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When Faith Causes Family Friction: Dr. Ray Tackles the Tough Questions
Do you ever feel like raising kids in the faith is a losing battle? Or maybe your spouse wishes you weren’t quite so religious. Concerns surrounding Christianity and faith can become touchy topics for today’s families.
With equal doses of sound spiritual wisdom and good psychological perspective, Dr. Ray addresses the most common issues, such
• Kids asking, “Why do we have to go to church when Dad doesn’t?”
• A spouse saying, “You’re no fun anymore since you found God.”
• Frustrated parents wondering, “How can we get our toddler to behave during Mass?”
Let Dr. Ray show you the guilt-free way to live your faith and share it peacefully with those you love.
With equal doses of sound spiritual wisdom and good psychological perspective, Dr. Ray addresses the most common issues, such
• Kids asking, “Why do we have to go to church when Dad doesn’t?”
• A spouse saying, “You’re no fun anymore since you found God.”
• Frustrated parents wondering, “How can we get our toddler to behave during Mass?”
Let Dr. Ray show you the guilt-free way to live your faith and share it peacefully with those you love.
162 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 19, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 19, 2018
It is a tall order to answer some of the questions posed in this book without knowing more background information. Quite a few of the questions I found I have asked recently but the answer was generic and not as helpful as one would have hoped. Dr. Ray has some great insights on the radio show. I felt like the format of the book didn’t let him expound in his explanation or give better backing to his claims.
March 9, 2023
I am HUGE fan of this author, more so as a a radio host generally, than an author, but * really enjoyed this book. He writes it more like his radio show style, responding to real (although clearly edited) questions that represent all types of situations and dilemmas in families. His answers are helpful, succinct, light-headed yet deeply useful. Worth the read and covers a lot more topics that I expected it would -from teenage issues to every kind of adult relationship.
February 26, 2018
Common sense and good examples
Dr Ray uses real life conflicts as examples in this handy guide for dealing with family friction and faith. He gives common sense advice that's timeless, and comes from God.
Dr Ray uses real life conflicts as examples in this handy guide for dealing with family friction and faith. He gives common sense advice that's timeless, and comes from God.
November 29, 2019
Some common sense responses, but it felt good to see them coming from an additional source.
October 16, 2020
It is a well written book. The question answer format makes it easy to find information that you are interested in.
July 3, 2025
I find the pieces of advice in this book very helpful and memorable which is basically almost the same. It's just that you have to fit it in your own context and situation. Also, it's helpful to discuss the pieces of advice here with a trusted friend, counsellor, or priest so you can have a clearer picture of the situation that you are having with a particular family member and to see how the particular advice fits with your own situation.
The most memorable and also the most difficult to accept advice here is the one pertaining to building a strong enough relationship with that particular family member before you can really steer him/her to the demands of the faith. Somehow, Dr Gaurendi wrote that that family member can only be open to the demands of the faith when they are first close to us and are open to what the faith teaches. That closeness in relationship is what enables us to share the faith with openness on their part. We live closely with our family members but there are a lot of factors that pull them to different thoughts, practices, and beliefs that are contrary, different or even against the Catholic faith. Establishing a real and loving relationship with them can help our cause to share them the truth of our faith.
However, what is consoling in this kind of book is that it has the lens of faith through which the pieces of advice are given. It reminds us that we are not the ultimate nurturers of faith in our family members' hearts. We are just God's servants doing the best that we can. We are conduits of grace, and of truth if I may add, as Bishop Robert Barron would say.
Lately I have heard of a reflection partaining to the bearing of fruits. This is related to a reflection of the Gospel passage that mentions bearing of fruits. There are several passages in the Gospel that mentions this but what I got from that reflection is that, God is not asking us to "grow" the fruit. We just need to "bear" it. In some mysterious and hidden way, God can effect the growth of the faith in someone with our cooperation and help but it is Him who will ultimately grow that seed of faith in our family members' hearts. This is very consoling for me and gives me motivation to continue praying for my family.
This is recommended for people having difficulty or friction with their family, whether it is your spouse, parents, children or even the friends of your children.
The most memorable and also the most difficult to accept advice here is the one pertaining to building a strong enough relationship with that particular family member before you can really steer him/her to the demands of the faith. Somehow, Dr Gaurendi wrote that that family member can only be open to the demands of the faith when they are first close to us and are open to what the faith teaches. That closeness in relationship is what enables us to share the faith with openness on their part. We live closely with our family members but there are a lot of factors that pull them to different thoughts, practices, and beliefs that are contrary, different or even against the Catholic faith. Establishing a real and loving relationship with them can help our cause to share them the truth of our faith.
However, what is consoling in this kind of book is that it has the lens of faith through which the pieces of advice are given. It reminds us that we are not the ultimate nurturers of faith in our family members' hearts. We are just God's servants doing the best that we can. We are conduits of grace, and of truth if I may add, as Bishop Robert Barron would say.
Lately I have heard of a reflection partaining to the bearing of fruits. This is related to a reflection of the Gospel passage that mentions bearing of fruits. There are several passages in the Gospel that mentions this but what I got from that reflection is that, God is not asking us to "grow" the fruit. We just need to "bear" it. In some mysterious and hidden way, God can effect the growth of the faith in someone with our cooperation and help but it is Him who will ultimately grow that seed of faith in our family members' hearts. This is very consoling for me and gives me motivation to continue praying for my family.
This is recommended for people having difficulty or friction with their family, whether it is your spouse, parents, children or even the friends of your children.
November 18, 2015
This is a helpful, if limited, little book. It is short and very easy to read, and it may contain precisely the wisdom you need in your familial troubles. At the same time, much of it seems very common-sense, especially if you've listened to Dr. Ray's radio show before.
And ultimately, that's what this book is: reading Dr. Ray's radio show, complete with humorous asides and distracted parentheticals. And that can be delightful and helpful and informative, but ultimately, the radio show works better because Dr. Ray is able to address specifics with his callers, whereas we (the listeners) glean that which is generally applicable. In this book, Dr. Ray condenses his comments to only that which is generally applicable, losing much of the helpful specificity.
And much like a radio show, this book lacks a lot of integrated context. In one answer, Dr. Ray will reference earlier answers; that, combined with undecipherable chapter titles, shows we should read this book from beginning to end. But then Dr. Ray will repeat something he wrote two pages earlier--not just reference it, but repeat it word-for-word--and the reader must wonder whether he is reading this book incorrectly. Finally, the book ends without the slightest conclusion; whether or not these writings could be summarized isn't clear, but we can't know, because Dr. Ray doesn't try. Once he runs out of questions, he runs out of pages, and we're done. So if you need a specific question answered, it could be very useful--provided you can figure out which title relates to the question you want to ask.
Now, when I say that this book is "common sense," I must acknowledge that such sense is not at all common--I mean only that I knew much of it beforehand, and it probably does not take Dr. Ray's psychology degrees to figure it out. But many people have questions along these lines, and for all their intellect and wisdom, cannot come up with the answers Dr. Ray provides. And it may be that, in times of struggle and strife, I shall forget these answers and wonder troubling questions to myself, and I shall need this reminder. For that reason alone, I intend to keep this book.
And ultimately, that's what this book is: reading Dr. Ray's radio show, complete with humorous asides and distracted parentheticals. And that can be delightful and helpful and informative, but ultimately, the radio show works better because Dr. Ray is able to address specifics with his callers, whereas we (the listeners) glean that which is generally applicable. In this book, Dr. Ray condenses his comments to only that which is generally applicable, losing much of the helpful specificity.
And much like a radio show, this book lacks a lot of integrated context. In one answer, Dr. Ray will reference earlier answers; that, combined with undecipherable chapter titles, shows we should read this book from beginning to end. But then Dr. Ray will repeat something he wrote two pages earlier--not just reference it, but repeat it word-for-word--and the reader must wonder whether he is reading this book incorrectly. Finally, the book ends without the slightest conclusion; whether or not these writings could be summarized isn't clear, but we can't know, because Dr. Ray doesn't try. Once he runs out of questions, he runs out of pages, and we're done. So if you need a specific question answered, it could be very useful--provided you can figure out which title relates to the question you want to ask.
Now, when I say that this book is "common sense," I must acknowledge that such sense is not at all common--I mean only that I knew much of it beforehand, and it probably does not take Dr. Ray's psychology degrees to figure it out. But many people have questions along these lines, and for all their intellect and wisdom, cannot come up with the answers Dr. Ray provides. And it may be that, in times of struggle and strife, I shall forget these answers and wonder troubling questions to myself, and I shall need this reminder. For that reason alone, I intend to keep this book.
June 9, 2022
listen to understand, mothers make boys and fathers make men, practice virtues and virtues become practice, active listening vs passive, change self to change others, self aware better than self satisfaction, those who hate what they think is the Church and not what the Church is, nothing to fear from falsehoods, what good will it do verses what bad, rules with relationships, first date at 16 with 80% proven good, God's grace and faith.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews