Proposed Theme: Children and Young People
Continuous Prayer Movement for Marriage and Family Life
On Thursday 20th of May is Our Parish Day of Prayer – please join us anytime throughout the day. If you would like to take on an allocated hour of prayer each month, please contact either Fr Devlin or Fr Logue, thank you.
The joy of love – Pope Francis
The questions I would put to parents are these: “Do you understand ‘where’ your children really are in their journey?” “Where is their soul, do we really know?” And, above all, “do we want to know?” (261)
The strengthening of the will and the repetition of specific actions are the building blocks of moral conduct; without the conscious, free, and valued repetition of certain patterns of good behaviour, moral education cannot take place. Mere desire, or an attraction to a certain value, is not enough to instil a virtue in the absence of those properly motivated acts. (266)
Raising children calls for an orderly process of handing on the faith. This is made difficult by current lifestyles, work schedules, and the complexity of today’s world, where many people keep up a frenetic pace just to survive. Even so, the home must continue to be the place where we learn to appreciate the meaning and beauty of the faith, to pray, and to serve our neighbour. (287)
Some Thoughts:
- May, going into June, is normally a very special time for young people, it is exam time! It can be a time of anxiety and worry for many. It can be a time of relief for others. For those who are moving on to work or to Third Level Education it is the end of a long phase of their lives. So much depends on these few weeks that will have a huge effect on the rest of their lives. This year, however, the worry and anxiety are different because the question now is: what will happen to the exams and to all that will follow for these young people?
- This is also normally a very special time for our schools. The work of the past year is being tested, not just for the pupils, but for the teachers also. The reputation of the school is a factor that depends on how well the pupils will do. This year, with the schools being closed from Christmas, the teachers have been trying to do all they can to help their pupils with their studies online. They have been doing a good job at this and need our gratitude. But will it be enough?
- This can be a time of tension for parents and other members of the families of the young people too. So much of family life has to be lived around the young people who are doing the exams. This certainly has not been helped by the present crisis of the Covid-19 pandemic
- And it is also the month of Mary, the Mother of Christ and our Mother too. For us as Catholics this is a very significant reality for all that we are and all that we can be.
Generally, the rest of the Community goes on as normal, not really affected by what is happening in the lives of these young people, their parents, and their teachers.