Feast of Saint Ignatius of Loyola

Good morning. Almost every adult has some sort of responsibility toward someone else. Parents are responsible for their children, and adult children are sometimes responsible for their parents when life has taken its toll. How we carry out those responsibilities makes for all the difference. It all begins with how we think about those responsibilities, for how we think about something is generally how we tend to act, and those actions repeated become who we are. This doesn’t just happen. It is taught to us. 

Each of us came into this world as utterly selfish beings, how our parents enabled us to be grateful and appreciate what we had and learn to appreciate one another makes all the difference. It makes a difference if we see life as a gift or as a burden. It makes a difference if we see caring for another as being an opportunity or as an obligation. The self-sacrifice that comes with being a parent is indeed no small undertaking and cannot be done alone--God will provide all that we need. As our saint for today, Ignatius of Loyola, came to appreciate, when we do things for the service and the  greater glory of God it makes all the difference in how we think and act. 

Jesus in today’s Gospel notes how planting the right seed makes all the difference. We as parents must make good and deliberate choices so that in the end what we reap will serve and glorify God. For in the end, God will reward us and allow us to "shine like the sun." If we as parents are to join with Jesus in sowing good seed we need to be good teachers of His word and keep in mind that the best teacher is example. For every action we take, every decision we make, no matter how small and seemingly inconsequential, has a rippling effect on the thoughts and actions our children choose to make, and likewise the seed they plant for generations to come. How we accept our responsibility with our children may well come back around to us in their care for us, in how they think and act in response to their responsibilities toward us. What and how we say things to our children; the actions we take; or the actions we don’t take with our children makes all the difference. The seed we sow makes all the difference. Make a great day! 

Today we recall the good life, gifts, and work of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. Ad majorem Dei gloriam! For the greater glory of God!