chapter one -- the joy of authentic parenting

As one ponders parenthood, he/she should ask some fundamental questions before stepping into the deep. The following are a few to consider. Why become a parent? What is the purpose of parenthood? What do we hope to achieve after becoming a parent? What’s in it for us? What should be our family goals and priorities? What do we have to do in order to be an effective parent? What do good mothers/fathers do? What are the primary duties and responsibilities of parents? Furthermore, do the primary duties and responsibilities of parents’ change with the age of the children. Do parents continue to have ‘obligations’ for their teens, emerging adults or married children? If so, what are they? This book looks at these questions very specifically and purposefully.
All parents – in fact all adults – look for meaning to their lives. Too many look to others to try and help them find quick remedies to sticky personal or family issues. That’s why pop icons including Oprah, Ellen, Dr. Phil, and others appeal to so many adults. Yet, John Paul ll teaches us to avoid looking to the pop culture for answers but to search for answers about faith, purpose, and meaning in life from an organized system (The Catholic Church) in an organized way. This search will lend to the resolving of the issues in grace-filled ways.
This book tries to help you find answers to the questions about parenthood that were posed earlier in this section in an organized way (The Catholic Church) by looking at parent’s moral obligations toward their children from an organized system - The Catechism of the Catholic Church. Pointing to these obligations will help you attend to them in a better way; this will also provide convincing evidence that authentic parenting is critical for the formation of the whole of society as well as for each child within every family. Furthermore, there is no substitute for authentic parenting since parents are primary to the passing on of the faith and the forming of moral consciences for the next generation. This knowledge will empower you to pass on the Truth to the children living under your roof.