Raising Future Saints

By Laura Pearl -
As two new saints are canonized today, I find myself thinking about the great graces that were showered upon Sts. John XXIII and John Paul II--graces that they not only received, but embraced and chose to use for God's greater glory during their years here on earth.  I think about what kind of parents they must have had--and how their parents' guidance must have contributed greatly to their faith formation, must have helped to set them on the road that would lead them to Rome.  For the most important job we have as parents is to do our best to raise our children, whose souls have been entrusted by God to our temporary care, so that they will become saints and be joined for all eternity with their Father in Heaven.

My husband has always taken his role as a Christian father--with its imperative to be the head of his domestic Church, his family--very seriously, and I often talk about this on my blog.  He says that I make him sound much better than he really is when I write about him, but the truth is that I don't think I've ever been able to come close to describing his dedication and love for me and our five sons--and now his daughters-in-law and grandchildren.  Everything he has ever done has been for us, and I am the luckiest woman on earth to have started dating him at 15 and married him at 22.  After 33 years together, I love him now more than I ever have--and that's saying a lot.

I recently wrote a post about my best guy, one that shows just how important it has always been to him to make sure that our boys end up as saints.  It's called "Our Boys' Life Coach," and if you're interested, you can read it here.

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