By Susan Ciancio
I recently read a LifeSiteNews article discussing Vice President Vance’s latest book, and this part caught my eye: “Vance . . . noticed that ‘elite professional life demands a disconnection from what makes us human.’ All of his ‘résumé virtues’ were impressive, and flattering remarks from his family made him feel accomplished, yet in the end he found them all ‘unsatisfying’ because they didn’t fulfill the deepest longings of his heart: a life where the ‘big questions’ of meaning and purpose were paramount, and where he had ample space for the love of wife and children.”
It continues, “Becoming a father for the first time also compelled Vance to think about his faith ‘in a far more intentional way’ and to identify the values he wished to instill in his oldest son, namely that he focus on growing in virtue and finding love above all else.”
I can’t stop thinking about the fact that Vance hit the proverbial nail on the head with these words. Life is meaningless without faith, and life is purposeless without the love of family and if we don’t teach our children values and virtues.
This is something that the Culture of Life Studies Program has been saying for over a decade. And it echoes what the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches—that parents are the first educators of their children and that it’s a parent’s responsibility to teach the faith, regardless of where the children attend school.
We cannot rely on others to teach our children these critical values—especially a respect for all human beings. Public schools certainly don’t instill these values. CCE programs have such little time that they often fail to focus on respect-life teachings. And many Catholic schools even miss this component.
Where does that leave our kids? Well, it leaves them floundering and at the mercy of a secular society that teaches them they should do what makes them happy. Unless . . .
Unless we as parents step in and teach them that there’s more to life, that they are called to not only cherish the life they have been given but respect every single person around them and see the value we all have as children of God. This includes people from the very beginning of life as preborn babies to the end of life.
That means that we teach our kids to reject abortion, assisted suicide, IVF, and anything that threatens the sanctity of life. It means that we teach them to revere the family, to cherish friendships, to value and protect their bodies, to build relationships with people who lead them closer to Christ rather than away from Him, and to see themselves as more than mere sexual human beings. It means that we don’t celebrate sin or participate in celebrating it. And it means that we normalize virtue rather than vice.
As the book of Joshua teaches, “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
Let that be your family motto, for when children grow up understanding that they have value because of who they were created to be, when they inherently know that others have this same value, and when they respect and cherish all life, they will be more likely to treat others with kindness, with generosity, and with love. They will not discard the vulnerable, scoff at the importance of family, or reduce themselves to sexual beings to be used. They will not fall into the trap our world today is setting out for them. They will live counterculturally; they will live lives aligned with Christ and the Church He founded. And, God willing, they too can live out that teaching from Joshua.
This should be the goal of every parent.
Yet we know that life can be hard. Life can be messy. And kids have their own minds and often fall prey to peers, social media, and even teachers who fail to have their best interests in mind. That’s why they need a solid foundation that they can only get at home and when we as parents intentionally teach them. That’s why the Culture of Life Studies Program is so crucial. We help you teach these values from the comfort of your own family room. We give you the tools you need to raise children to respect life from the beginning to the end. And we teach these values in age-appropriate ways so that your child can grow with our program.
Vance got it right. Our children need values. I daresay they crave them. So now that summer is upon us and families have a little more free time, it is the perfect time to take a look at what we offer and then begin teaching these vital concepts. Our kids’ lives and souls depend on what we do as parents today.