Family Culture

The home is the central place to build Catholic culture, because it is the place where we live out the faith on a daily basis. Parents will influence their children more than teachers and clergy and will determine if they live the faith into adulthood by the practices they instill.

I propose that there are four pillars to building family culture in the home.

  1. Pray together as a family.
  2. Form the mind and heart in truth, beauty, and goodness, while fighting against obstacles.
  3. Establish practices of work and leisure as a family.
  4. Build community with other families for support.

Here are some key practices for building family culture to implement these pillars.

Pillar 1: Pray

  • Dedicate each day to God and spend time praying as a family before bed.
  • Pray the rosary as a family, even if only a decade.
  • Practice lectio divina.
  • Enthrone the Sacred Heart in your home.

Pillar 2: Form the Mind and Heart

  • Read the good books out loud together. John Senior’s list is a good place to begin. Begin with Mother Goose and Grimm and move onto C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.
  • Sing songs, play music, dance, and talk together.
  • Limit technology usage in and out of the home and focus on family interaction and developing the imagination without the distraction of artificiality.
  • Embrace character formation in parenting by creating loving and firm discipline to form virtue. See Leonard Sax’s The Collapse of Parenting.

Pillar 3: Establish Family Practices

  • Make Sunday a day of family leisure taking more time for prayer and family activities.
  • Experience the outdoors, with regular walks, hikes, camping, and outdoor games.
  • Teach hard work, giving kids responsibility and doing work as a family around the house, gardening, cooking, and creating a home economy.
  • Schedule family time for meals, prayer, discussion, work, and games.

Pillar 4: Build Family Community

  • Practice family hospitality, inviting other families over to practice the other pillars.
  • Gather families together at your parish for prayer, meals, and fun.
  • Teach your kids to engage in mission, sharing their faith and serving others.

Here is video interview with Dr. Meloche of the Alcuin Institute for Catholic Culture, discussing how to implement these points:

Resources for Family Culture