I understood that those who encountered Jesus during His earthly life would praise Him in this way, but why now? This was a stumbling block for me. I would think if God really is all mighty, what could He possibly gain from my praise? Why does He need something from insignificant me? Or, on the flip side, I would think, God needs my praise because He is looking for a pat on the back. Then I would question all that I knew about humility and the heart of a God who had an ego.

Parents, here is where the rubber meets the road. Here is where your past, or maybe even your present, catches up to your role as a parent and your desire for them to walk a different path than you. When the two catch up, they either collide or fall in step with one another. You decide what happens.

Through Christ, we become a part of the story of Israel; we become adopted sons and daughters of God joining this sacred family; and we hear the words we ache for… you belong. It is through Christ Jesus that we understand who we are, where we have been, and where we are going.

Every day, in every space, we have the opportunity to affirm the dignity and worth of the people we encounter, but so many of us choose silence. If we are honest with ourselves, our silence has allowed the systematic destruction of human life in every community throughout the world.

This week, our Pray, Grow, & Serve walks with your children through the first two Stations of the Cross. We pray that you also invite your children into the Garden of Gethsemane and help them understand God’s desire for our reconciliation with His Sacred Heart.

Our goal is that each day will be an exercise in virtue and preparation for the personal and undeserving gift of Christ's Passion and Resurrection.

Stations of the Cross to pray as a family! These meditations are written to invite your child into Christ’s Passion.

For many parents, our past looks different than the future we desire for our children… It is in these moments that we must allow God’s grace to enter into these conversations.

The truth is, having the “hard” conversations and giving your children a solid Christ-centered moral foundation is just as life-saving as pulling them out of the pool when they're sinking to the bottom.

In the silence and vulnerability of our hearts, we are being asked to seriously obey God's command to listen to Him—We are being asked to trust our Father enough to let Him transform our lives.

While I am small, sinful, and insignificant, He gives me dignity and purpose because of His radical love; I am His beloved masterpiece. He adorned me with freckles and desires the canvas of my soul. I am loved. I am wanted. I am His, and He is mine.

All of us have an inherent desire to be seen, known, and loved by God, but we walk a razor’s edge between the desire to be seen and delighted in by our heavenly Father and to be seen and delighted in by the world.

As you raise your children in the faith and walk the storms that rage within this culture, know that the joy of His peace is only as far away as your heart. Your children are watching you.

The reason most of us are what we are —mediocre Christians, "up" one day, "down" the next — is simply because we refuse to let God work on us. As crude marble, we rebel against the hand of the Sculptor; as unvarnished canvas, we shrink from the oils and tints of the Heavenly Artist