By Jack Rigert
I answered an incoming call from my wife and smiled as our precious five-year-old granddaughter asked, “Papa, do you want to come with us and look at the Christmas decorations?”. Of course I did. A short time later I was strolling through her neighborhood, where Nonna was baby-sitting, holding hands with two beautiful and joy filled tour guides, the five old on one side and her seven-year older sister on the other.
One thing my wife and I noticed almost immediately was the increase in the number of Nativity Scenes on display. One in particular stood out in its beauty and simplicity as the darkness of the night was allowed to surround and showcase a stable, warmly lit from the inside, that projected an aura of peace and serenity as Our Blessed Mother, Saint Joseph, and a few farm animals looked down upon the newly born Christ Child laying in a manger on a bed of straw.
About a minute of soaking in that scene of the Holy Family and my tour guides were ready to move on. As we walked away I glanced back at the Christ Child, reminded that He chose to enter human history through a family, humbly as a child born to poor parents, in a simple stable. Reminded that it is love that sustains us. Reminded that while each individual person is created in the Image of God, the fuller Image is the family; the communion of a father, mother and child, a sacramental reflection of the Inner Life and Love of the Trinity. The family throughout history is and will always be the bedrock of civilization and without Marriage and the family, created Imago Dei, in the Image of God, there is no civilization to discuss. Furthermore, Christianity, and its belief in the sacred nature of the Family, is the foundation of Western Civilization.
As Saint John Paul II would repeat throughout his pontificate, “The family is the domestic church, it is the first and vital cell of society. As the family goes, so goes the nation, and the whole world in which we live.”
It is easy to understand why my heart goes out to young people who are sent out into a very twisted, distorted and toxic culture without any knowledge of God’s plan for marriage and the family. Then, like innocent lambs, they are lied to about the very basics concerning their identity, the meaning and purpose of their lives, the true meaning of sex and human sexuality. Particularly disturbing is the sexual indoctrination, grooming and desensitizing of our children’s consciences in the public school system.
John Paul II wrote, “Closely connected with the formation of conscience is the work of education, which helps individuals to be ever more human, leads them ever more fully to the truth, instills in them growing respect for life, and trains them in right interpersonal relationships.”
As Christian Parents you must be proactive today unlike any other time in human history! The John Paul II Renewal Center along with our friends at the TOB Parent Schools, are on a mission to empower and assist you in your task as the primary educators of your children.
What’s more, LoveEd and TOB Parent School make it easy! Our goal is for every family to attend at least one parent/child LoveEd Session and to utilize TOB Parent School magazine in your home!
Action:
- Contact us about bringing LoveEd to your Parish, Homeschooling Group, or ask us about forming your own Parent Group! Contact Us
- ORDER the age appropriate TOB Parent School monthly Magazine!! Use code WELCOME20 for 20% off your entire order. .
