13 Then little children were being brought to him in order that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples spoke sternly to those who brought them; 14 but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.” 15 And he laid his hands on them and went on his way.
Mathew 19:13-15
(Inspired by the sermon of a Catholic Priest “Rev. Fr. Stephen Thachil”)
How many years do we educate our children? Starting from play school or primary school to higher secondary completion (around ~14 years) and then college/university education (~4 years). On an average about ~18 years.
Given this 18 years of education is to prepare them for a career, how many hours we work for our career in a day? Typically ~8 hours.
How many hours in a day? 24 hours
What determines a person’s success? Is it the 8 working hours or the remaining 16 hours of personal life? The 16 hours personal life.
So if we prepare our children for 18 years to thrive during the 8 working hours, then how many years do we need to prepare our children for being successful in the 16 hours of personal life? 18 years X 2 = 36 years.
How many years of formation or preparation we really provide for our children to succeed in personal life???
To succeed in personal life, one needs a minimum level of spiritual & moral formation.
How can we logically expect our children to flourish without us providing the essential spiritual & moral formation.
Going with the old saying “Failing to plan is planning to fail”, if we are knowingly or unknowingly preparing our children for spiritual failure, then where would it lead them to? Heaven or Hell? May God forbid, but the sad answer is the latter “Hell”.
If we want our children to be well formed in spirituality and morality to reach Heaven one day, then our preparation should be reviewed and reformed in the light of Word of God.
Word of God says:
How can young people keep their way pure? By guarding it according to your word. (Psalms 119:9)
The Psalmist clearly proclaims that guarding oneself according to God’s words and commandments is the secret to be pure. In other words, we need to seed our children’s heart, mind and spirit with Word of God.
Now that we realize what to do, lets ponder a bit on how we can achieve this, not so easy task, in this age of AI, digital darkness, abundant emptiness and spiritual famine.
How can we prepare our children to live according to God’s words and commandments?
(Following is my personal reflection)
Jesus, our Lord and Savior, has said:
3 b“Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. 6 But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 Let anyone with ears listen!”
Matthew 13:3-9
Based on Jesus’ teaching, captured below is an action plan containing 3 important reflection points and followup action:
1. Are we mindful of the trespassers in our children’s life?
some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. (Mathew 13:4)
The trespassers are the distractions in this world: social media, TV time, over indulgence in games/sports, pornography, drinking, smoking, vaping, other bad habits.
Are we helping our children to realize that these are distractions and these distractions if unchecked, can take-away all the goodness in them?
Call for action: Help your children to identify and root-out distractions. Teach them to replace distractions with personal prayer, family prayer and joyful spirituality (singing and praising God through music, action songs, art work, etc.,).
2. Do we give them time & mind-space to grow in spirituality?
Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. (Mathew 13:5)
When we overload our children with academics, enrichment classes, co-curricular/extra-curricular activities, sports training, music lessons, etc., how would they have time or mind-space to read/receive Word of God?
Taking children to Sunday Mass and Catechism classes only when convenient, could turn out to be futile.
Call for action: Deprioritize some of the activities (reduce noise), creating time for them to attend Holy Mass (with fullness of heart), take part in sacraments and read/meditate the Word of God.
3. Are we mindful of our children’s friends and influencers?
Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. (Mathew 13:6)
When did we last check on our children’s to know who their friends and influencers are? Influencers here could be celebrities, heroes and idols such as fame & glory.
Call for action: Strive to build a friendship with your children and help them find admirable influencers like exemplary friends, holy priests, spiritual mentors and saints.
Our aspiration: The good soil…
“Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”
If we sincerely prepare the heart/mind/spirit of our children to receive the Word of God and to nurture it with an apt lifestyle, then Word of God will take root in them, making them bear fruits that are eternal.
Jesus loves you! 
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