Page 32 - Michael Journal — 2019 October

cess to all His gifts: Wisdom, Understanding, Coun- Of course we have heard all this before, but pon-
sel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety and Fear of the Lord. der on this one fact: Christ is the One leading His
These are the gifts received at our Confirmation. We Church — CHRIST! — He promised!
forget about these! These are all the “tools” that we When Jesus was still on this earth his disciples
need to help us in our parenting! abandoned him, except St. John. All the others ran
Therefore, we must be united in our homes, but away and hid. St. Peter even denied three times ever
also UNITED IN OUR FAITH! These are very confusing having even known Him at a time when Jesus most
times that we are living in. I admit that I do not often needed his support and friendship. But through it all,
understand all that is going on, even in our churches. JESUS HAS LED HIS CHURCH THROUGH TO THE
There are so many disturbing things being reported PRESENT DAY. Teach your children this truth: CHRIST
by the media on a daily basis. We are left looking for WILL NEVER ABANDON US, HE WILL NEVER LEAVE
answers: we read blogs and look up different Catho- US ORPHANED.
lic authors to see what they think. We discuss these LOVE THE CHURCH — love the Church as we
things among ourselves, with people we feel that we love Christ. That is how I’ve always understood it ever
can trust, and yet, we still find ourselves very con- since I was a child. Christ instituted His Church to re-
fused. We are even upset by some reports supposedly main with us. He remains with us through His Church.
coming from Rome… We ask ourselves, “How are we Look to Him. Keep your eyes focused on Him during
to raise our children to become strong Catholics, com- all the tempests that seem to be rocking the Church
mitted to their faith, amidst so much confusion and on its very foundation. He will guide us through it all.
disorder?” —TEACH YOUR CHILDREN TO LOVE THE CHURCH.
There is only one answer: Pope Benedict XVI said, “The New Evangeliza-
LEARN OUR CHURCH’S TEACHING — STUDY tion in the Church depends largely on the domes-
THE MAGISTERIAL TEACHINGS OF THE ROMAN tic church... Just as the disappearance of God from
CATHOLIC CHURCH TO KNOW OUR FAITH (THIS man’s sense of life, often referred to as the ‘eclipse
IS SO IMPORTANT!) — THEN TEACH YOUR CHIL- of God’, and the crisis of the family, are linked so the
DREN THE TRUTHS OF THE FAITH — AND TEACH New Evangelization is inseparable from the Christian
YOUR CHILDREN TO LOVE THE CHURCH AND TO family”.
ALWAYS RESPECT THE TEACHING AUTHORITY OF As Catholics we must all work towards this goal:
THE CHURCH. to re-evangelize society, through the restoration of
Christ promised in His own Words: “I am with you the domestic church, one family at a time. This will
all days, even to the consummation of the world.” This happen through the holiness lived in our own lives, in
still stands true today — Our Lord does not lie. And He unity with our families and with our Church. v
said again in His own words: “The gates of hell shall Anne Marie Jacques
not prevail against [My Church].”

Yves and Anne Marie Jacques with their seven children (three sons married), and their ten grandchildren

www.michaeljournal.org MICHAEL October/November/December 2019 39