Fr. Don's Daily Reflection - June 25, 2024
Psalm 62: “In you alone is my soul at rest. My help comes from you.”
The funeral of a decorated (Purple Heart) World War II veteran illustrates the many ways in which parents influence their offspring. The four sons and two daughters as they greeted affably those in attendance brought back vividly the graciousness and ever-present smile of their deceased father. Dad probably didn't have the kids practice graciousness but, like the gait and language we pick up from parents, these were such a part of this man and his wife that the children simply breathed it in. What patterns parents, teachers, coaches, mentors leave with young people!
A character in Barbara Kingsolver's short story “Quality Time” clarifies matters for an expectant mother who is concerned about "what to pass on" to her child. Parenting, a responder explains, is “3% conscious effort and 97% automatic pilot.” She illustrates: "It doesn't matter what you think you're going to tell them (children). What matters is that they're right there watching you every minute, while you let the lady with two items go ahead of you in line or when you lay on the horn and swear at the guy that cuts you off in traffic."
All in all, what we say or how we consciously try to act, these are a poor second to the kind of person we are by grace, prayer, the example of others and a good conscience. The good person in Christian thought is not in the first place the result of analysis and plotting out one's actions but a consequence of turning oneself to God and others in praise, self-forgetfulness, loving service.
Psalm 27: “I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness / in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord; be strong; / be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord!”
