Tag Archives: Parenting

Nativity Fast and Thanksgiving Turkey

On November 25 America celebrates Thanksgiving Day which has a very significant role in American families because it is one of the few times a year that the family gets together. Thanksgiving Day is also called a Turkey day because it usually involves a meal with turkey or at least a more elaborate meal. Most [...]

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Choosing a Profession

—Geronta, some parents try to steer their children towards their own professions, and often get very pushy at it. —No, they don’t manage well. Parents shouldn’t pressure their children unwillingly to do that which they enjoy themselves. I knew one young man who wanted to study theology and become a priest, but his mother wouldn’t [...]

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A Mother’s Love

Geronta, you once told us that with love, a person grows and matures. —It’s not enough for someone to simply love another; he must love him more than he loves himself. A mother loves her children more than herself. She fasts so as to feed her children, yet she experiences more gratitude than they. The [...]

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Children and the Spiritual Life

—Geronta, if a mother gives holy water to her child and he spits it out, what should she do? —She should pray for her child. Maybe the way in which she gives the holy water to her child causes a reaction. For the child to be on the path of God the parents must also [...]

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Prayer in the Family

—Geronta, should the entire family do compline together at night?[1] —They should do compline and say to the small children: “If you want, stay a little while.” When the children are somewhat bigger they can have a rule—for example, fifteen minutes for the older ones, and two to five minutes for the small children—then after [...]

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Let Us Help the Youth to Follow their Calling

The Good God created man free. He is nobly unimposing. He respects man’s freedom, freely leaving each person to follow that path which brings him or her comfort. He does not force everyone stand in the same line with military discipline. For that reason, we should leave youths to themselves, without restraint, in the spiritual [...]

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