Vocational discernment always begins with listening to the Word of God and is complete only when we act upon what we hear. In the language of the Gospel, this is expressed pithily as hearing the Word of God and acting on it (cf. Lk 8:11). In the previous letter, we talked about the importance of helping our children to become capable of hearing the Word of God. Now in this letter, we give our attention to acting on God’s Word. The focal point for our contemplation remains the first and perfect disciple: Mary, Mother of God.
Fostering Vocational Discernment, Part 2 (Letters to Parents Series VII)
There are many things vying for young people’s attention these days. Attention confers authority. Those who receive the most attention tend to wield the greatest influence over our lives, leading to the greatest authority of all: the authority to shape our desires. Whoever can shape young people’s desires most profoundly takes hold of not just the present but also the future.
Fostering Vocational Discernment, Part 1 (Letters to Parents Series VI)
Parents’ vocation is to help your children become capable of their vocations. Each vocation is the specific shape of one’s own discipleship, and discipleship itself is a matter of love. Discerning a vocation means learning how to perceive and respond to the Lord’s will within and through the concrete circumstances of your own life, for the good of others and thus for your own ultimate good.
Aiming for Excellence rather than Achievements (Letters to Parents Series V)
If the achievements-based culture is what we might need to question, and if just allowing kids to always do what they want is not exactly the solution, then how else might we think about how and why young people pursue enrichment and develop competencies? Perhaps a key is to focus on excellence rather than achievement. To help draw out what I am thinking of here, let me share some recent experiences from our oldest children’s school, which we intentionally chose for them because this school is designed with the intention of liberating young people from the goal-gobbling college preparatory race for the sake of guiding them toward a love of wisdom, personal enrichment and holistic learning.
Culture of the Home, Part 3: Customs (Letters to Parents Series IV)
It is customary to assume that children rebel against their parents. What is often discounted, though, is just how strong the influence of parents is. If children do rebel, it is rebellion against the standard the parents have established. Rebellion itself shows the outsized influence of parents.
It turns out, however, that the myth of rebellion is overblown.
Culture of the Home, Part 2: Time (Letters to Parents Series III)
Culture of the Home, Part 1: Space (Letters to Parents II)
The Hardest Thing about Parenting (Letters to Parents I)
The hardest thing about parenting is that who you are matters most.
That’s the hardest part. It is an unavoidable and, ultimately, undeniable fact. Nothing reveals your character like being called to help bring another human being into life and guide that person into maturity. Who you are is front and center in that mission.