Father Knows Best—Episode 40: The Significance of the Sign of the Cross with Holy Water; Keeping Children Raised Catholic to Remain Catholic; and the Consecration of Russia

Wednesday October 14, 9:00 pm on Siouxland Catholic Radio 88.1 FM 

Episode #40 of Father Knows Best sponsored by St. Augustine Indian Mission in Winnebago, NE features Father Mark Stoll addressing questions about the significance of the Sign of the Cross with Holy Water, keeping children raised Catholic to remain Catholic, and the consecration of Russia. 

Tune in tonight so we may discover, learn, and engage our hearts, souls and minds so we may be illuminated, informed and inspired. Please send your questions to fatherknowsbestshow@yahoo.com.

Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:00

I have questions. I don't understand. I'm confused. What's going on? What does the church really teach? Welcome to Father No's Bush. Studios of 8821 FM, KFA C Pankasu City, and K-O-I-A. Storm Lake. Brought to you by the St. Augustine Indian Mission, Winnebago. We all have questions and the curious about manners of faith as it is normal for humanity to ask questions and seek answers in the quest for understanding regarding manners of faith in the church. The opportunity to learn and to connect. And I say the only dumb question is the one that is not asked. And the reality is that the questions you have are the questions others have, and so it is good to ask. Sometimes an answer leads to more questions. Sometimes the questions and answers will lead us to insights we never considered. We at Soulan Catholic Radio want to invite our listeners from Jackson, Nebraska to Helky Point, South Dakota, to Stromick, Iowa, and everywhere in between and beyond, send your questions to us at Father Knows Best Show at Yahoo.com. Or mail them to Father Knows Best, Sioux Lan Catholic Radio, 701 West Fifth Street, Sioux City, Iowa, 51103. During this time, once a week, I or another guest will do our best to answer some of the questions I received here at the studio so we may discover, learn, and engage our hearts and souls and minds, so we may be illuminated, informed, and inspired. So I thank you for tuning in. We invite you to open your mind, let the questions begin, and let your curiosity find its voice. And I think we have some interesting questions this evening. And again, thank you for Anne for being here at the control board to make sure we get on the air. And so, Tim, let's dive in. And what is our first question?

SPEAKER_01 2:12

The first question, I think actually the first two are again coming from me. Uh-oh. Folks, you need to be out there sending your questions in because I don't want to be reading my questions all year long.

SPEAKER_00 2:22

I think they're reading your mind, Tim. They have the same questions.

SPEAKER_01 2:26

Describe the significance of the sign of the cross with holy water as we enter a church building.

SPEAKER_00 2:33

Very good. That is a wonderful question. Again, I think it's one of these things that we overlook of what we're actually doing when we just dip our fingers in that holy water, what's happening there. Whenever we enter the Catholic Church building, one of the first sacred items that we ought to look for is the baptismal font. Or it might be just a small container of water near the entrance to the door by the door of the church when we entered. There, of course, we're going to find holy water. And again, that's water that has been blessed by the priest. And I did address in episode three again, remember, holy water is a sacramento. What does holy water remind us of? Reminds us of baptism. And it's of course also used to bless various items such as homes, rosaries, other sacramentals, even including bless ourselves. When we find this container of holy water, we are again to dip our finger in, tip our finger into that's the right hand, into the holy water, and then make the sign of the cross. In doing so, we are actually reminding ourselves of our own baptism, which probably took many um year took place many years ago. We're also reminding ourselves of those baptismal promises that we believe in God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We're also reminding ourselves of the commitment we have to Christ. We're reminding ourselves that we are a child of God. Again, it's very common that we do this, and we can even do this again without thinking too much about it, just kind of ignoring, just kind of do it, you know, habit by habit. But yet, again, it's hope that we consciously are doing this when we when we make the sign of the cross with the holy water at the font. So this is a wonderful question because, again, it reminds us of the significance of the sign of the cross, reminds us of our own baptism and our commitment to Christ when we enter the Catholic Church and for Mass or whatever we might be doing for adoration or whenever we visit. So that's a very simple question, very simple answer. Wonderful. Wonderful question. I'm just we're just gonna remind you again, if you're just tuning in, you know, listen to Father Knows Best here on School and Catholic Radio is answering questions about faith in the Catholic Church. I'm Father Mark Stold joined by Tim Sadine, and he is presenting another question from you, or actually from him. And so, what's your question, Tim? Oh, Father, this is a big one.

SPEAKER_01 4:39

Yes, it is. I cannot tell you how many families have brought this up to my attention. The the problems that the the current age parents have with their children and staying in the faith. A recent study shows only 15% of the children who were raised Catholic today are practicing as adults. How do we alter that percentage? What do you feel are some of the practices in the Catholic households that need to be changed to alter this?

SPEAKER_00 5:10

Thank you for that question. And again, this question arises. I know, Tim, I posted this information on my Facebook page. Again, it comes from a June 23rd, 2026 EW10 news article that was reported from News Nightly reported this new study that had revealed only 50% of children raised Catholic and households again remain as practice of Catholics. And so this study that was reported, again, is actually was a study, it was entitled The Future Faithful Families Project. It was actually done in November 2023. It was researched by the Center of Applied Research in the Apostolic and also by the Peyton Institute for Domestic Church Life. What that group did is surveyed families to find out which practices contributed to the successfully raising and passing on the faith to younger generations. Dr. Gregory Popchuk, who is a host of EDWTN's Board of Life, co-authored the study. And again, on that episode, and I'm going to post the link to this article, this newscast from June 23, 2026. Again, on that episode of that news art newscast, Dr. Gregory Popchuk discussed this research had begun in 2019 with symposium on Catholic family life and spirituality at Notre Dame. And then it included a gathering at that time of over 50 theologians, social scientists, pastor of ministry professionals, and they were looking at how the Catholic family life could be renewed. And so the key findings of the study included this identification of certain habits that enabled families to pass on the faith. And to do this study, they interviewed parents and their adult children, of families that had successfully raised all their children to faithful adulthood to see what was done to attribute to their success. And for these families, again, there was some really mark, they had a really remarkable ability to raise all their kids to be still practicing today. So, because again, an average of at least 90% of children raised in Catholic households will leave eventually some point the practice of the faith. And so just to put this number in perspective. Again, the odds are kind of against the families. Correct. So two factors in this loss of children away from the Catholic faith that they determined was including that among those not living with parents at age 16, there was a higher percentage or proportion of those who left the faith as they were experiencing a separation or divorce among their parents compared to those who grew up and remained Catholic and were attending Mass Weekly. Also, we they found that those raised Catholic who remained Catholic and attend Mass Weekly are more likely than others to be raised Catholic who how how do they say that? Um they did not have a working mother when they grew up. So again, uh nuance a little bit about this. Among those who leave Catholic Thousand, 74% had a working mother, 69% of those who remained Catholic but were not weekly mass attenders had a working mother, and 58% of those who remained Catholic and are weekly attenders had a working mother. So again, there was some there was just two counterfactors: divorce and was mom working or not outside the home. So again, the other factors included birthplaces, number of children, family, uh reading habits, background of parents, mass attendance, and the like. So there's again, I'm gonna also include a link to the study so you can dive in and look at all the numbers. So the recommendations, and this is kind of what the heart of your question is: how do we alter this? Yep. From this study, they recommend some of the following kids need to experience the faith as a source of warmth in the home. The kids need to have this realization that family time is a priority in the family, and again, to avoid some extracurricular activities that would crowd out family rituals. Again, what was needed was what we looked at, they see generous, healthy affection that shows an open and loving interaction between parents and children. There was also a gentle discipline that focuses on teaching virtue and good behavior rather than punishment. There's also we see strong family rituals that included daily work, play, talk, and prayer, which includes, of course, the rosary. There was the teaching manners and the kindness both inside and outside the home. There was an open communication that allowed children to discuss personal and faith struggles without fear of judgment. There's also included service and charity that encourages regular discussing and practicing care of others from politeness to family service projects. Again, families going to mass weekly. There was an aspect of families praying together, again, including through times of tr of struggle, again, talking about what they prayed together, and again, even seeing how God was moving in their lives. There was also a factor of seeing that parents who sent their kids to Catholic schools, or at least to youth ministry, had a higher percentage of remaining. We also see in that study families who were able to see their faith as a resource in good times and in bad, especially, you know, right now, especially there's so much happening in our world today from social pressures and cultural trends and digital challenges. Again, to see the faith as a resource. And it all really boiled down to how faith was lived in the home as being one of the most important predictors of whether those children remain faithful adults. Now, that study went on to offer some recommendations, especially the church leaders, and those recommendations included that there needs to be an investment in family spirituality that is allocating more resources to help families live the faith in ways that strengthen relationships. They recommend supporting family-centered ministries that encourage programs, foster family prayer, shared rituals, and mutual care. So, in short, again, how do we raise the percentage of practicing adult Catholics from 15%? You know, what do we need to do in Catholic households to increase the number of practicing adult Catholics? In looking at the study, I agree with what the future Faithful Family Project shows, that faithful adult Catholics are more likely to have grown up in homes where the faith is a lived source of love, connection, shared purpose. Again, we know that none of these families in the report in the report shows this, you know, none of the families were perfect, but yet the kids there were experiencing faith as a source of warmth in the home. And again, that faith was making a difference in the lives of the parents, in the lives of the parents' marriage, and in the qualities of their relationships there in the home. Again, after the show, I'm going to post a link to the study, a link to the EWTN interview with Dr. Greg Propchuk, and uh hopefully, again, if you get a chance to check that out and see what that report was saying. So I hope that answers your question.

SPEAKER_01 12:25

Father, this is such a critical issue. It is. And I think it breaks down to even something as simple as a prayer before meals. Exactly. I think it breaks if you can get in that routine and people get in the routine of practicing faith actions. I really think that would make a difference.

SPEAKER_00 12:40

Right, and that's how it's family rituals against seeing this live to faith. Yep. Let's go forth to try a third one.

SPEAKER_01 12:47

We're done with me, and we're gonna move on to Don. Okay, what does Don have to ask? Our Lady of Fatima in 1917 asked the Holy Father to consecrate Russia to her Immaculate Heart. Was this consecration ever specifically done?

SPEAKER_00 13:03

Thank you for that question. Uh just a reminder, again, a little history, between May 13th and October 13th, 1917, that's basically over 100 years, almost 100 years ago, or more, more than 100 years ago. Uh almost 110 years ago. 110 years ago, yeah. Uh the Blessed Virgin Mary, who's also known as our Lady Fatima, appeared six times to three young shepherd children at Fatima in Portugal. Appeared to Lucy, who was age 10, Francisco, who was age nine, and Giacenta, who was age seven at the time, against a little village in Fatima, uh little village in Panama, Portugal, excuse me, that had remained faithful to the Catholic Church during the recent persecutions by that by the government of Portugal. And that city, little village of Fatima, is about 90 miles north of Lisbon, Portugal. So we may recall in 1917 what was happening. The first world war had begun, be fought again across Europe. Uh there was no signs of concluding peacefully. And and shortly before the first appearance of Our Lady of Fatima to the three children, on May 5th, 2017, or 1917, uh Pope Benedict XV turned in a petition or basically prayed to the Blessed Virgin Mary for help. And it's also interesting, on May 13th, the day of the first appearance, uh a priest would become, who would later become Pope Pius XII in 1939, that priest was consecrated an archbishop. So come that a little bit later. But so Pope Pius XII later on did do so many things to promote the devotion to Our Lady of Fatima. So this is one of those Marian apparitions in the Catholic Church that has been endorsed. In fact, it's been endorsed basically since 1930. And one of the proofs that led to this confirmation of this apparition is again this message, you know, that was presented to these three children by Mary, was that marvelous miracle that was worked in the skies above Fatima before 70,000 witnesses on October 13th, 1917, which is known as the miracle of the sun. And this, of course, occurred at a at the time, the date, and the place that Lucy and the other two children had said that this event would take place following what our lady Fatima had told them. It also was prophesied and came true that Francisco and Giacenta would die very soon after the apparitions of 1917. Francisco died in 1919, Jacinta died in 1920, and again Lucy would remain in this world for many years as a Carmelite nun who continued to share the message of our Lady of Fatima. So since 1917, five successive popes have publicly indicated their approval of the apparitions of our lady of Fatima and her message. Two of the popes actually made a pilgrimage to Fatima. Pope Paul VI visited on May 13, 1967, on the 50th anniversary, and Pope John Paul II visited three times. May 13, 1982, May 13, 1991, and May 13, 2000. And when he visited in 2000, he beatified the two deceased sears, the Zercenta and Francisco, and he also made the feast of Our Lady Fatima universal, ordering it to be included in the Roman Missal. So Our Lady Fatima promised through her sixth appearance in 1917 that the world, whole world be at peace, and that many souls would go to heaven if her requests were listened to and obeyed. And one of the messages and one of the promises made by our Lady of Fatima is that God had chosen to use Russia as the instrument of chastisement to punish the whole world, if we did not, by our prayers and sacrifices and obedience to her request, obtain the conversion of Russia to the Catholic faith. She promised, our Lady Fatima promised that if my requests are granted to Russia, if my requests are granted, Russia will be converted and there will be peace. And she warned us, if my requests are not granted, Russia will spread her heirs throughout the world, raising up wars and persecutions against the Church, the good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, and various nations will be annihilated. In addition, the whole world will be enslaved by the uh atheistic tyrants of Russia, and there would be a war even worse than World War I if her requests were not fulfilled. Now, in her promises, she says, in order to prevent these chastisements, she said there's supposed to be special reparation for sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and in order to do that, those reparations include receiving Holy Communion for reparation on the first Saturday of the month for five consecutive months. And also she wanted the public and solemn consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary by all the Catholic bishops of the world, together with the Pope on the same day at the same hour. And so in short, our Lady Fatima asked that the Pope and all bishops together on the same day, same hour, pray, I consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Amen. And do that, Russia would be converted. And finally she promised that an eventual triumph of the Immaculate Heart over evil would take place, even though no matter how black it we get in the future, she she said, you know, what seems to be the path chosen by many humanity today, in the end she will triumph, her request will finally be granted, and that there would be world peace. Now, since 1917, there have been at least seven attempts to consecrate Russia to the Macheart of Mary. However, again, none of these uh attempts were actually made according to Mary's instructions. So the first one is October 1942, in response to a message given to her to him by St. Lucia, or sister Lucia at that time in 1940, Pope Pius XII, again, remember he was the one consecrated Archbishop back in May 13th, 1917. He consecrated the world to Maggalhart of Mary. Did make a special mention of Russia, but he consecrated the world to uh Magalhard of Mary. In early 1943, Sister Lucia explained that the Lord told her that he would accept his act of consecration to help the speed of the end of the World War II, but it would not obtain worldwide peace. As predicted, the act obtained the end of the war, but did not usher in a reign of peace that our lady promised, and thus the consecration specifically of Russia was not done, and plus the world's bishop had not participated in that event. On July 7, 1952, Pope Pius XII, again, in response to petitions from Roe from Russian Catholics, consecrated Russia and her people to the Macbeth Heart of Mary. However, unfortunately, the Pope did this consecration in a private ceremony without inviting the world's bishops to join him as the lady had requested. In 1964, during the Second Vatican Council, at the solemn closing ceremonies of the end of the third session, before all the Catholic bishops of the world, Pope Paul VI renewed Pius XII's consecration of the world to the Magdalene Mary. On June 7th, 1981, Pope John Paul II visited or made an act of consecration. And on May 13, 1982, Pope John Paul II did another one. And again, this was based on an announcement he made for the holy year to do this. And so at a special ceremony of prayer and penance, again he asked that the bishops of the entire world in the respective cathedrals on the same day, or on a day which will follow immediately, in order to inaugurate this solemn jubilee year, the entire episcopal of the five continents, with their clergy and the faithful, in order to manifest a spiritual union of the successor of Pope of St. Peter, of course, was to offer this prayer. So thus, on May 25th, 1984, Pope John Paul II once again consecrated the human race and Russia to the Machear of Mary to confirm his act of consecration, which was pronounced in 1982. So again, back in 81-82, he had made these consecrations of the world, of all human humanity. And it was announced at that time that by the Vatican, the consecration of Russia to the Macart of Mary, as the Lady has requested, was made by the Holy Father, meaning with all the bishops of the world, was finally accomplished on March 25th, 1904, before the Statue of Our Lady that was transported for the occasion from Fatima to Rome, and knew with the Holy Father, at his express request. The bishops of the world accompanied him in this. Act of such significance. Then the last attempt was in early 2022. Pope Francis asked all the bishops on the world to join him on March 25th, 2022, to pray an act of consecration to the Magdalene Heart of Mary, and the text included these words. So these are the seven temps. In each of those, was Russia specifically consecrated, solely consecrated, as you know, only consecrated. As we recall, if you go back to a lady Fatima's specific request of the children in 1917, again, this is repeated several times by Sister Lucia until her death back um back in February of 2005 at age 97. She pointed out Russia must clearly be indicated as the object of consecration. Each bishop must make this public and ceremony in his own cathedral. And the words are I consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Amen. And again, in each of these incidents, we say, Was Russia only mentioned? And the answer is no, because in each of those seven attempts, there was either like the world or all peoples or Russia and Ukraine and the entire church. And so the answer is no. Because if we study each of these attempts carefully, we know that, for example, when Pope John Paul II consecrated the world seven times several times, he did not consecrate Russia in the manner requested by Our Lady Fatima. And again, in fact, you know, when Pope John Paul II visited Fatima on May 13, 1982, as a result, Cicero Cia noted that the consecration of Russia had not been affected because Russia was not clearly the object of the consecration, because each bishop was not arranged in a public ceremony, you know, to offer this together. And so she said, quote, the consecration of Russia has not been made, as our lady has demanded. And she went on to explain again that you know we still need to do this. So again, when Pope John Paul II tried this several times, again, he was mentioning the world, you know, other um, you know, like the church or the peoples. And so, in short, the Pope, in order for this to be done, has to command, has to order, has to request every single bishop in union with him to publicly and solemnly consecrate Russia and only Russia by name to the Makar Mary. And again, this these all the bishops can do this in their own respective cathedral on the same established day at the same established hour. And so, until this consecration is done, I believe we'll continue to see the promises of our Lady Fatima fulfilled, which means we're gonna see war, famine, persecution of the church, persecution of the Holy Father. And again, all this has been seen being fulfilled since since the Second World War, and we see millions of people continue to starve. Uh the church is again undergoing uh terrible persecutions around the world, constantly intact in her moral teaching, her doctrines, her members. Uh, even the persecution of the Holy Father, we see uh even those within and outside the church, uh the Holy Father's legitimate commands are often ridiculed, ignored, even by his own clergy and flock. The Pope's even legitimate attempts to govern his Christianly what we call a dissident church, you know, people undermining him, his efforts being thwarted. Yet, as our lady told Sister Lucia, it's never too late to have recourse to Jesus Mary. It's not too late. God still is waiting for the consecration of Russia to be done. He still wants us to work to spread the devotion to her immaculate heart, again, to make that reparation for sins by receiving the Holy Communion on the first Saturdays of the month, and to know that when the consecration is finally performed, persecutions will end, we'll witness a triumph at the back of the heart, and we'll have a period of peace. And so I hope this answers your question.

SPEAKER_01 26:21

There's so many people, at least that I've talked to in the Catholic faith, who relate their faith to the operations of America. Right. That just is so central.

SPEAKER_00 26:32

What they try to do. And I've had many people tell me, Father, the consecration was done. I says, Well, prove it to me because I do not see those promises being fulfilled.

SPEAKER_01 26:41

Yep. As far as peace and what Russia's doing. I don't know that Russia's been in peace for the last hundred years. I can't was there a pot time period they were? I I'm not sure.

SPEAKER_00 26:50

And I'm we're talking world peace, okay. How has it affected us? I mean, I just looked at the invasion of Russia. That's another proof that this consecration has not been done. They were consecrated, Russia would not invade Ukraine. Correct. So there's a lot to this reparition, but you know, this is one of the key points again, the consecration of Russia. So very good. Still praying for that. Yep. So I think that runs out of time for us this evening. It does. So how about Tim next episode? We talk about maybe some questions about the death penalty, uh, maybe differences between a homily or sermon, and then maybe some of the various actions of the priest at Mass. Sounds fantastic. Excellent. So again, Tim and I and Ann, we all appreciate you tuning in to Catholic Radio here to offer both, as we both offer national Catholic, excuse me, national local programs, including Faith in Action, Life Plan, Catholic Ministry Professionals, Divine Mercy Chaplain, and Divine and the Sunday Morning Mass. Please also check out Facebook pages of Sioux Light Catholic Radio and Father Knows Best for more information about this show, more information about the questions and answers I've addressed, and more information that I offer each day. As we wrap up today's question and answer session, we extend our heartfelt thanks to our listeners for tuning in and sharing your thought-provoking questions, your curiosity, engagement, make the show possible. We're always inspired by your incredible range of topics to bring to the table. We hope you found the answers both informative and enlightening, as that you will take some of these new insights with you as you go about your week. If your question was not answered today, you might hear an answer to your question next week or the following. If you missed this episode, would like to relisten this episode or other episodes, please visit the website, suddenly catholic radio.com, and visit the programs drop menu and click on local programs to find this episode and other episodes of Father Knows Best and other local programs. And so if you have any questions, please send your questions to me at Father Knows Best Show at Yahoo.com or mail them to Father Knows Best, Sudan Catholic Radio, 701 Fat West Fifth Street, Sioux City, Iowa, 51103. And thank you to our sponsor, San Augustine Indian Mission, Winnebago. Please join us again next Wednesday at 9 p.m. for another round of questions and answers. Till then, stay curious, stay faithful, keep your light shining, keep those questions coming. For now, I'm Father Mark Stowe, your host, signing off. Wishing a great week ahead. May my God bless you, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.