Americans Want More Kids, and That’s a Great Thing – Part 2

In Part 1, we learned that while Americans report wanting larger families, societal and economic factors prevent them from achieving their ideal family size. Catholics are known for being pro-family, whether large or small. What does the Church actually say about families, and what can Catholics of all family sizes do to promote the goodness of family life? 

What does the Church say about families?

The Church is resoundingly clear on this question: families, and especially children, are good! Not just because they’re cute and loveable, but because all human life is inherently good by its very existence. The reason why Catholics are pro-life is because we believe that every life is a gift from God, created especially by Him, with a purpose in mind. Every life has meaning, dignity, and value. 

Families are also where holiness happens: where we learn to love others, where we are formed in our character and values, where we learn our own identity – the identity, for better or worse, that will remain with us for the rest of our lives.

Creating a family is essentially an act of co-creation with God. It is the ultimate “yes” to His will. As Pope St. John Paul II famously said, “As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live.”

What can Catholics do to promote the beauty of family?

Because of our view of families and marriage, Catholics have an opportunity to evangelize the beauty of family through our lives, especially to those longing for a family of their own, of any size.

So, what can we do? First: work on our own family. We are all aware of the dysfunction that exists in our society. With the prevalence of divorce, fatherlessness, and single-parent homes, many people don’t even see “family” as a good thing or a safe place. Catholics with large or small families now have the opportunity to work so that their own family is a sign of goodness to others.

Similarly, work on our marriage. Make time for our spouse, attend marriage retreats, and treat our marriage as the lifelong, permanent commitment that it is. Strong marriages are the best and safest place for children to come into the world. We may also find it helpful to connect with long-married couples within our parish to act as friends and mentors on the marriage journey.

Also, take our family out in public and involve them in our life outside the home, especially at church. If we hear a child crying in the pews, good! That child has every right to be in church. We may also hear someone with an intellectual disability making unusual sounds – good! They belong to a family, and they, too, are a part of the human family and have every right to be in public.

Lastly, involve the saints. If you want to see stronger families and more kids, pray to saints who have a familial association, like St. Augustine and his mother St. Monica or husband and wife Zelie and Louis Martin, parents of St. Therese. These families are truly holy and have something to teach us. Can you think of other “familial” saints?

Moving forward

The bottom line is that any efforts to limit the size of families, especially through politically mandated policies, are anti-human and should not be accepted. Perhaps the American public is waking up to what they know in their hearts to be true, because God placed it there: life is good. A sign of hope is that more Americans want larger families,  something for which we can thank God. Let’s hope that by our prayer and action, we can turn from fear to love and help facilitate a world where it is possible to have large families.