Feast of Blessed Clemens August von Galen

Good morning. This following verse from the Gospel of Matthew was ready made for a marriage and family counselor: “Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice.” (Mt 23:2) Today’s Gospel offers a clear message regarding the need for parents to be consistent in putting into action those things we intend to instruct to our children. Do you recall playing dress-up as a child? Most of us as children engaged in some type of dress-up play and frequently it was done as a way of imitating our parents. This is why as parents we need to be intentional about our own behavior, because the imitation of our example eventually goes beyond just playing dress-up. Eventually it goes on to more serious matters, which is why as parents we need to be about living the behavior we want our children engaging in. If you don’t want your child making the decision to smoke, what are you doing lighting up that cigarette? If you don’t want your child doing drugs, what are you doing popping those pills? If you want your child to be chaste, what tells you it is a good thing to be watching Desperate Housewives? As parents we need to be deliberate about our own behavior; is our behavior what we want our child to follow? If we don’t want our child verbally attacking other children or ridiculing a classmate on Facebook ® we might give some thought to how we ourselves uphold the commandment, “Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor.” As parents we are the primary teachers; our children come to know about making good choices and bad choices and come to learn that there are consequences for the choices they choose to make through watching us. We live in a society that increasingly diminishes the role of family and would instead suggest that it is the job of the village to raise our children. Despite these efforts by some, the family remains the basic unit of life and the most important influence in the healthy growth and development of every aspect of a child’s life, and the best tool we have as parents for directing our children in the right direction is the example of a loving mother and father. So, be the person today you want your child to be. Make a great day!

Today we recall the good life, gifts, and works of Blessed Clemens August von Galen.