Our Family of Faith program is based on a simple truth - Parents impact the faith of their children more than anyone else. Our kids are deeply influenced by how the Catholic faith is practiced (or isn't practiced) at home and will tend to imitate the faith that they see (or don't see) in us. We recommend these five disciplines for discipleship for your family:

#1 - Celebrate the Liturgical Year

The seasons of the Church's liturgical year - Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, and Ordinary Time - provide opportunities for our families to celebrate the events of our salvation in Jesus Christ. Look for ways to establish family traditions around the great feasts of the Church's year (e.g., an Advent wreath, family Lenten sacrifices, etc.) or connect the family traditions you already have to your Catholic faith.

#2 - Every month, make time for Confession

The precepts of the Church require baptized Catholics to go to the sacrament of Reconciliation at least once a year (see Catechism of the Catholic Church 2042), but going more frequently is extremely helpful. Confession reconciles us with God and the Church, gives us peace of conscience, and empowers us to resist future temptation. Try to go with your family about once per month.

#3 - Every week, make time for Sunday Mass.

Because the sacrament of the Eucharist is “the source and summit of the Christian life,” all Catholics are obligated to attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation, unless excused for a serious reason. At the Mass, we have the extraordinary privilege of hearing the Word of God, uniting ourselves to the sacrifice of the Cross, and receiving Jesus in Holy Communion. Make Sunday Mass a top priority for your family.

#4 - Every day, make time for family prayer.

Our children learn to communicate with God by watching us do so. There are many ways to pray as a family - for example, you can read and discuss Scripture, pray a decade of the Rosary, pray a few of your favorite prayers, or pray more spontaneously. Find a routine that works for you and set aside time every night to pray with your kids. As the old saying goes, “the family that prays together, stays together.”

#5 - Every moment, make time for love.

“God is love” (1 John 4:8), and the measure of our holiness is our love for God and for one another. The family is our first “school of love,” where children are meant to learn how to experience and express Christian charity day by day, moment by moment. As Pope Francis has taught:

In the family, we learn closeness, care and respect for others. We break out of our fatal self-absorption and come to realize that we are living with and alongside others who are worthy of our concern, our kindness and our affection. There is no social bond without this primary, everyday, almost microscopic aspect of living side by side, crossing paths at different times of the day, being concerned about everything that affects us, helping one another with ordinary little things. Every day the family has to come up with new ways of appreciating and acknowledging its members ( Amoris Laetitia 276).