I am a heartbroken father of a 30 year old daughter who has left the Faith. Not only that, she has entered into an objectively sinful romantic relationship with a divorced Catholic man who she was seeing while he was still married. He has been married twice before and has a small child from his  second marriage. My daughter is being very hurtful to my wife & I because we won't accept this relationship. It is particularly difficult because both friends & family tell us we're crazy & making a mistake - that we're going to lose our daughter by not accepting this. We have her immortal soul in mind, not her temporal happiness, but it is hard when a child you love rejects you and you have no moral support from those around you (we don't live in a Traditional Catholic circle). I was hoping there might be parents out there who can offer advice or perhaps consolation. Are we doing the right thing? We are trying to remain faithful to Christ & His Church. Can anyone out there offer a word of encouragement to us? Thank you.

I am a heartbroken father of a 30 year old daughter who has left the Faith. Not only that, she has entered into an objectively sinful romantic relationship with a divorced Catholic man who she was seeing while he was still married. He has been married twice before and has a small child from his  second marriage. My daughter is being very hurtful to my wife & I because we won't accept this relationship. It is particularly difficult because both friends & family tell us we're crazy & making a mistake - that we're going to lose our daughter by not accepting this. We have her immortal soul in mind, not her temporal happiness, but it is hard when a child you love rejects you and you have no moral support from those around you (we don't live in a Traditional Catholic circle). I was hoping there might be parents out there who can offer advice or perhaps consolation. Are we doing the right thing? We are trying to remain faithful to Christ & His Church. Can anyone out there offer a word of encouragement to us? Thank you.

You are ABSOLUTELY doing the right thing!  If you supported your daughter's relationship, you would be contributing and supporting her in sin, and you would be held partially responsible for it.  Standing up against one's family is not easy, but sometimes it is necessary.  None of my family members are traditional Catholics, and some of them have bad marriage situations, or have had illegitimate children.  So, I do understand the pain and grief...

I try to support them my family's physical and emotional needs, but when it comes to going with them to some of their services, I just have to skip out...

Even the children of the best of parents will sometimes go astray for awhile.  Look at Saint Monica and Saint Augustine for example...

I think that it is important thing to understand that they will always remember your stance.  Be there for her on other matters so that she will know that you only stand up against her for a good reason.  It may take some time to win her back to God, but pray and do penance, and God-willing she will return to God in due time.

Your family shall be in my prayers...

Keep fighting and may God bless you!

Rita

When I read this post, It sounded just like our daughter age 34.  We stood by the laws of God.  It was difficult.  She begged us to accept this man she was living with. His parents accept me, she would say.  I, mom, was the one who would speak to her.  I answered, we do not accept living together in sin.  They are wrong to accept.  This man is not available to you.  Also, IF he decides to go back to his wife, or her to him, you daughter are in the way.  God believes in forgiveness of sin.  

It happened.  His dad died and left him money and he left our daughter and took all he could.  What is more sad, our daughter has a daughter from a previous man, and she is age 12.  We, the grandparents were able to baptize her with their permission.

Now our daughter is in agony.  She asked for a little help. She needed a loan towards her car and we signed($6,000) with her keeping the loan paid.  She is 2 classes away from RN.  We asked her to keep a promise, to come to Mass at least twice a month and say 3 Hail Mary's every day.  She turned her back against God at age 18 with drugs.  Then she got out of that.  A blessing and yet she continued like Mary Magdalene which is the name she took at Confirmation.

So far so good.  We continue to pray and she is showing some growing up.  

Yes, we parents have many tears like St. Monica.  You must stay strong to God's Laws.  Never back down.  God Bless you!

When I read this post, It sounded just like our daughter age 34.  We stood by the laws of God.  It was difficult.  She begged us to accept this man she was living with. His parents accept me, she would say.  I, mom, was the one who would speak to her.  I answered, we do not accept living together in sin.  They are wrong to accept.  This man is not available to you.  Also, IF he decides to go back to his wife, or her to him, you daughter are in the way.  God believes in forgiveness of sin.  

It happened.  His dad died and left him money and he left our daughter and took all he could.  What is more sad, our daughter has a daughter from a previous man, and she is age 12.  We, the grandparents were able to baptize her with their permission.

Now our daughter is in agony.  She asked for a little help. She needed a loan towards her car and we signed($6,000) with her keeping the loan paid.  She is 2 classes away from RN.  We asked her to keep a promise, to come to Mass at least twice a month and say 3 Hail Mary's every day.  She turned her back against God at age 18 with drugs.  Then she got out of that.  A blessing and yet she continued like Mary Magdalene which is the name she took at Confirmation.

So far so good.  We continue to pray and she is showing some growing up.  

Yes, we parents have many tears like St. Monica.  You must stay strong to God's Laws.  Never back down.  God Bless you!

So sad, but I am sure that your prayers and penance helped bring her back to you...

Prayer can work miracles!  :-)

I think you are doing the right thing. I would recommend playing fervently to St. Monica in this case. As you probably know, after many prayers and tears, she ultimately had the joy of seeing wayward Augustine convert to Christianity. There were seventeen years of resistance, but her deep Faith helped bring her son to the Lord; so keep praying for your daughter to come to the faith and do not lose hope!

I found the book, "The Glories of Mary" to be very helpful and consoling when it comes to sinners who are on the verge of hell and Our Lady sees that they are saved.

The paper back is about 700 pages.  Don't let that overwhelm you.  The chapters are not so long, but at the end of each chapter is a true story that is titled "example".  Just read those and it will have you awe struck!

This how Thanksgiving went.  My parents went over my sister's house with her live in boyfriend and his parents. The boyfriend isn't supposed to be living there.  My sister has two daughters with her ex husband.  My husband and I weren't invited to Thanksgiving dinner.  I'm their flesh and blood.  
Yes. It hurts real bad.
 My husband's parents are dead.  ( I miss my Mother in law)

Viva:  My mother, widow, married a divorced man in front of a minister in my aunt's home in 1987.  By the time 1996 came, we were in the traditional and I said, "Oh my, my mother is excommunicated. She asked a catholic (new order priest how to marry this divorced protestant man)  The arrangement was rigid and my brother made it a double ring, both excommunicated.

But I was excommunicated from my family for not accepting and putting my differences to the side.  

My mom and dad raised us catholics in a catholic school and this is the result of Bolshevik communism; families destroyed.

We pray, and pray as Our Lady begs us to do.  God knows the Sorrows of Our Lady.