Last night, I attended a meeting at my church in regards to upcoming events. My husbands hours changed and I was left without a baby sitter for the hour long meeting. What a blessing. Earlier in the day, I was forced to bring our young children with me to my Legion of Mary meeting and then to dress the Altar. I have been taking them to Mass and to take care of the Adoration Chapel for some time now and their questions about our Lord are asked on a daily basis.

When I ponder all the heartache I have had in regards to my Catholic faith being troublesome to the family I had been born into, the past days events sheds so much light on the Gospel of Mark: “A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you. “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked. Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!”

When I look back on my life and miss my Grandparents and Great Aunts & Uncles, Parents and the family functions we used to have, before they passed away, there used to be such a feeling of emptiness because that life and the people in it, had left and I was still here. I have a very small family now that God has blessed me with. I live far away from the brothers and sisters, cousins and other family I grew up with and the children our Lord has given to me, can not have the daily experiences that I had growing up, in regards to going to family’s homes for everything from birthdays and Anniversaries, but more important, Baptisms, Communions and Confirmations.

Last night, at the meeting, a statement was made from a member of our Youth Ministry on the fact that he had no clue about how much his parents used to give to the church. It was something never talked about between him and his parents. As I sat looking around the room, pondering his statement, I became aware that my children being at this meeting was what God wanted me to do that day. It was as if I was at a family function of my youth. The adults were talking and the children were playing. I looked at the Youth Director and around the table and brought up the fact that all our children need to be included in ever aspect of the Church. This way, when they grow up, they will understand how much to give the church when the time comes. I thought, we are to give everything to our Lord. His parents, gave the church him.

As Catholic Family’s, we need to understand that the very act of giving our children back to God through baptism, needs to constantly reinforced with teaching them how to work for the greater good of God. How wonderful would it be, if every Catholic brought all their children to all the functions of the Church, in order that they learn what our Lord was saying when he referred to those around Him as his family. How wonderful it would be to teach our children that when they leave the family they were born into, or the family leaves them, that through the Holy Church, they have millions of aunts, uncles and cousins, brothers and sisters, who are waiting for them and their children to be welcomed. Celebrating together in our Lord.

Sts. Peter and Paul, pray for us.