Come Fall, we will begin the Religious Education classes for children on Monday nights at St. Valentine. It brings to my mind the assumption that parents are their children’s primary teachers in faith formation. Do parents really understand the implications of their part of their vocation? Are they succeeding?

Being a parent can be a daunting task, even in the best of situations. In today’s society, a parent has to deal with many challenges such as; the media, technology and many other issues. As parents, we are responsible for the morals and faith formation of our children. Some parents are unaware of their duties as primary teachers and models of faith within their homes. Some parents seem to think that their role in the faith formation of their children is to take their children to church for the sacraments such as Baptism, Communion and Confirmation – and relinquish their duty to the priest, and the Religious Education teachers who instruct their children on the basic doctrine. Such parents have a sense that this ends with Confirmation.

I have known many parents who do not settle for this minimalist approach. These are the parents who are conscious of their ongoing responsibility as primary educators in the faith for their children. These parents have taught their children at home to pray and actively participate in the mass. They trust their parish community to assist in the nourishment and development of their faith in the celebration of the Eucharist. They also avail themselves of other family activities and outreach service programs.

Our parish offers positive examples but often they are countered by the complex challenges that confront the families daily. What can we do? How can we catechise parents? How can we catechise their children?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches … “Parents have the first responsibility for the education of their children. They bear witness to this responsibility first by creating a home where tenderness, forgiveness, respect, fidelity, and disinterested service are the rule. The home is well suited for education in the virtues. Parents have a grave responsibility to give good example to their children. By knowing how to acknowledge their own failings to their children, parents will be better able to guide and correct them.” (CCC 2223) (Catechism of the Catholic Church)

“Education in the faith by the parents should begin in the child’s earliest years. This already happens when family members help one another to grow in faith by the witness of a Christian life in keeping with the Gospel. Family catechises precedes, accompanies, and enriches other forms of instruction in the faith. Parents have the mission of teaching their children to pray and to discover their vocation as children of God. The parish is the Eucharistic community and the heart of the liturgical life of Christian families; it is a privileged place
for the catechises of children and parents.” (CCC 2226).

There is a story of a very poor family who immigrated to the USA from Europe many years ago on an old fashioned ocean liner. Coming from an obscure country there was no one on board that could speak their language. Having no experience of a sea voyage they brought enough hard bread and cheese to last the journey. One meal time the youngest son was missing, after a while he came back after having eaten in the large dining room upstairs. The family was shocked but he assured them that another young boy whom he had met had explained to him in sign language that the meals were included in the price of the ticket.

The world is full of people like them totally unaware of the incredible Banquet of Life that God spreads for them each day in the Eucharist. Jesus says: “I am the Bread of Life, whoever eats this bread will live forever and the bread that I shall give is my flesh for the life of the world.” It is tragic that so many people go through life totally unaware of this great gift. But even more tragic is the fact that so many go through life aware of it but take it for granted and fail to really appreciate it.

“If we honestly want to posses Christ and be possessed by him, we have to work for it. This means living in such a way that our desire for Christ directs our heart and mind toward him, regardless of our obligations and activities. It means keeping God present during the day, visiting and receiving Christ in the Eucharist frequently, and living under the influence of the Eucharist” (Sacerdos Homilies)

This is the fourth week of reflections on the Eucharist, the Body and Blood of Christ. The Gospels the last three weeks, this week and next are all a continuation of John’s Chapter on the meaning of the Eucharist. This is very unusual in terms of the Church’s liturgy and doesn’t happen very often. Usually the themes change every week. To devote four weeks to the Eucharist indeed stresses the importance that it must be in our lives. Let us make every effort to make the Eucharistic meal a very important part of our lives.

Picnic  – Please be sure to sign up today in the back of church for our parish picnic to be held Sunday, August 30th. If you can spare an hour or two that would be most helpful! Many hands are needed to make this a successful day.

Once there was a stonecutter who was bored and unhappy with his job. One morning, as he was cutting stones, he saw the king pass by. He prayed to God: “Lord, please make me that king because I am tired of being a stone cutter. It seems good to be king.” The Lord made him a king instantly.

 While he was a king he was walking along a road one day, he found the sun much too hot that he was perspiring heavily. He said to God: “It seems the sun is more powerful than the king. I would like to be the Sun.” Instantly, the Lord made him the sun. As he was shining brightly one morning, he found that the clouds were blocking his sunshine, then he thought to himself: “It seems as though the clouds are better than the sun because they can obstruct my sunshine.” So he said: “I want to be the clouds.” He became the clouds. Later on, he became the rain that poured down on the earth causing a flood. He said: “I’m now very powerful.” Then he noticed a big rock that blocked his flow. He said to himself: “It seems the stone is more powerful than I am. I want to be this stone.” Then he became the stone. One morning, a stonecutter started to cut him to smaller pieces. He said: “it seems the stonecutter is more powerful than I am. I want to be a stonecutter.” Then he instantly became what he originally was.

 People often complain and love to murmur. The gospel starts by saying that as soon as the Lord said to the Jews: “I am the Bread that came down from heaven,” the Jews murmured to one another. They started to say: “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? Do we not know his father and mother? Then how can he say, “I have come down from heaven?”

The point is that, murmuring, talking so much and gossip do not solve the situation. Let us stop doing all these and talk to God and in this sense we may be able to discover enlightenment and grace. But what Jesus says that He is the living bread that came down from heaven and gives us eternal life is not a gossip but true. And then there are things we need to be concerned with just before we come to Communion. These are the elements of our proximate preparation.

 Concerning our thoughts: As we come down the aisle at Communion time, do we focus our thoughts on Jesus? Or are we thinking about what we’re planning to do after Mass? Or are we focused on the people around us? Concerning our words: When the priest or extraordinary minister says, “The Body of Christ,” do we respond with a faith-filled and enthusiastic “Amen”?

Fruitful reception of the Holy Eucharist makes a big difference. According to Jesus, it not only gives us spiritual strength for this life, it also brings us one step closer to heaven. May all of us prepare properly and then receive fruitfully as often as possible.