Wednesday 25 August 2021
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 parenthood
The Gospel reminds us that misunderstanding can be passed from generation to generation. There is a type of parent who, perhaps inadvertently, limits and prejudices the growth of the child. The first reading presents an alternative: parenthood is not only teaching but also calling. There is a gulf between calling and demanding. Demands are often insensitive to the point of stifling one partner in a relationship. Calling always implies freedom and offers support.
God parents each one of us by calling us to a fuller, freer life. Christian vocation is never a matter of being cornered without choice. It is the challenge to seek God’s gentle guidance between thousands of possibilities and to be invited perhaps where we would rather not go.
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