Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent - March 10, 2021

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 Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9 Matthew 5:17-19

“However, take care and be earnestly on your guard
not to forget the things which your own eyes have seen,
nor let them slip from your memory as long as you live,
but teach them to your children and to your children’s children.”

What a year to reflect on. So many things our own eyes have seen, so many things to remember for as long as we live. Things to teach our children so they may do better, and their children better than them. Where does one even start? How about with “loving thy neighbor?” This is a regular conversation here and with our daughters at St. Teresa’s Academy and with it being their school motto.

This year has presented many challenging opportunities to live this commandment daily. There has been so much hatred blasted across the streets without any regard to the fact that our children see and hear everything. This is not the world we imagined for our children when we were just beginning our lives together. We should take no job more seriously than raising our babies to be kind, loving, and empathetic humans. The only way to do this is by being this way ourselves, even to ourselves.

How can we love others if we do not love ourselves first? Even in a community as wonderful as this one, there is division. There is chatter and whispers being absorbed by our kids. This year, more than ever, we are called to love thy dear neighbor. Let’s start right here and watch the love spread. When our kids see us being the kind of human beings God intended us to be, they will be even more so themselves; and they will teach their children to be even better humans. This gives us hope for a future of love, equality and justice. Peace and love to you and yours this lenten season.

Q: What qualities in the young people you know give you hope?

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