Parenting is a job that simply doesn’t have a finish line, writes Catholic mother, grandmother, and popular speaker, Sheri Wohlfert, pictured below, who is a parishioner at Saint Mary in Westphalia. No matter their age, our hope and prayer is for our kids to be holy, healthy and safe; physically and spiritually. Many parents share the heartache of a child who has drifted away from the faith and today is the perfect day to call on the wisdom and intercession of Saint Monica whose motherhood was marked by the same heartache. Following her example brings us hope and demonstrates the love and power of the Father.
1. The Big Thing: With consistent, persistent and relentless passion, pray for your child. Pray that the Holy Spirit will soften their heart and lead them back to their faith.
2. Toss The Timer: Offer your prayers with great faith and even greater patience. God doesn’t have a timetable, and he will act decisively at precisely the right time. Saint Monica prayed relentlessly for her son Augustine for more than fifteen years before his conversion.
3. The Switch: Talk to your child less about God and talk to God more about your child. This was the wise council Saint Monica received from her spiritual director Saint Ambrose, and it was good and powerful advice.
The Father loves each of us ferociously. He will find the lost sheep, our job is to trust and pray that the Father who loves our children more than we ever could, will protect and guide them home.
Saint Monica, pray for us.
* For more from Sheri Wohlfert, go to: https://www.joyfulwords.org/
