Tenets of Parenting (HOMILY FOR FRIDAY OF THE 16TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR II (SAINTS JOACHIM AND ANNE JULY 26 2024

HOMILY FOR FRIDAY OF THE 16TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR II (STS. JOACHIM AND ANNE JULY 26 2024

Jer.3:14-17; Jer.31; Matthew 3:18-23

Tenets of Parenting

Today, we celebrate the memorial of Sts. Joachim and Anne, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Clearly no reference is made to them in the scripture. But that does not mean that they are unimportant; rather it goes to show that everything is not in the Bible. The bible is not a historical book but an account of God’s gradual revelation of himself and man’s growing attempts to behold this revelation.

However, Jesus says that it is from the fruits that a tree is known. We celebrate this couple for their obvious good work in training a child that God found worthy of being His mother. It is not the case that it was the training that they gave the Blessed Virgin Mary that qualified her to be the mother of God; rather, by bringing her up in uprightness, they  cooperated with the grace of God in her life.

The submissiveness of Mary to the will of God made known to her through the Angel Gabriel, cannot but be the outcome of a good upbringing. Even when she was confuse as to what the Angel was saying, she humbly and wisely sought for clarification. Mary was able to dialogue with an angel. The angel testified that she is full of grace. This is a challenge to parents today.

Most parents today are greatly distracted from bringing up their children in the right way. Children are not animals that need only food to grow well. Children are to be trained not reared. To neglect the moral/religious aspects of training and focus on feeding and school education alone is tantamount to an uncompleted project. The place of the family as the first society of the child is irreplaceable. Whatever parents fail to do can hardly be done by teachers or other guardians/instructors.

Parents must draw their children close to God. The Church is not a place you take your children to only on Sundays or only when you are idle. As much as possible, visiting the Church should be part and parcel of a child’s daily routine. Here are some themes for parents to reflect on: how well do your children know their maker? How familiar are they with the life of the Church and Church doctrines? What is their attitude towards authorities? Do they belong to any society in the Church, if yes, are they active members? Are you teaching them to drop N20 in the offering box only to buy N100 ice cream after Mass? Have you taught them how to pray? Are they accustomed to rushing daily to meet up with arrival time at school but are never bordered about perpetually coming late for Mass? Are you deceiving them that money is everything in life?

How many of our children can still find meaning in aspiring towards the priesthood and religious life? We can lobby our children into places in the society but we cannot lobby them into heaven. Remember the promises you made to God when you presented them for infant baptism. If you love your children and are grateful to God who has given them to you as gift, then you will not become an obstruction for them to know, love and serve God well. 

God bless you all