Despite our chaotic and busy lives, my husband and I do our best to instill faith and Catholic values in our children at home. Sometimes, we give those lessons with intention – praying together before meals and at bedtime, answering very specific questions from our young children about the origin of life and where God lives and, most recently, discussing the sin of racism and why it’s important to love all of God’s children as He loves them. Other times, those lessons are more spontaneous: showing our love for one another, placing Catholic children’s books on our shelves and singing “Jesus Loves Me.”

Sometimes I feel like our efforts hit the mark, and other times they seem to go right in one ear and out the other. One morning I was very frustrated with my 5-year-old. As we were prepping to leave for school, she absconded with my phone and hid it, making all of us late for school and work.

The drive to school was filled with lectures about stealing. At one point I said, “What’s it going to take to make you stop doing things like this?” To which her 8-year-old sister quickly responded, “She needs Saint Augustine because he’s the patron saint of bad decisions.” The laughter that ensued broke the tension and welcomed God and the saints into the conversation.

So perhaps not all of our efforts are in vain! As we discussed the launch of the The Catholic Telegraph magazine and what its content would look like, time and again we were drawn to providing resources to support the domestic church – the Church as it’s lived and shared at home, which then radiates out into our parishes, schools and the greater community. I knew, after our inaugural issue, that I wanted to explore this idea in a more focused way.

Although it’s tempting to think of the domestic church as just young families with children, the definition is much broader than that, encompassing singles to seniors, young families to empty nesters and everything in between. Our feature story this month was written with that idea in mind, and offers practical faith resources for domestic churches of all shapes, ages and sizes.

In the July issue, you’ll also find practical advice for setting up a personalized sacred space in your home; passing on an important legacy, and read about a variety of inspiring local Catholic families, new, young and old.

I hope the July issue inspires you to nurture your own domestic church, grow in your faith and share the love of Christ in your community.