The role of being a Father is a tall calling that all men have to step into. It is easy to fall into the motions and to be unintentional as a Father. Here is a checklist of 7 keys to being a great father and husband. Keeping these in mind will help your family prosper.

The way a Father interacts with their child is different than a Mother. Both are good, but the way of the Father can be hard because it often involves discipline. We need to renew the way we parent to have a heart of love amidst hard punishments and conversations with our children.

We must first know something before we can love it. In order for our children to love us and God better they must first know who we are as their fathers. To love and be loved by a father helps a child to reach their full potential.

A rite of passage is necessary for boys to become men. They often need to be public and striking like an African tribe sending a boy out to kill a lion. It is cultural and needs a decision compared to the physical and natural rites of passages of women.

The central question in discernment is: How shall I die with Christ, to rise with him? How will I lose my life to find it? What will bring me to the point where I can say, with St. Paul: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me”?

Many of us are born into the mess called generational sin: The reality of a family or fatherly wound that often leads into sin for many generations. There are choices we can take to sever our relationship with these sins in our families.

Too many fathers have adopted the same approach with their families, “planting the garden” but ignoring the ongoing and focused work so desperately needed in their home. Stewarding the growth of children is a father's obligation.

With modern education, children are in a world centered on accomplishment rather than eternity. Fathers play a particular role in their children's spiritual upbringing.