Postscripts From The Catholic Spitfire Grill

This year we are adding an Advent wreath to our lawn. I found a place that was willing to substitute purple and pink lights into a lighted candle shaped lawn ornament for me. I’ll use garland to make a lawn-sized wreath with the Advent candles. Just in case you were looking for ideas…

In early third millennium America, heroic Catholic families generally don’t send their kids to public schools if they have any conceivable alternative. Nor do they take advantage of parochial or diocesan schools if their staffs are still riddled with cafeteria Catholics (or worse). If a sound Catholic school is not available, heroic Catholic families pull up roots and move, or they found independent schools, or they home school. Even if outstanding schools are available, they may still home school. I use the word “generally” in the first sentence, because there are exceptions to every parenting rule, and it isn’t anybody’s job but yours to make the best decision for your own children.

It is axiomatic that God will always supply the most when we can do the least, but we must also expect Him to supply less when we are simply unwilling to do more. And so heroic Catholic families must do their very best to keep tight control over their children’s educational environment at least through high school, and many will do so through college as well, depending on the child and the feasibility of using an outstanding Catholic college. Moreover, in heroic Catholic families, schools are never chosen because of their outstanding secular reputations, the material value of their credentials, or their brilliant extra-curricular possibilities. Heroic parents don’t sacrifice their children’s moral and intellectual formation so that they will have the opportunity to make more money or excel at sports, drama or music.

In heroic Catholic families, mothers work outside the home as little as possible, and fathers make themselves available to their children regardless of the pressures of work or their desire for rest and relaxation. Heroic fathers are very much involved in raising their children. Parental closeness to each child is maintained throughout the teen years; it is not abandoned during the difficulties of adolescence. In this context of ongoing involvement and availability, heroic Catholic families also pray together every day, forming a habit and expectation of family prayer from early childhood, preferably including the daily Rosary—which has a proven track record.

Heroic households not only bar the door to intruders but regulate the airwaves, as well as broadband and phone connections. They restrict their children’s computer time, cell phone features, television and movie watching, and (perhaps above all) Internet use. They educate themselves concerning the moral dangers of these media, and they make a point of not allowing into their homes media that represents people acting in ways that may lead their children into sin—ways in which they would never allow real guests to act. Heroic parents are constantly vigilant. If they are ignorant about certain technological issues, they get help from those who understand them.

Thank you kindly, Leticia at Causa Nostrae Laetitiae for pointing me to this article.

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