Dear Parishioners:
It is amazing how impressionable we are! To varying degrees, parents know that their words or actions impact the beliefs and behaviors of their children. Aware of their responsibility for their child’s upbringing, parents guard what they do and say knowing that their example can affect how their child matures.
For example, anyone with a little common sense knows that while raising their children, they must watch what language they use at home otherwise the children will pick up words that are not acceptable in social circles. A father or mother may also realize that they should watch what topics they discuss in front of the kids because some topics are not appropriate for their age.
Likewise, parents normally try to shield their children from inappropriate material on TV knowing that it is in the best interest of the child not to learn too much too soon or they might lose their childhood innocence or get into trouble in other areas dealing with relationships.
If we are impressionable in a negative way, we are also impressionable in a positive way too. I remember in my childhood that I was given one of those children’s bibles that were filled with pictures of all the biblical stories. I remember gazing at those biblical images with awe and wonder. Reading those stories formed me and inculcated important principles and attitudes toward faith that are still with me today. Moreover, as my parents took me to church Sunday after Sunday, they formed me in my faith in incalculable ways. Listening to the homilies, repeating the Mass responses over and over, smelling the incense, and singing the music all formed me and deepened within me the mysteries of faith that have become so much a part of my life. It is amazing how deeply those things run in my psyche and in my spirit now.
There is something so mysterious about how the life of faith becomes so much a part of us. We are formed by how we pray and what we participate in. That is why it is so critical to study the faith and attend church consistently. Formation is not just for children. Adults can be formed as well. The saying, “You can’t teach an old dog a new trick” doesn’t really apply to spiritual formation. If that were so, we would stop offering bible classes or even trying to evangelize adults!
In the Gospel this weekend, the two disciples walking on the road to Emmaus were deeply moved as the Lord accompanied them and revealed to them all the Scriptures that referred to Him. Their hearts “burned” with a fire of joy as they began to understand what he was saying to them. Finally, their eyes were opened and they recognized Him in the “breaking of bread”. In other words, in the sharing of the Eucharist they came to know the Lord. It is in reflecting on the Word of God and in the sharing of the Eucharist that we come to know the Lord. He forms us and molds us into his likeness. Let us all strive to be consistent in our prayer and in the celebration of the Mass so that we will be formed into a life of grace! God bless!
Fr. Paul
