We can find God in the city; I am convinced we can. But we need to find how to use time and space creatively.

One particular image from St Catherine of Siena is particularly helpful. St Catherine talks about how we have an interior “cell” within us and it is from this centre that we know who we are and who God is. So centering prayer is one good way.

First of all, create some sort of space in your life, early in the morning or late at night. It might even be when you are taking the bus to work, getting to work a little early, or taking time out during our lunch hour to go out into a park to sit. Secondly, you need to really get your attention back to scripture. I highly recommend a little book called the Magnificat. That book is very easy for people to carry around. It has a short morning and evening prayer, as well as the readings of the day, following the liturgical year.

I hope I am not giving the impression that you shouldn’t read the newspaper or surf the Internet. But you really need to have the Gospel in one hand and the newspaper or the Internet on the other. I think a little discipline is needed over how much news to listen to: quality news, and not (the same news) over and over again.

So I guess the family can examine at the end of the day whether they have succeeded in doing that.

Yes and I think paying attention to the liturgical seasons is very important. Take for example advent. Is it really getting ready for the coming of the Lord, or are we already celebrating Christmas parties at the beginning of Advent? Advent is a penitential season; the priest wears purple, so it is a time for longing and waiting, and saying how I am to celebrate with my family during this period of waiting. Lent, likewise, is a time for prayer, fasting, almsgiving and reflection. For example, will it be possible for families to turn off the television?

I think the future of Christianity really depends on how serious we are about our discipleship and how we celebrate Sundays. Not only with the Eucharist, but also how we spend the whole day. Sunday is a day of gathering for the Church. It is also a day for families to reflect if they could reach out to people who are on their own such as widows, the sick, someone who is single, and inviting them for a meal, so the Christian community is really strong on Sunday, it really gathers people together.

However, many are worried if Christian values are practical in the real world. There exists a fear among some Catholic families that it is not practical to teach Christian values to their children. They see a dichotomy between Christian values and survival skills in the so-called “real world”.

I think we have to first ask ourselves what is really important. Mother Teresa once said for Christians it is not important to be successful but to be faithful.

I think our society pushes us to be very successful. Maybe we have to let go of certain expectations we have on ourselves and on our children and realise the important thing is to be faithful. I don’t want to say the two are mutually exclusive but I think ultimately what is important is to be faithful to Gospel values.

I remember reading an article of a married man who was a very successful attorney. And he realised if he wanted to climb the ladder and become a full partner in the firm, he was to grossly neglect his family, work seven days a week and leave home early and come home late. He realised he did not want to do that. So he decided to stay at a certain level and not become a full partner. Now that is bitter medicine, and people would say he is crazy to do that. But at a certain point, he recognised his call to marriage and family life.