are one in love, one in happiness, one in troubles, and one in prayer.

The first seminary, the first formation program, the first college is the Catholic family. No director, however talented or skilled, can replace parents. If this most fundamental unit breaks down, the future of the Church and of human society becomes shaky and risks collapse..."

The Road of Hope by Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan, Pauline Books and Media