THERE’S no
denying about it. No matter how much we try, we
can never thank our parents enough. Through them and
through their
love, we come into being. They are actually the ones used
by God to
put us into existence. Thus, they are our first link to
God. Seeing
them is like seeing God right behind them.
They are the
first ones to have authority over us in this
world. And they exercise that authority with such
tenderness and
affection that we do not even realize that authority is
exercised over
us. We are not even aware that we are obeying and
following them,
especially when we are still very small.
laughing matter at all. Their authority over us is always
a
participation in the authority of God as St. Paul once
said. (cfr. Rom
13,1) They have to be aware that they have to exercise their
authority
the way God would exercise it over us.
And in our
case, as their children, since our parents gave
birth to us and put us to life, their authority over us
has a wider
and deeper coverage than that of the other authorities we
have in
life.
Parents have to
realize that their authority over us does
not spring simply because of their biological relation to
us. That’s
because from that biological basis arise many other and
more important
aspects of their authority. It’s not limited to the
physical,
material, emotional. It goes to the spiritual and
supernatural aspects
of our life.
Thus, our
parents as our first authority here on earth are
also our first teachers. And they teach us not only how
to smile,
speak, walk, eat properly, especially when we are still
small, but
also how to think, reason out, react and behave in the
different
situations in life as we grow up.
But there is
one aspect of their being teacher to us that
they should be ready to carry out. And that is to teach
us how to
develop our spiritual life, how to be not only truly
human but also
truly Christian, a firm believer and lover of God and of
everyone
else.
More than the
schools and the churches, more than the
teachers and priests and nuns, who only play a subsidiary
and
supporting role in the education and formation of
children, it is the
parents who should help their children acquire the
spiritual and
supernatural life proper to all of us.
For this
reason, they have to be ready to teach their
children about God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, the
Church and the
sacraments, the commandments and morality, and especially
about
prayer. They have to see to it that their children are
truly learning
these things properly.
And more than
teaching by words, they have to teach by
their deeds and example. The guidance and accompaniment
they give to
their children should not just be physical and material,
not even
simply emotional and intellectual, though these are
already a tall
order. They have to provide the appropriate moral and
spiritual
guidance and accompaniment to their children.
For sure,
parents need to be given due formation for this
delicate task of theirs. So, they should be the first
ones to realize
that they have to look for that formation. They should
not take this
matter for granted.
On the part of
the schools, churches, LGUs, NGOs, etc.,
they should also contribute in this concern by providing
the
appropriate programs for this purpose. There should be an
active
campaign to involve as many parents as possible in these
programs.
At the moment,
there is truly a great need for ongoing
formation programs for parents, given the galloping
developments we
have around. We are now before an increasingly complicated
challenge
in the world insofar as the formation of parents and
children are
concerned.
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