The Church gives parents a breathtaking job description: you are the first and most important teachers of your children in the ways of faith. Most of that teaching doesn’t happen at the parish — it happens at your table, in your car, at bedside. This page is our toolbox for that work: how to pray together, how to keep Sunday at the center, how to think about schooling, and what to read along the way. One goal above every other — raising saints.
Holiness Is Caught
Children learn far more from who their parents are than from anything they are told. A mother and father seriously pursuing holiness — praying, confessing, forgiving, healing — form their children simply by being near them. So the first work of family formation is your own soul, and your marriage.
A Check-Up for Your Marriage
Prepare/Enrich is a trusted relationship inventory — a structured look at your marriage’s strengths and growth areas. Fr. Timothy is a trained facilitator, and any couple is welcome to ask for one, at any stage.
The Work of a Catholic Home
From a mother and father pursuing the Lord, everything else follows — the praying, the keeping of Sunday, the schooling. Three habits carry most of the weight:
A praying family
Grace at meals, a blessing at bedtime, a family Rosary when you can — short, steady, and shared. The habit matters more than the length.
Mass at the center
Bring the children — wiggles, noise, and all. There is no better place for them, and no better witness for the rest of us, than a family at the altar.
Education ordered to God
Whether you homeschool or choose a school, the faith is taught on purpose or not at all. The resources below can help you choose well.
Resources for the Domestic Church
Trusted places to go deeper — gathered for the families of St. Patrick’s.
Family Formation Online
- Strong Catholic Family FaithCurated helps for bringing the faith home
- Compass for ParentsAccompanying Catholic parents through every stage (Archdiocese of Detroit)
- Theology of the Body Parent SchoolEquipping parents to teach the meaning of the person, age by age
Praying as a Family
- 10 Creative Tips for Praying as a FamilyCatholicMom.com
- Family Prayer Doesn’t Need to Be ComplicatedCatholicCounselors.com
- How to Take Young Children to MassThe “family Mass,” survived and loved · For Your Marriage (USCCB)
For Homeschooling Families
- Sophia Institute for TeachersCatholic curriculum, lesson plans, and support for home educators
- Regina Caeli Academy — PortlandClassical hybrid: on-campus two days a week, homeschool the rest
- The Catholic Academy OnlineAccredited K–12 online Catholic education
- Archdiocese of Portland — Home SchoolingOur archdiocese’s resources for homeschooling families
Catholic & Classical Christian Schools
- Christ the King SchoolCatholic liberal education, K–8 · Milwaukie
- Trinity Academy of PortlandClassical Christian, grades 6–12 · North Portland
- Chesterton Academy of Bl. Pier Giorgio FrassatiCatholic classical high school · Southeast Portland
Life-Changing Books
- The Little Oratory: A Beginner’s Guide to Praying in the HomeDavid Clayton & Leila M. Lawler
- Forming Families, Forming SaintsFr. Carter Griffin
- 33 Days to the Holy FamilyA consecration for households
The Sacraments, Milestone by Milestone
The life of a family is measured out in sacraments. Begin here:
Wherever your family is starting from, you are welcome here. Come as you are — we will grow together.