From The Catholic Family Handbook, Fr. Lawrence Lovasik

A good Catholic home is the one supreme need of the hour. And a good Catholic family life alone makes up a good Catholic home.

A good Catholic home is the source and maintainer of the Catholic way of life. We have many institutions that we call schools, but the real schools where the real lessons of life are learned are our homes.

We hear a great deal about higher education, but the highest that can be had is found in the lofty lessons sons of self-control, self-sacrifice, sublime faith, and splendid trust, which home life has such a marvelous power to teach.

There is no training to be had in school or college or anywhere in the world that can take the place of the discipline of the home.

Even a public school from which every religious influence is banned cannot destroy the Catholic faith of children who come from wholesome Catholic homes.

It is difficult for a child to be better than his home environment or for a nation to be superior to the level of its home life.

In fulfilling its double generation and formation of home becomes a little world in itself, self-sufficient even in its youngest years.

It is vital that you, as a mother or father, make of your home a training ground in character-building for your children, who will inherit the world’s problems.

Home is a place in which the young grow in harmony with all that is good and noble, where hardship, happiness, and work are shared.

Home should not be just a place. Rather, it must be the place. All else should be “outside.”

Home should be the center of activities and interests. It was built for births, courtship, marriage, and death. It is maintained so that children might grow, trained by precept and example – so that they will develop spiritually, mentally, and emotionally, just as they do physically.

Strong home ties have a tendency to weaken in children during high school. Then children work outside the home; they establish friendships independent of the family; they date; and they enjoy recreation away from the family.

These are the years when family spirit is firmly cemented or broken, and the outcome depends, to a large extent, on youthful training.

The more that parents and older brothers and sisters can do to focus all attention within the family, the better it is for the children.

To accomplish the high purpose set for its nature, and regulated by Divine Providence, the family must normally act as a unit. It is recognized as a unit by the Church, which cherishes and protects it as the basic unit of all society.

The family should wield its influence and give a good example as a unit, particularly within its parish. This will be possible only if all the members have practiced the humbler virtues within the sanctuary of the home.

As a Catholic parent, you must consecrate every intelligent effort to the task of developing the love of family as early as possible.

Family consciousness, leading to intelligent love of family, is to be instilled from earliest childhood.

There is need for a reasonable family pride. Home, marriage, love, and children are still the great heart-words of humanity and must continue to be so if civilization is not to sink.

Don’t forget to dress for your role as Domestic Queen! You can still look feminine as you go about your business. – Fascinating Womanhood http://amzn.to/2orXm6w (afflink)

BOOK REVIEW!

This is a wonderful little prayer book that I have used all through my married life. The prayers are beautiful and the promises wonderful!

The following are a couple of examples of special prayers I have used a lot:

Our Lady of this House:

Mary, Virgin Mother of God, conceived without sin, we choose you today as the Queen and Mother of our home.

We ask you, through the Precious Blood of Jesus and your Immaculate Conception, to preserve us from sickness, fire and water, lightning and storms, from war and theft, from loss of faith and sudden death.

Bless and protect, O holy Virgin, all who live here and preserve us from every other temporal and spiritual misfortune. Amen

Memorare to Jesus, Mary and Joseph

( Inexpressible graces have been received through the use of this prayer, which in one cry of confidence, links together those three most dear and holy names: – Jesus, Mary, Joseph.)
Remember, Heart of my Jesus, Immaculate Heart of Mary, and you, oh glorious St. Joseph, that no one has ever had recourse to Your protection, or implored your assistance without obtaining relief. Animated with the like confidence, I come laden with the weight of my sins, to prostrate myself before You. Oh Merciful Heart of Jesus, Immaculate Heart of Mary, and you, oh glorious St. Joseph, reject not my petitions, but graciously here and grant them. Amen

Here are some titles of other prayers:

-Prayer for Choosing a State in Life

-Act of Consecration to the Precious Blood and the Blessed Virgin for Children

-Memorare to St. Joseph (and many other beautiful prayers to that Glorious Saint)

-A Prayer in time of Affliction, Wars, Pestilence, etc.

…….Beautiful Prayers to many Saints

….and many, many more. It is a small prayer book with around 150 pages. You will find it a superb companion to your prayer life. You can locate the prayer book  here.    

In these pages, Fr. Raoul Plus provides a remedy for the even the most tangled lives.

Relying on the words of Jesus and the lives of the saints, Fr. Plus maps out a sure path to the simplicity which Jesus praised, a simplicity that bestows on all of us who seek it happiness, courage, and inner peace, no matter how complicated our circumstances may be or how crowded our days.

Holy simplicity.

With the wise help of Fr. Plus, you will soon savor the strength that simplicity brings . . . and the abiding joy. With his help, you can attain it.

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