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After attending a recent parent meeting at her parish, Lilia Grundy decided to add parents to her prayer intentions.


I received an email directed to parents of children enrolled in the faith formation program at my parish, asking us to attend a special meeting. The designated time slot was not convenient, overlapping with my dedicated Adoration visit. I consulted my BFF Jesus about the predicament and in turn, received the nudge to shuffle my holy hour schedule so I could attend both the parent session and reset my weekly Adoration time. 

I zeroed in on the email’s message about connecting with other parents to build community. As an avid connector, this part enthused me. And so, when the day arrived, I was excited to meet new families.  

We were sent off to scatter across the room and break out into small groups with two questions to be discussed:

  • How did you become Catholic?
  • Would you convert to Catholicism today?  

I was eager to share and listen, but did not anticipate the sentiments that would be expressed. 

 

Praying for parents 

Our small group began to introduce ourselves and it became apparent that although all of us were born into the faith as “Cradle Catholics,” not everyone was content with the faith.  

Most surprising to me were the parents who adamantly answered “No” to the question of whether they would convert to Catholicism today.  

This seems to be in line with the report that “one-in-ten American adults (10.1%) have left the Catholic Church after having been raised Catholic” (Pew Research Center). Other statistics, quoted in Sherry Weddell’s Forming Intentional Disciples, note that: 

  • Only 30 percent of Americans who were raised Catholic are still practicing (Forming Intentional Disciples, 24) 
  • Nearly 80 percent of cradle Catholics are no longer Catholic by the age of 23 (33) 
     

I was disheartened to learn that the frustrated parents in my group were not convinced about the importance of having enrolled their children into the Faith Formation program. Yet parents expressed that they were counting on something changing along the way. I saw hope in this. We have invested parents and families who desire change and for whom we can pray; we can help guide them to Christ. 

 

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Praying for souls  

Entering the month of November, the Catholic Month of Remembrance, I realized that I can incorporate prayers for various souls: souls in Purgatory indeed, but also the souls of parents who are guiding our next generation of saints. 

Based on my Mexican heritage, I started the tradition with my husband and daughters of creating a home ofrenda, a special prayer table dedicated to the souls of our family members who have passed. 

My twins and I also watched the 2017 movie Coco as we sipped on hot cocoas to make Día de los Muertos particularly memorable as we honor All Saints and All Souls Day together.  

When we light candles written with the names of those we love, we will add the names of those parents who are in special need. 

If it were but known how great is the power of the good souls in Purgatory with the Heart of God, and if we knew all the graces we can obtain through their intercession, they would not be so much forgotten. We must, therefore, pray much for them, that they may pray much for us. (St. John Vianney) 

 

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Copyright 2024 Lilia Grundy
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