I am very sympathetic toward Mr. Dreher's desire to keep his children faithful Catholics (or Orthodox, apparently?).
However, he will not do much toward the accomplishment of that task principally by finding the ideal parish, church, faith, etc.
The task of rearing one's children in the faith falls first and principally to oneself. The more help one has from one's parish community, the better, but a mom and a dad who do their best to practice and teach the faith are the crucial element.
The task of rearing one's children in the faith falls first and principally to oneself. The more help one has from one's parish community, the better, but a mom and a dad who do their best to practice and teach the faith are the crucial element.
Very true...but there has to be a minimum level of support from the Church in this endeavor. The average parish (save one which has now also soured) in the Archdiocese of Baltimore does not meet that minimum level, IMHO. During our whole time there, we were never registered at a parish, and I was quite reluctant to ever want to convert anyone to only have them exposed to the nonsense in these churches. I feel that we have to fix our own house first (by fix, I mean only the necessary things for salvation) before we bring anyone else in. Terrible to say, I know.
Renewal of the Church will start from the home. I feel that I fixed my own house (myself and my family) now with our recent move, but in no way will I let my guard down in rearing my children in the faith.