How to raise children: Advice from St. Porphyrios.

“When children grow up in an atmosphere of freedom and at the same time are surrounded by the good example of grown-ups, they are a joy to see. The secret is to be good and saintly and to inspire and radiate. The life of the children seems to be affected by the radiation of their parents. If the parents insist, “Come on now, go and make confession, go and receive Communion”, and so on, nothing is achieved.

But what does your child see in you? How do you live and what do you radiate? Does Christ radiate in you? That is what is transmitted to your child. This is where the secret lies. And if this is done when the child is young, it will not be necessary for it to undergo ‘great travail’ when it grows up. Solomon the Wise uses a beautiful image about exactly this subject, underlining the importance of a good start and good foundations: “He who seeks her [Wisdom] early shall have no great travail; for he shall find her sitting at his doors. The person who ‘seeks her early’ is the person who occupies himself with Wisdom from an early age. Wisdom is Christ.”

Saint Porphyrios, “Wounded by Love: The Life and the Wisdom of Elder Porphyrios”.

Daily Posts from St. Catherine’s Parents Group. Edited by Mrs Victoria Baghos