Who is a "domestic priest"? According to Scripture, tradition, and the Catholic Church, the Christian family is "the domestic church." Fathers represent God to their children. A father exercises spiritual authority over his household as a model of prayer, by praying with his wife, by blessing his children, by teaching them to pray, and by leading his family in prayer, especially prayer with the whole Church during the liturgical year. As Pope St. John Paul II said, "the history of mankind, the history of salvation, passes by way of the family." This handbook is a compilation of essential prayers for husbands and fathers to carry out their mission of building up the kingdom of God, starting in the little kingdom of the family, the domestic church.
