Parents who pray for their children

No prayer is ever lost. The Church has saints who were born of the tears of parents who did not give up.

In the book of Job, we see a father who rose early to offer sacrifices for each of his children (Job 1:5). He did not control their lives, but he never stopped presenting them to God.

Saint Monica prayed for years for the conversion of her son Augustine, who became a saint, a bishop and a Doctor of the Church. When the pain of seeing a child far from God grows heavy, remember her: the prayer of a father and a mother carries a weight we will only know in Heaven.

Praying for our children does not replace talking with them, correcting them and walking alongside them — but it sustains all of that. Some simple practices:

• Bless your children with the sign of the cross on their foreheads, before bed or as they leave the house.

• Pray for each child by name, every day, even those who are grown.

• Entrust each child to Our Lady, who knows the anguish of searching for a lost son (Lk 2:48).

And when words fail, just look at the Holy Face and say: “Lord, they are more Yours than mine.”

To pray as a family

Lord Jesus, I entrust my children to You. Keep them where I cannot be, speak to their hearts when I do not know what to say, and bring back those who have drifted away. Our Lady of Mount Carmel, cover them with your mantle. Amen.