Domestic Church

Then how can a family cultivate a domestic church to produce optimal results?

The home is where faith and life come together. Consider the family table the centerpiece of the home, a place where the faith can be taught in the large moments of family prayer time and in the everyday conversations around the dinner table. Teach your children how to navigate life, while staying rooted in faith. If your child has a favorite saint, or is named after a specific saint, make their feast day a fun event.

Just as a parish church would be concerned for its members in their greater community, a family can take on a mission project or help a neighbor in need. Keep physical reminders of the faith around your home, such as statues, crucifi xes and other sacred objects. You can even make a dedicated prayer space in your home so anyone in the family can take a moment to sit with God. In essence, make your home an extension of the life you experience in the parish church, not just on Sunday, but every day of the week.

If the faith thrives in the home, it will naturally have that ripple eff ect. Each and every domestic church matters greatly, for it is in these places that we serve the greater universal church and community. St. John Paul II is quoted as saying: “As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live.”

To find out more about how to create a beautiful domestic church in your home, visit domesticchurchinstitute.com.

May God continue to bless all families within our diocese as we learn to intentionally grow our children firmly in the faith.