I had a thought today about these times we live in, the challenges we face. Since I jumped back into my faith with both feet many years back, I've struggled with raising our children in the faith ...and keeping them there. These are tough times! And though I know every generation of parents makes the same claim, I think its true now.
Our culture rejects God ...plain and simple. No amount or type of mockery is off limits. And yet, those of us who take our faith seriously ...twenty four hours a day ...persevere. It is a battlefield for sure. We take snatches here and there that offer promise, confirmation that we're on the right path. Being a Catholic is demanding ...it does not mimic or fold to the cultural trends, fads, whims. Catholicism is solid and timeless because it is Christ's Church.
Plenty claim to be Catholic and either out of ignorance (due to a lack of teaching the Truth) or a personal, knowing, deliberate rejection of some or all of the treasures of the Church ....are simply not Catholic. Catholics in the truest sense ....the only sense ...don't dabble. This does not claim perfection ...we are all sinners, striving for the ultimate perfection of Heaven.
So while those of us, embracing, accepting and striving to ascend to it all, and trying our best to pass this precious faith on to our kids ...we've got plenty undermining, even undoing what we teach our kids.
I wish for the days when Saturday found the Churches full of people in line for confession ... a time when sin was recognized, something we should take seriously. I wish for the days when every Mass was full and families filled the Church. I long for days when reverence was important and automatic. I long for the days when being a Catholic family didn't attract criticism, ridicule ...when we could call a Catholic organization and they wouldn't whistle when you told them how many kids you have. I long for a simpler time, a time when my kids wouldn't have to face confusions, see their friends skip Mass often because they just didn't get there and then wish it could be them. How I long for a day when God is taken seriously.
But because of all this, this drifting along, raising our children to believe, amid a tiny enclave of friends who are believers, against the backdrop of a foolish world ...because of this chaos ...I'm beginning to believe it is the perfect time to be raising our children in the faith. The grace may not be felt now ...but it is timeless and will carry the Church onward even while the attacks against her continue to grow. The struggle within our own homes to pray and serve God ...is a struggle only because it has weight and merit ....and it too is timeless.
Just a thought for today.
Eternal rest grant unto Phoebe and may perpetual light shine upon her. May she rest in peace. Amen.
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