Daily Life Meditation: Children

Flávia Ghelardi shares a guided meditation on the importance of setting spiritual examples for our children.

In this practical session on meditation using Father Kentenich’s method, we will reflect on our children. What do you think God wants to say to you through this reality?

Meditation is a personal encounter with God, to grow in love for Him. Because it is personal, each person will experience this encounter in a different way, in a unique way. Thus, each proposed exercise is intended only to present an example of what this conversation with the Father can be like, so that you can get an overview of the whole process.

Opening Prayer

We are in the place we have chosen to meditate, already prepared with some image that reminds us of the spiritual world, a lit candle, instrumental music, in short, whatever helps us most to concentrate on what we are about to do: have a personal encounter with God.

We close our eyes, take a few deep breaths, and place ourselves in God's presence:

Make the Sign of the Cross.

My holy guardian angel helps me to meditate well so that this moment of prayer may transform my hard, fickle, selfish, and negligent heart into a pure heart, capable of loving and serving God with joy and generosity.

We implore the help of the Holy Spirit:

Holy Spirit, you are the soul of my soul. I humbly adore you. Enlighten me, strengthen me, guide me, comfort me. Reveal your wishes to me as far as this is in accordance with the will of the Eternal Father. Show me what Eternal Love wants of me. Show me what I should do. Show me what I should suffer. Show me what I should humbly and thoughtfully accept, bear and endure. Holy Spirit, show me your will and the will of the Father, for I want my whole life to be nothing else than a continuous, an everlasting yes to the wishes, to the will of God, the Eternal Father.! (Fr. Joseph Kentenich - HW 639)

What Does God Want to Tell Me?

What is the Truth that the Father wants to show me through contemplating on our children?

Children are a gift from God. The Father, in His infinite wisdom and goodness, makes the couple co-creators of immortal souls! He could have chosen thousands of other ways to bring a new human being into being, but He chose to depend on the “yes” of a man and a woman, who, by uniting in the conjugal act, become one flesh in the generation of new life.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us:

“Called to give life, spouses share in the creative power and fatherhood of God. ‘Married couples should regard it as their proper mission to transmit human life and to educate their children; they should realize that they are thereby cooperating with the love of God the Creator and are, in a certain sense, its interpreters. They will fulfill this duty with a sense of human and Christian responsibility’.” (CCC 2367)

“Let all be convinced that human life and the duty of transmitting it are not limited by the horizons of this life only: their true evaluation and full significance can be understood only in reference to man's eternal destiny.” (CCC 2371)

“A child is not something owed to one, but is a gift. The "supreme gift of marriage" is a human person. A child may not be considered a piece of property, an idea to which an alleged "right to a child" would lead. In this area, only the child possesses genuine rights: the right "to be the fruit of the specific act of the conjugal love of his parents," and "the right to be respected as a person from the moment of his conception.’” (CCC 2378)

The pain of infertility affects many couples, and the Church stands in solidarity with them in their suffering. She encourages these couples to consider adoption, if they feel that is God’s call for them, or to exercise their role as parents through service to others, whether in the parish or in a social organization.

What Do I Say to Myself in Response?

I have been blessed with four children: Gabriel, Nicole, Matias, and Júlia. Júlia has already fulfilled her mission here on Earth, and the Father called her to be with Him when she was still a baby. Our joy comes from knowing that we already have a daughter in Heaven, and with her, our mission as parents is already fulfilled. The others still live with us, and we are responsible for raising them.

It’s impossible to put into words the love I have for my children. They are like an extension of myself: if they’re happy, I feel happy. If they’re sad, I’m sad too. With each new achievement of theirs, it’s as if I’m participating alongside them, right there with them. With every fall, every pain—whether physical or emotional—I feel it with them.

Children are also an immense responsibility. When I die, I will be held accountable for the upbringing I gave them. My mission is to pass on the Faith to them, to show them the path that leads to Heaven; to do everything in my power so that they understand that the most important thing they must do in this life is to prepare their souls for Heaven.

As a mother, I need to get down on my knees and implore the protection and guidance of the Holy Spirit for each one of them. They have been consecrated to Our Lady since they were in my womb, and I know that She is the great teacher. I always ask each one’s guardian angel to let me know when they are doing something that requires my guidance. My prayers have always been answered.

Now the time is coming when they’ll leave home to pursue their own lives. My oldest got married last month and I never thought it would be such a mix of emotions, not easy at all … I’ll need to learn how to deal with having adult children and come to terms with the fact that my role in their lives will diminish. But I’ll always be there for them whenever they need me.

How Do I Answer the Lord?

My Jesus, I ask that You help each of my children to be Your reflection in this life. May they know how to be good Catholics, loving God above all things and loving their neighbor, doing good. I ask that You protect them from all evil and give them the strength to resist temptations. My Most Holy Mother, take care of my children as if they were entirely yours. Be a true Mother to them, make up for my shortcomings as a mother, so that they may grow each day in faith, hope, and love.

We conclude this moment of prayer by writing down the inspirations we have received in our personal notebooks. We give a brief thanksgiving for having been able to spend a few minutes talking with our Father. We can make a resolution to meditate again the next day and ask our holy guardian angel to remind us throughout the day of these brief moments we have spent together.

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Copyright 2026 Flávia Ghelardi
Images: Canva