Chapter 28 — "The Fourth Commandment: Strengthen Your Family"

OPENING PRAYER

A Blessing by Parents for Their Children

Father,
inexhaustible source of life and author of all good,
We bless and we thank you
for brightening our communion of love by your gift
of children.
Grant that our children will find in the life of this family
such inspiration
that they will strive always for what is right and good
and one day, by your grace,
reach their home in heaven....
Amen.

Source: Books of Blessings, no. 190

"THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT: STRENGTHEN YOUR FAMILY"
—CCC, Nos. 2196–2257
What is your experience of being a member of your family? How have you treated your parents and brothers and sisters?

The Fourth Commandment calls us to “Honor your father and your mother.”

This Commandment concerns all aspects of family life—dealing with the love, responsibilities, and respect between parents and their children, and between brothers and sisters. It also concerns the duties of the government and its citizens, including the responsibility to foster family values and to strengthen the family.

The Church teaches that the family is intended to be “a man and woman united in marriage, together with their children” (CCC, no. 2202). “Marriage and family are ordered to the good of the spouses, to the procreation and education of children…Children owe their parents respect, gratitude, just obedience, and assistance” (CCC, nos. 2249, 2251).

Children’s respect for their parents is derived from a grateful heart and love towards those who gave them the gift of life and nourished, supported, and loved them throughout all stages of their growth. This becomes especially important as their parents become elderly, or their physical or mental states begin to deteriorate.

Parents are to love their children. They have the responsibility for the education of their children in the faith, prayer, and all the virtues. Parents witness their love through their example and by providing as far as possible for the physical, intellectual, emotional, moral, and spiritual needs and well-being of their children (cf. CCC, no. 2252).

For a variety of reasons, other forms of family have developed, such as single-parent families, blended families, foster families, extended families, joint families, stepfamilies, grandparent families, same-sex parent families, and childless families. The family is holy, not because it is perfect, but because God’s grace is at work in and through the family. All families experience challenges and deserve compassion, support, and the hope that they may be faithful to Christ’s way of love.

The Catholic family is the “domestic church,” and is the fundamental community of our Church. Christ calls all members of the family to union with God and to share in the mission of the Church. Family members do this through Baptism, the Sacraments, fostering mutual love, communion, prayer, lives of virtue, life-long learning, self-sacrifice and, with God’s continuing grace, to share and witness to others the reign of God’s love, communion, peace, justice, compassion, mercy, forgiveness, healing, and salvation. 

Please read this week USCCA,Chapter 28, "The Fourth Commandment: Strengthen Your Family," (pages 373–385), the CCC, Nos. 2196–2257, (pages 530–543), and the Compendium, Nos. 455–465
VIDEOS

"The Domestic Church"

"The Fourth Commandment" (Fr. Dan O'Reilly)

"Honor Your Father and Mother" (Dr. Brant Pitre)

"Respect Your Parents"

"Honor Your Mother and Your Father" - CCC 2196-2213 (Fr. Daniel Mahan)

"Family Duties" - CCC 2214-2233 (Fr. Daniel Mahan)

"Duties of Civil Authorities" - CCC 2234-2257 (Fr. Daniel Mahan)
MUSIC

"All That I Am"

"One Family Under God"

"Come to Me" (David Haase)

"We Are One Body"
OTHER RESOURCES

"What Catholics Need to Know About Making Their Homes a Domestic Church"

"The Fourth Commandment: Family and Social Morality" (Peter Kreeft)

"Catechism Commentary on the Fourth Commandment"

"Tools for Building a Domestic Church"

"Building the Domestic Church" (Knights of Columbus)
REFLECT ON YOUR EXPERIENCE

What can I do to better help my family to be more loving with one another?

What do I do to show my respect and gratitude to my parents?
We encourage and invite you to  spend time to reflect, pray, and write in your journal about what you have read, seen, heard, or experienced this week. You can find some questions you may wish to consider here.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, in now, and ever shall be.
Amen.