January 2002

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

It is hard to believe that we are starting not only the New Year of 2002, but also the fourteenth year of The Way Home and the twenty first year of broadcasting a 30-minute television program each week. Have twenty-one years really passed since we published our first newsletter and began broadcasting our first program?

We have faced many struggles and continue to face them, especially on the financial front. But when we read our mail and see how the Lord is using these programs to touch the lives of people throughout the world, we can only say, "Thank you, Jesus!"

Why has all of this been possible? Because friends like you have prayed for this ministry and have supported us with your financial contributions. Without each of you, The Way Home would never have reached the year 2002. This New Year, my prayer for you will be that of St. Paul to the Philippians:

"I thank my God whenever I think of you; and every time I pray for all of you, I pray with joy, remembering how you have helped to spread the Good News from the day you first heard it right up to the present time. I am quite certain that the One who began this good work in you will see that it is finished when the Day of Christ Jesus comes. It is only natural that I should feel like this toward you all, since you have shared the privileges which have been mine" (Philippians 1:3-7).

As we begin this New Year, it is with an even deeper conviction of the need to support Catholic family life. It is no news to anyone that the Catholic Church has suffered serious erosion in the last twenty years. Measured by almost any standard - from the number of children in Catholic schools to the number of seminarians studying for the priesthood - active participation in the Catholic faith has declined by almost fifty percent.

The greatest challenge now is to pass on the faith to upcoming generations. Over half of all Catholic children no longer receive even the most basic formation in their faith through formal religious education. Many have never had the experience of praying with their parents in so much as a simple grace before meals.

It has long been recognized that the most effective way to pass on the faith to your children is to let them see your own faith in action. It is not difficult for children to learn the importance of Sunday Mass, if their parents give the Mass priority over everything else that might conflict with it in their schedules. Children learn the real importance of practicing the faith by the example of their parents.

Parents who have never prayed with their children before, even a simple prayer of grace at meals, are often embarrassed or even afraid to start. If that is your own situation, let me encourage you to go ahead and do it, beginning with grace at meals. I have never heard of any parent who started the practice of a simple grace before meals who did not receive the support of the family, even if the children at first do not know how to respond. If you do not know a suitable prayer, start with this traditional grace: "Bless us, 0 Lord, and these thy gifts, which we are about to receive from thy bounty, through Christ our Lord. Amen."

Of course, to pray grace before meals with your family, you need to be sharing meals together. Many families have let themselves be so pulled apart by jobs, activities and even television, that they never gather around the table to share a meal. If this has happened in your home, make a commitment to bring your family together at least once a week to share dinner together. As we know from Scripture, the sharing of a meal is one of the most important symbols of sharing God's life and love.

Today, as parents, we must be aware of all that is "out there" trying to steer our children in the wrong way, secular humanism in the schools, the breakdown of family life, satanic influences in rock music, drugs, sexual immorality, and the films being produced at this time - these are very real and serious dangers and they must be dealt with in the home. "The family that prays together stays together."

Praying with your children, especially at times of crisis, will bring you that inner peace spoken of in the Bible. "I am leaving you with a gift - peace of mind and heart! And the peace I give isn't fragile like the peace the world gives. So don't be troubled or afraid" (John 14: 27). Yes, He could speak of peace - a peace that came from knowing that His Father was in control and He Himself was doing the Father's will.

As Christian parents facing the problems of today, we can find peace in remembering that our families and we are in the Lord's hands. If we belong to Jesus, then we can trust that Jesus is always at work to draw us closer to His Father - "Lord Jesus Christ, I trust in you completely."

All of us, regardless of our own family situation, can also pray for all the Catholic parents who have never prayed with their families. Pray especially for those who will try for the first time, as a result of reading this newsletter. Prayer is one of the most important ways we can support each other in the task of passing on the Gospel to our children and their children.

Please continue to pray for all of us connected with The Way Home, as we pray every day for you. With your continued prayers and generous financial help, we will be able to continue serving the Lord, the Church, and all the brothers and sisters struggling to live the Christian life in these challenging times.

Sincerely,

Bobbie J. Cavnar

BJC/vb

P. S. Weisbruch Family Witness, the videotape offered on the card, is a good example of a family

"passing on the faith to the next generation."