About today
Readings
St. Louis IX; St. Joseph Calasanz
1 Thessalonians 2: 9-13. You have searched me and you know me, Lord – Ps 138 (139): 7-12. Matthew 23: 27-32.
Today’s readings offer two conflicting images of parenting
The gospel reminds us that misunderstandings can be passed on from generation to generation. There is one type of parent who, perhaps unintentionally, restricts and impairs the child’s growth. The first reading offers an alternative: parenting is not just teaching, it is also a calling. There is a gap between calling and demanding. Requirements are often so insensitive that they stifle a partner in a relationship. Calling always means freedom and support.
God educates each of us by calling us to live fuller, freer lives. Christian calling never means being cornered without choice. The challenge is to seek God’s gentle guidance among thousands of possibilities and perhaps to be invited where we would rather not go.
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