How do we raise children to be saints?

How do we become saints?

From those two questions we draw our mission. As parents, our primary purpose is to raise children fit for eternal lifewhile we pursue the same for ourselves. If we succeed, it will be our greatest success. If we fail, there is no greater failure imaginable.

Fr. Carter Griffin treats the family mission with the gravity it demands. He considers it a work of deep formation, as crucial and as intentional as the formation of future priests.

In practical chapters, Fr. Griffin, a seminary rector, adapts the four pillars of priestly formation and applies them to family life. He highlights the key virtues that are essential for our childrens human, intellectual, spiritual, and apostolic growth.

These pages are rich with testimonies from Catholic parents, examples from the lives of the saints, and other helpful resources to address specific challenges.Forming Families, Forming Saintsoffers a framework for children and parents alike to reach the heights of humanity and the heights of holiness.

Father Carter Griffin is a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington. A graduate of Princeton University and a former line officer in the United States Navy, he obtained his doctorate in theology from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome. After serving as a parish priest, he was assigned to the newly established St. John Paul II Seminary in Washington, DC, where he now serves as rector. He is the author of several best-selling books, includingCross-Examined: Catholic Responses to the Worlds QuestionsandWhy Celibacy? Reclaiming the Fatherhood of the Priest.

Forming Families, Forming Saintsis an excellent guide for any Catholic family. Written in a style to either read straight through or zero in on topics that are of most pressing interest,Forming Families, Forming Saintsis filled with illustrative anecdotes and deep wisdom. Fr. Griffins years of faithfully shepherding future priests gives him ample insight to offer faith-focused parents who seek to elevate their child-rearing goals above secular standards and raise future saints. As founders of a Catholic apostolate that helps heal men and women wounded by broken families of origin, we applaud Fr. Griffin for providing such meaningful support to striving parents today and re-proclaiming the beautiful and lofty vocation of Catholic families. This book will heal many souls and prevent family wounds by giving a trustworthy, practical, and reliable blueprint for marriage and parenting that is so desperately needed today. We wholeheartedly recommend it!

Daniel and Bethany Meola
Co-authors ofLife-Giving Wounds: A Catholic Guide to Healing for Adult Children of Divorce or Separationand Founders of Life-Giving Wounds Ministry

Father Griffin has created a lovely collection of reflections on family life that will bring inspiration to many Catholic families.

Jennifer Fulwiler
Author ofSomething Other Than Godand host of theJen Fulwiler Show

240 pages. Paperback.