Feast of Saint William of Bourges

Good morning. It is not clear at all what was exchanged between Jesus and the men He rounded up that day by the Sea of Galilee. The scripture offers no insight into what was said to Simon and his brother Andrew, or with the two sons of Zebedee that day. But, whatever it was, it was enough for all four of these men to forsake their families, friends and jobs to follow this itinerant preacher from Nazareth (Mk 1:14-20). Scripture doesn’t offer anything towards informing us what was said or done to influence the Apostles’ decisions that day by the Sea of Galilee, but whatever it was it must truly have been something. I’m likewise clueless as to what prompts children to mimic others. When they were much younger, our youngest son would repeatedly do whatever he saw his older brother doing, and thankfully he continues to this day to emulate the lead of his older brother. In fact, in some ways there is this friendly competitiveness between them. As a parent it is a true joy to observe the two when they are together. Now, research upon research indicates that we, us parents, are the most powerful influence in how children go about making decisions with their lives. Knowing this, as parents we need to be attentive to not only what we say, but likewise be aware of the influence our behaviors have upon the choices our children make. It certainly is the case that children of good parents will at times make bad choices, but as parents we need to remind ourselves that we are accountable to God for ways we might influence them either way. Studies indicate that our actions influence our children’s decisions regarding their faith. Likewise we know if we smoke or drink it increases the odds of our children doing likewise. Research informs us that parental choice regarding media viewing influences our children’s choices. So, if we don’t wish to instill in our children that their worth is measured solely by their sexuality then we should not be sitting down together with them and watching primetime television with them, nor should they think it is okay for us to watch it without them. Truth is we don’t need researchers to tell us what we have always known; we have always known that as parents we need to be what we want our children to be. As it says in Proverbs: “Teach a child to choose the right path, and when he is older, he will remain upon it” (Proverbs 22:6).  Make a great day!

Today we recall the good life and works of Saint William Bourges.