I hear something like this nearly every weekend:

“My children give me an argument every time I tell them to get ready for church.”
 “My teenager refuses to take part in the Confirmation program.”  
 “My daughter in college tells me she is not religious just spiritual.”
 “My adult children will not join us for Mass when we visit, not even at Christmas.”
 “My married son and his wife have not said a word about baptizing their baby.”

    Comments like these are often made by frustrated parents who have tried to pass on their faith to their sons and daughters. They made sure their children received the sacraments, went to Catholic school or enrolled in religious education classes, and learned their prayers and the beliefs of the Church
    
Such parents are confused, disappointed, and saddened when their children drift away from the Church. Those children know their faith. They might even say they agree with the statement that Peter makes about Jesus in this Sunday Gospel (Matthew 16:13-20). "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." They might even accept Jesus' response, "You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church" as a justification for the papacy.
    
But as parents discover, having children who know their faith does not always result in children who live their faith.  
    
Knowing and acting are two different things. Of course, that is the case in other areas of life. For example, we know that proper nutrition, exercise, avoiding stress, and getting enough sleep lead to better health. But knowing those things does not mean we do those things.  
    
We are far more influenced in our lives by the people we know than by the things we learn. Relationships motivate us more than knowledge. That is also true when it comes to faith.

Peter and the other disciples were brought to faith by their encounter with Jesus and their relationship with him. Jesus spent time with people. He allowed people to get to know him and knowing him changed them.  But most importantly he spoke to people about his relationship with his Heavenly Father and the Kingdom of God.  In other words, Jesus spoke about his personal relationship with God, his spiritual life.
    
Peter went from being a fisherman to a disciple not because of the facts he learned but because he had a personal relationship with Jesus. The relationship came first, information came later.

If children are to remain practicing Catholics, if any of us are to remain strong in our faith, we need to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We need to know him as our Savior and Lord and as our brother and friend.
    
Such a personal relationship with Jesus begins and grows in the same way as any other relationship. Personal relationships require an ongoing investment of time and effort.
    
An investment in a relationship with Jesus requires time for conversation. That demands setting aside time each day for prayer. It means speaking with the Lord.  It requires time to listen to his thoughts and ideas. That involves opening ourselves to what Jesus is saying in the Scriptures. It means reading and reflecting on God's Word.
    
It requires setting aside time to share a meal. That means making certain we gather at the Table of the Lord each Sunday. It means "Sunday dinner" with Jesus.
    
It requires time to watch Jesus’ interactions with other people. That demands being part of the Christian community where he touches hearts and changes lives. It means being part of a parish, part of the Church.
    
It requires making the effort to help him. That means assisting the poor, the sick, the suffering in whom Jesus can be found. It means transforming good words into good actions.

And it means bringing people to Jesus.  In the first chapter of St. John’s Gospel, John the Baptist points to Jesus, calling him the Lamb of God, and Andrew and John the Evangelist followed Jesus.  After spending the afternoon with Jesus, Andrew finds his brother Peter, and tells him about his encounter with Jesus, and he brings Peter to Jesus so that he can have his own encounter with him.  The next day, Jesus calls Phillip, who comes and spends the day with Jesus.  He is so moved by his encounter with Jesus, that he shares his experience with his friend Nathanal (Bartholomew), who comes to meet Jesus.
This same method of evangelization still works; talking to people about our own encounter and relationship with Jesus.
    
If family members and friends are drifting away from their Catholic faith, more than likely the cause is not a lack of information, but the lack of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  Today, go home as a family and over a meal share with one another your experiences of prayer, your relationship with Jesus.  Listen to each other’s, encourage each other.  And make a resolution to share your witness, that “Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, to whom there is no where else to go,” with one other person this week, and invite them to come meet Jesus, inviting them to Mass next weekend.

[ With very minor modifications and additions, this homily was from  "Looking To Sunday"  © 2017 Rev. Thomas B. Iwanowski]