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Leading a child to God begins when the baby is conceived. It’s parents praying and learning and hoping, and praying some more, for a healthy baby and a safe delivery. It’s the mother and the father thanking God for letting them share in God’s act of creation, as their precious gift of life is born into the world. It’s marveling at the wonder of God in the baby’s tiny hands, perfect feet, healthy crying and sleeping innocence. It’s sitting by the window and watching a new day to come to life, as the baby takes breakfast at her mother’s breast. It’s giving an infant reasons to know how much you love him. It’s giving an infant reasons to know how much God loves her, and telling them so!

Leading a child to God is teaching a toddler how to talk to God and to share with friends. It’s reading stories to him about loving and caring, and Jesus and Mary, and Christmas and Easter, and all things holy. It’s visiting church and looking at statues and altars and candles and holy water, at banners and baptismal fonts. It’s exploring creation with delight and giving thanks with your child for flowers and thorns, and bees and honey, and tables and beds and crayons and potato chips, and toys and ants and little lizards, and brother s and sisters, too! It’s giving thanks for Lolo and Lola, for Tito and Tita, for ice cream and chocolates and new clothes and everything else, while holding hands at prayer before meal. It’s giving a small child reasons to know how much you love her and giving a small child reasons to know how much God loves him, and telling them so!

Leading a child to God is taking him to school for the first time and feeling the loss and yet giving thanks that he is growing up. It’s teaching prayers to a child and going to Mass with her, preparing for the Sacraments and for religion class, helping, supporting and just being there. It’s giving good discipline with reasons galore, reading the Bible with her (a child sized one with lots of pictures) and stories of people with ideals to hold fast to, teaching young hearts, with care and concern, how to live life with love. It’s giving a growing child reasons to know how much you love him. It’s giving a growing child reasons to know how much God loves her and telling them so!

Leading a child to God is listening with fondness to the concerns of first love, directing her with great care and much prayer, hearing confusions and discussions with friends and adding to those discussions the dimension of God’s love. It’s gently fighting materialism in their lives and the need to acquire with concern for the poor among us. It’s calling them to prayer in times of despair and continuing on in the face of their resistance, sharing one’s faith with them even when there is no response, never with force, but always touching their hearts. It’s grounding them and punishing them when necessary, but always with care, balancing freedom with the call to be trusted, praying a lot as they begin to step forth on their own, reminding them gently of the presence of God. It’s giving this youth reasons to know how much you love her. It’s giving this youth to know how much God loves him and telling them so!

Then when they leave home and are out on their own, leading a son or daughter to God is reminding them always that they can come home, giving advice, usually only when asked, calling to prayer again and again as the concerns of adulthood pile up for them. It’s enjoying their company, sharing their worries, and then after being apart, growing together again. It’s giving this adult reasons to know how much you love him. It’s giving this adult reasons to know how much God loves her and telling them so!

Leading a child to God is watching the cycle repeated again, so different and yet so new, as they marry and begin life over again. Then you pray, you hope and send them forth in God’s name. Then it begins all over again with your grandchildren – the watching and helping, the holding of the baby and singing and the reading and the teaching to pray as a new generation begins to be led to faith in the Lord and love of each other. It still means giving these families reasons to know how much you love them. It’s still giving these families reasons to know how much God loves them, and telling them so!