Children as a Foundation of the Culture of Life
A poet said, “April is the cruelest month,” but sometimes it seems for priests that September can be the cruelest month, with so much coming at us all at once. One of our difficulties is trying to put together a consistent catechesis for our schools. It can be difficult to go from grade one to grade eight with the different messages one after another. I’m suggesting a different kind of catechesis that can be followed through and is solidly in line with the teaching of the Church.
A catechesis based on the Gospel of Life can really work! It’s not enough to just deal with controversies in the upper elementary schools or high schools. Instead, we must build solid foundations. Children and young people love to talk about their families. We need to talk to them about these and other matters.
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Sowing and Scattering
All throughout the Easter Season, we have readings from the Acts of the Apostles. This often seems like a triumphant procession of the Faith. But read carefully, it is also the story of the beginning of almost endless persecutions that will go on for the next several centuries. Immediately after the stoning of Saint Stephen, Saul is breathing fire and persecuting Christians. We read in Acts 11:19 and 8:1 that the believers were scattered for their own safety. It seems that these seeds are scattered by the wind. However, we know that they do bring forth fruit in cities and in regions far away from Jerusalem.
When I was young, I lived on a farm and most of my cousins were city kids. We had several areas of fields which were too wet to use machines to sow crops and so we would sow the crops by hand. One of my city cousins got very upset at this because he said we were throwing away all this expensive grain. …
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Who Are You Voting For? Who Are You Speaking For?
When you read this Canada will either be in an election or close to one. The press has been saying something similar for a year or more, I know.
The Trade/Tariff War with the US, the longing for a change in government, the economic hardships, immigration, housing, etc., etc.: all issues are urgent. You hear the same voices as we always have, but about different matters.
You have to live long enough to remember enough elections to compare tactics and strategies and I have! As the very short-time Prime Minister Kim Campbell once said, “Election campaigns are not the time to talk about serious issues.” Though she was pilloried for it, politicians have lived by that rule.
The brief election campaigns that Canada has mean that the media buildup to elections is many times longer than the actual campaign.
But this is the system we have. So, let’s use it.
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