In studying the home of Jesus, Mary and Joseph at Nazareth, our founder, Steve Bollman, developed the 7 Steps as practical ways to walk the path of the Holy Family in the modern world. They are foundational to everything we teach at Paradisus Dei. Whether you aim to grow in virtue and holiness as a father and husband, as a wife and mother, or as a couple and family, our prayer is that through the 7 Steps you can create an environment where it is hard to be bad, easy to be good, and discover the superabundance of God in your home.
7 Steps to Superabundance
STEP 1
Honor Your Wedding Vows
The first step calls spouses to joyfully embrace a fidelity worthy of a union so profound it goes beyond sexual exclusivity all the way to a willingness to offer your life for the beloved.
STEP 2
Use Money for Other People
The second step challenges individuals and families to see their financial resources as a tool entrusted to them for the good of others and experience the joy of using those resources for the benefit of others.
STEP 3
Give God Some of Your Time
The third step challenges individuals and families to give ample time to God and provides a roadmap to building a rigorous, authentic prayer life. Practices like attending church weekly can actually change behaviors and prevent divorce.
STEP 4
Set Your Mind on the Things Above
The fourth step challenges individuals and families to reach beyond the ordinary in search of the extraordinary. It opens the mind to the supernatural hidden just beyond the natural, to an encounter with God.
STEP 5
Find God in Yourself
Mary found Christ dwelling in her womb. The fifth step calls us to find Christ dwelling within us and challenges individuals and families to become ever more Eucharistically centered. It provides a pathway for the individual to extend this Eucharistic moment to a life of ongoing intimacy with Christ.
STEP 6
Find God in Other People
Joseph found Christ dwelling in Mary. The sixth step challenges us to find God in and through other people in a unique way and calls spouses especially to realize how profoundly God dwells in their marriage, their children, and their home.
STEP 7
Make It Easy To Be Good and Hard To Be Bad
The seventh step challenges individuals and couples to practice a mercy so profound that it actually envelops the soul to help prevent it from falling. It is precisely this superabundant mercy that will lead us through the Third Millennium.
