St. Francis of Assisi is famous for having said “Preach the Gospel always and if necessary use words.”  Mother Teresa said “Do small things with great love.”  I created this page of my website with those to sayings in mind so that I can pass on some of the “best practices” of some of the holiest people I know.  None of these things will be earth shattering but if done with love will change not only you but the world.

Best Faith Practices For Individuals & Families

Couples Prayer:
“The couple who pray together stay together.” My first pastor Fr. Rosy taught me this simple prayer routine so that I could teach it to engaged couples who were coming to me for marriage preparation.
1)         Begin with the Sign of the Cross.
2)         The guy then starts by thanking God out loud for one trait that he appreciates in his partner (girlfriend/fiancé/wife). He then asks God for the grace to change one thing in him so that he can become a better partner.
3)         Then the girl follows by thanking God out loud for one trait that she appreciates in her partner (boyfriend/fiancé/husband) and then she asks God for the grace to change one thing in her so that she can become a better partner. 
*)         It works best if the guy goes first so that he is overwhelmed by the quality of the girl’s words because girls are normally better at expressing themselves.
-)         It is also important to lay down the ground rule that you can not use what is said during this prayer time against one another in a future argument. 

Quality Time Password
This idea was given to me from someone in a big family.  In his family his dad gave each child a password and when the child needed some quality time with his father he could go up and say the password and the dad knew that the child had something serious to talk about that he did not want his brothers and sisters to know about.  It was understood between the kids and their father that this was a special thing that should not be abused by using it frivolously.

Dinner Conversation
I had dinner with a family, and they shared with me their custom of having dinner together and answering the following questions.
1.         What was the best part of their day?
2.         What was the worst part of their day?
3.         What was the one thing that they wanted to thank God for today?
It was really neat to see each member of the family answer these questions.  I think that this exercise allows them to have a deeper insight into each other and strengthens their family bond. 

Attend A Retreat
One of the greatest gifts that you can give your self or another person is the opportunity to attend a retreat.  I find that some of the must faith filled people I meet have the annual tradition of attending at least one retreat a year.  I also think that this is a great gift that one spouse can give another. 

God Parents Party
One family, I know has a party/dinner in which they invite their children’s godparents over.  They have been doing this so long that they are now inviting their grandchildren’s godparents over to the same party.  They use the Feast of the Holy Family (which is the Sunday between Christmas and New Year) as the time for the party.  I think anytime can be a good time for this type of gathering.  I would suggest the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord or the Feast of the Presentation (February 2nd) as other good dates.