As catholic parents, open to life, we are called to protect the lives entrusted to us by God, with everything we have. The family which is the bedrock of society must have strong roots if it is to withstand all that comes its way. This means as parents we must do our best and then let the Holy Spirit do the rest. We must speak with authority and provide clear direction for our children so that they may navigate today’s society which seems to be in a constant daze. It is my hope that through this blog you will find the support and motivation needed to win the victory of the battle for life for you and your family.
About the Author:
Irina DeLucca is the Director for the Pro-Life Apostolate and Project Rachel Office at the Diocese of Fall River. Additionally, she is one of the foundering members of the Holy Spirit Apostolate alongside her parents. A devoted mother of three and practicing Catholic, Irina shares the importance her faith life plays in raising her children and the foundational reliance needed on the power of the Holy Spirit in her vocation as a mother.
"Parenting is not easy, especially in the time that we live in right now. However, with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can do all things, and we can be the best parents God has desired us to be. I am going to be sharing with you fun tips and methods that I have used with my own children which I hope will assist you in your teaching of the good news, a very special experience and bonding moment for the entire family."
-Irina DeLucca
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. This one was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and apart from him not one thing came into being that has come into being. In him was life, and the life was the light of humanity. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it."
- John 1:1-5.
A Father’s Instruction.
Tobit 4:1-21
He thought to himself, “Now that I have asked for death, why should I not call my son Tobiah and let him know about this money before I die?”
So, he called his son Tobiah; and when he came, he said to him: “Son, when I die, give me a decent burial. Honor your mother, and do not abandon her as long as she lives. Do whatever pleases her, and do not grieve her spirit in any way.
Remember, son, how she went through many dangers for you while you were in her womb. When she dies, bury her in the same grave with me.
“Through all your days, son, keep the Lord in mind, and do not seek to sin or to transgress the commandments. Perform righteous deeds all the days of your life, and do not tread the paths of wickedness.
For those who act with fidelity, all who practice righteousness, will prosper in their affairs.
“Give alms from your possessions. Do not turn your face away from any of the poor, so that God’s face will not be turned away from you.
Give in proportion to what you own. If you have great wealth, give alms out of your abundance; if you have but little, do not be afraid to give alms even of that little.
You will be storing up a goodly treasure for yourself against the day of adversity.
For almsgiving delivers from death and keeps one from entering into Darkness.
Almsgiving is a worthy offering in the sight of the Most High for all who practice it.
“Be on your guard, son, against every kind of fornication, and above all, marry a woman of your own ancestral family. Do not marry a foreign woman, one who is not of your father’s tribe, because we are descendants of the prophets, who were the first to speak the truth. Noah prophesied first, then Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, our ancestors from the beginning of time. Son, remember that all of them took wives from among their own kindred and were blessed in their children, and that their posterity would inherit the land.
Therefore, son, love your kindred. Do not act arrogantly toward any of them, the sons and daughters of your people, by refusing to take a wife for yourself from among them. For in arrogance there is ruin and great instability. In idleness there is loss and dire poverty, for idleness is the mother of famine.
“Do not keep with you overnight the wages of those who have worked for you, but pay them at once. If you serve God thus, you will receive your reward. Be on your guard, son, in everything you do; be wise in all that you say and discipline yourself in all your conduct.
Do to no one what you yourself hate. Do not drink wine till you become drunk or let drunkenness accompany you on your way.
“Give to the hungry some of your food, and to the naked some of your clothing. Whatever you have left over, give away as alms; and do not let your eye begrudge the alms that you give.
Pour out your wine and your bread on the grave of the righteous, but do not share them with sinners.*
“Seek counsel from every wise person, and do not think lightly of any useful advice.
At all times bless the Lord, your God, and ask him that all your paths may be straight, and all your endeavors and plans may prosper. For no other nation possesses good counsel, but it is the Lord who gives all good things. Whomever the Lord chooses to raise is raised; and whomever the Lord chooses to cast down is cast down to the recesses of Hades. So now, son, keep in mind these my commandments, and never let them be erased from your heart.
“Now, I must tell you, son, that I have deposited in trust ten talents of silver with Gabael, the son of Gabri, at Rages in Media.
Do not fear, son, that we have lived in poverty. You will have great wealth, if you fear God, avoid all sin, and do what is good before the Lord your God.”
That same day Tobit remembered the money he had deposited in trust with Gabael at Rages in Media.
2217 As long as a child lives at home with his parents, the child should obey his parents in all that they ask of him when it is for his good or that of the family. "Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord." 22 Children should also obey the reasonable directions of their teachers and all to whom their parents have entrusted them. But if a child is convinced in conscience that it would be morally wrong to obey a particular order, he must not do so. (CCC)
As they grow up, children should continue to respect their parents. They should anticipate their wishes, willingly seek their advice, and accept their just admonitions. Obedience toward parents ceases with the emancipation of the children; not so respect, which is always owed to them. This respect has its roots in the fear of God, one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. (CCC)
2224 The home is the natural environment for initiating a human being into solidarity and communal responsibilities. Parents should teach children to avoid the compromising and degrading influences which threaten human societies.
2225 Through the grace of the sacrament of marriage, parents receive the responsibility and privilege of evangelizing their children. Parents should initiate their children at an early age into the mysteries of the faith of which they are the "first heralds" for their children. They should associate them from their tenderest years with the life of the Church. 34 A wholesome family life can foster interior dispositions that are a genuine preparation for a living faith and remain a support for it throughout one's life.
"He who loves his son will not spare the rod.... He who disciplines his son will profit by him.
- Sir 30:1-2.
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. " - Eph 6:4.