For My Children.

 

This Saturday the 27^th of August and the 28^th of August are the feast days of Saint Monica and her son Saint Augustine. During last week and as I mentioned early in the week after taking my son o the doctor’s we went to church and had a little chat and he told me he didn’t want to be Catholic it really broke my heart to hear my nine-year-old son say that.

So, we haven’t been to mass since Anthony’s confirmation it has been 3 months this weekend you see I made a promise to myself not to go back to a place where I feel excluded, rejected, and never welcomed. There are no excuses as to why I can’t go somewhere else It’s just that I can experience God anywhere because he is everywhere and in everything I do. Yes, I have missed going to participate, to worship and be present with God so, I want to share something that may help us when someone we love walks away from the faith.

 I have been reading a book called The Saint Monica Club by Maggie Green and she writes in the chapter, there will always be a test on page 49, “Some prodigals seek more than to leave the Faith; they seek to convert. They don’t just reject; they defect from the Faith, in part, as an affirmation of the rejection itself. If your beloved wants to reduce the Faith to its past, poor witnesses, mistakes, grave sins, current scandals, and so forth, remind him or her that you remain Catholic not because Catholics are perfect but because you know that what the Church teaches is true. You aren’t a member of the Church to make friends or to make the world a better place but to know God and to be made a better person, through the medicine offered in the sacraments, through Scripture, and through all the wisdom, writings, and witnesses of all the saints and martyrs. You don’t view the Church as an ancient institution but as the Bride of Christ, the Body of Christ, and the means of coming to know and love God more fully.” This is so beautiful and a great reminder because when I come to Church, I come to be with God my savior, friend, and lover.

One day my children may stumble across my blog and read all my reflections and know how hard it is after you say yes to God and to journey with others accepting differences and learning to love like God does. Here is something I want and need them to know, Church should be a place where you can bring your sacrifices to the altar and a house where you can call home and a place of prayer for all of God’s people. God is universal and he makes us all joyful; we are enough and worthy to enter and be a part of the supper of the Lord, we have the gifts, abilities, and spirituality to be disciples of Jesus Christ. May you find a place where you can hear words that are suitable for you to understand God’s love a love that never ends and have the knowledge that our special charisms flow from God into our heart, soul and our very being. As your mother and one of Christ’s faithful I am to hand down the love of God and faith to you both but it’s not easy to do it alone I know that from now on I will be seeking Saint Monica’s never ending spiritual guidance and intercession for you both especially you, my son.

May God Bless Always, Women of Faith and Hope by My Mother Rose.

Written and created by Katie Robinson