Is it too late for my daughters?

[sirving]

What can I do? I raised my daughters without Mass, without a relationship with God. And on purpose! I did not want done to them what was done to me. That is an entirely different problem. Now they are teenagers. Religion is a joke, literally … they are liberals. I cannot tell them to go to Mass or read the Bible. I might as well tell them to eat worms for dinner. God and religion are repulsive and the concept is a joke to them. No need to admonish me for my sins … I know I failed. What can I do just to plant a healthy seed and get them started?

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

Exactly how old are your daughters? If they are still minors and living in your home, then why be afraid to tell them what to do? That’s a parent’s job. Now, granted, you’re going to have to do so in a manner different from other parents who have raised their children Catholic all their lives. While those parents might get away with an occasional, “Because I say so,” you’re going to have to acknowledge your own culpability in never requiring them to go to Mass or learn religion all of their lives.

If they haven’t yet received the sacraments of initiation, you cannot force them to do so, but you can enroll them in a religious education class to learn the Catholic faith. You can require them to attend Mass with you. You can require them to treat you, your religious beliefs, and the Catholic faith with consideration and charity (i.e., no malicious jokes, no acting repulsed). Explain to them that you made mistakes and that you want to give them some religious education before they are on their own. What they do with that education once they are entirely independent is their own responsibility.