Strengthen the Man, Strengthen the Family

Brothers,

I thought of this mission today as I immersed myself in the scriptures. Today, Holy mother Church in her wisdom guides us through the end of the book of Joshua, through Psalm 16 and into Matthew 19. The reading from the book of Joshua features Jesus calling the Israelites toward the Lord. This is where we hear the unfading call, “…fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and faithfulness.” Later we read, “incline your heart to the Lord.” And most famously, Joshua states what ought to ring true in all of our hearts as men, husbands and fathers, “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Oddly, the Gospel reading features Jesus’s words regarding children, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”

What’s the connection between these readings?

We are. Our hearts as men, fathers and husbands is the connection. What “hinders the children” from coming to Jesus if not us? Are we aware that our faith and obedience to the Lord is the most significant determiner of the practice of faith in our children? This is statistically verified. Our children will pattern their faith after our own before they make it their own. What will that look like? What does the demonstration of your faith look like? Is it demonstrated in our weekly attendance at mass? Is it demonstrated in daily prayer in the home - prayers to start the day, to bless our meals, to appeal to God’s mercy when tragedy strikes, etc.? Is it demonstrated in a daily devotion to hearing from the Lord in His eternal word, Sacred scripture?

May we incline our hearts to the Lord, living lives of faith and obedience to His word for the sake of our families, particularly the children.

Let the children go the Jesus. Go to Jesus.

God bless you, brothers. God bless you families.