Any parent can relate to Moses overwhelmed cry for assistance. Often, the task of raising up our children, especially teens in today’s world, can seem too much to bear. Numbers 11:14-17 reminds us of the great struggle Moses felt when leading his people. “I cannot carry all this people by myself, for they are too heavy for me. If this is the way you will deal with me, then please do me the favor of killing me at once, so that I need no longer face this distress. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Assemble for me seventy of the elders of Israel, men you know for true elders and authorities among the people, and bring them to the meeting tent. When they are in place beside you, I will come down and speak with you there. I will also take some of the spirit that is on you and bestow it on them, that they may share the burden of the people with you. You will then not have to bear it by yourself.” Weighed down by their demands and poor choices, Moses cried out to the Lord. He begged the Lord for relief. The Lord sent support, others to help Moses bear the burden of leading his people to the Lord. Aid is available to us too.
The integral responsibility of raising children has always fallen primarily on the parents and grandparents of the children. However, in a family’s busyness, things may go unnoticed. Yellow and red flags are unseen. This is where the village steps in, alerting parents of the unperceived dangers and snares in the paths of their children. Ideally, the parents then realize the need for intervention and some focused or increased attention, possibly discipline, for their child and catastrophe is avoided or minimized. “Thorns and snares are on the path of the crooked, he who would safeguard his life will shun them. Train a boy in the way he should go; even when he is old, he will not serve from it.” Proverbs 22: 5-6. The village works to save its children.
However, today there seems to be a disconnect. Parents buzz and children are often left to their own devices, literally. The village sees behavior that is going unnoticed by the parents, but no words are spoken or shared with the parent. Only a murmur of disapproval or dismay, quietly makes its way through the child’s tribe. Fear of confrontation reigns, and the child’s risk of danger become eminent, all as villagers look on in disbelief.
This could all be avoided, or at least minimized, if parents embraced feedback from their tribe and worked together to courageously protect their village and our families. Today, it seems, parents do not want to hear it. We turn a deaf ear and a blind eye, pretending the things going on in front of us are normal or not our concern. Yet, it is our business! We have a responsibility to mankind and Our Church to support raising healthy well-balanced kiddos, disciples for Christ. No one can do this alone.
The village experiences this pain as well. Our community is affected by ill acting or malfunctioning members. The Lord calls us to raise up disciples for Christ. This begins with our youth and our tribe. “Let no one have contempt for your youth, but set an example for those who believe, in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity.” 1 Timothy 4:12. Step up and be a village, creating a tribe for Christ. Support families.
Call to Act: I encourage you, sister, to speak up and charitably share your apprehensions. I am not asking you to judge, simply point out what is going unnoticed and the wrong you see before you. Share the concerns your children bring to you in a confidential manner. Be brave and courageous as you take troubling information to the child’s parents or guardian. It is your duty as a disciple of Christ to help save our kids. The world is tough place. Finally, and most importantly, pray. Pray for the well-being and healing of those you see who are suffering, for their parents, and for God to place people in their lives to guide them in the right direction. Discern when it is your time to pray and when it is a time to act. My prayers are with you, sister, as you discern your words and honestly reach out to other parents. May their ears and hearts be open to hear and act on your concern for child’s wellbeing and soul.
“If we never have headaches through rebuking our children, we shall have plenty of heartaches when they grow.” Charles H. Spurgeon.
Mother Angelica, pray for our youth that they may navigate the road of life. Beg the Lord to place a community in their path who will support them and love them despite their wrongdoings. Ask the Lord to give their tribe the courage to step up and speak up when they notice children straying from the straight and narrow path. Beseech the Lord to give the youth and parents resources to save children from the temptations that present themselves daily. We ask this in the Lord’s name. Amen.
Mother Angelica
Mother Angelica was born Rita Rizzo to poor parents in Canton Ohio in 1923. A tough start in life, her father left when she was only five, leaving her mother to care for her and her four brothers. Rita worked alongside her mother helping her provide for their family as an adolescent and later moved to working in a candle making factory. Sadly, as a child, she had a poor experience in a Catholic School, with harsh nuns running the institution. Rita eventually felt a strong call to enter the Franciscan order, the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration, after experiencing healing from a serious ailment. She took the name, Sister Mary Angelica of the Annunciation. After some struggles with illnesses and feeling a desire and calling to open a new monastery for her order in the deep south, Sister traveled to Birmingham, Alabama, where she was determined to reach a diverse population. The area boasted a mere 2% Catholic population. Sister was met with threats, violence, and crosses burnt by the Ku Klux Clan. Unphased by the opposition, Sister Mary Angelica, pushed forward, determined to reach many with the Lord’s message of love. Eventually, she opened a new convent for the Franciscans, becoming Mother Angelica. Later, she established a worldwide broadcast network, EWTN (Eternal Word Television Network), becoming well-known. All her work was done on donations alone, to bring others to know the deep love of Christ. She spoke out against the liberal ideas and strongly supported traditional Catholic ways, assuring her viewers that the Lord always desires his people live holy lives and encouraged them to leave the ways of the world behind. Mother Angelica was a feisty and fiery woman whose deep passion for completing the Lord’s work drove her to speak difficult words and make unusual choices, all for the sake of informing viewers and forming disciples for Christ. She died at the age of 92. Mother Angelica, pray for us. Read more about her here: https://www.ewtn.com/motherangelica/life and here: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/31/mother-angelica-obituary
Mother Angelica reminds us, “God wants you to be in the world, but so different from the world that you will change it. Get cracking.”