Feast of Saint Timothy and Saint Titus

Good morning.  In today’s Gospel from Mark (Mk 4:1-20) Jesus tells the parable of the seed falling on favorable ground and seed falling on ground that is not favorable for growth.  He summarizes with the suggestion that “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”  We are told that Jesus utilized parables throughout His public life as a means to get across to folks the messages He was there to offer.  One might surmise that He does this as a way to deliver the message in a manner that folks might be more receptive to than to just directly tell what He wanted them to know.  Jesus knew then as we do now that nothing says love like a good story.  As loving parents we do this all the time, by way of telling stories to get across lessons regarding virtuous behavior. What parent doesn’t appreciate the benefit of instructing children through the use of fairy tales? Just like Jesus in His use of parables, we have always appreciated the benefit of using stories in forming children's character, because the instruction of virtues is something that needs to be experienced. And, the wonderful thing about story telling is it serves two purposes, it teaches a lesson and it sends a message of love.  Children learn to be virtuous by witnessing virtuous behavior in others or through the imaginary experiences lived out in a story.  Stories help children to make analogies between the world of imagination and the real world in which they live. One need only take a moment to think of such classics as the Velveteen Rabbit, or Aesop’s Fables, or the Chronicles of Narnia to appreciate how children are drawn into stories and in the process able to make application of a virtuous lesson to their own reality. The Lives of the Saints is another wonderful way of having children experience needed life lessons. And, one doesn’t need to be a child to benefit from reading about the lives of the saints; I spend time each day reading on the lives of the saints. There is hardly anything better, other than lived example, than the experience of the world of imagination for instructing virtues. And, there is hardly any better way to spend a cold winter evening than to curl up with your children and read a story. Have you and your child read any good books lately?  Make a great day! 

Today we celebrate the lives of Saint Timothy and Saint Titus.