Parents take so much care to bring up the children in good health and to provide them with good education. It is well and good and it is to be appreciated. Nevertheless, they have yet another responsibility to help their children grow in true freedom and in character by providing them with necessary intellectual and moral resources. It is for this reason, God, as our eternal Father, has given us moral laws, imprinted in our conscience.

By assimilating these moral laws internally and personally, the children would be able to grow matured. The true growth of the children depends on how they are able to analyze what is good and choose it for their benefit. The Parents have the primary responsibility, in this task to expose their children to various opportunities, so that the children, as they grow, may be able to grasp and interiorize the moral values behind their choices. In this regard, the parents should see to it that nothing stands in the way of loving and serving God.  

The responsibility of the parents to educate their children in true freedom, is fulfilled in guiding the children on every occasion to distinguish between a true need and a mere whim and to distinguish whether what they choose would contribute towards their personal, intellectual and moral growth. This entails that the parents offer support to their children to respect the limits, that their age would necessitate. Educating the children in true freedom requires offering patient and continuous support and guidance to their children to choose and to do what is good from their own conviction.

God bless you

Fr. Arul Joseph V.