by Fr. Martin J. Scott, S.J., You & Yours, Practical Talks on Home Life, 1921
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The time to safeguard the home begins on the very day of marriage. Even before God blesses the union with a child, the home is already formed, and if its earliest growth is not rightly ordered, it cannot develop into the kind of home it ought to be. The right beginning is made by living as God directs. Husband and wife may soon become father and mother; therefore, they should begin at once to lay the foundation for the family God may permit them to raise.
The first requisite is that man and wife realize they are subjects of Almighty God. They are not their own masters, even in their own home. God must be the Head and Master of every household. Wherever He is supreme, the home will be the right kind of home, no matter what its circumstances or surroundings may be.
We must remember that we are made to live in this world, but not for this world. Our life is a stewardship—both for ourselves and for those whom God entrusts to our care. If we forget this accountability and live only for earthly comfort and self-satisfaction, our families will follow in our footsteps. In these days of home decay, no family can stand strong against the assaults of the world unless God is its defender and ruler.
Such is the basis of true and happy home life. To realize that God places us on earth for a short time to live as He commands—and not merely as we please—is to solve the riddle of life and discover the key to home welfare. God allows the ups and downs of life so that we may show ourselves faithful to Him. If we prove true, we will one day share His divine life in heaven.
With this in mind, we can endure hardships with patience and receive blessings with moderation and gratitude. We will respect God, cherish His holy law, and live with a spirit of joyful responsibility.
Show me a husband and wife who truly reverence God, and I will show you the nucleus of a happy home. They may not be rich—perhaps God prefers them to be lowly—but they possess the deep peace that comes from knowing they are friends of God, ready to meet Him whenever He calls. Such a couple stands secure amid the dangers of modern life. If their children grow up with that same reverence for God, they will be good sons and daughters regardless of their surroundings.
The trouble in many families is that parents do not respect God or each other; therefore, their children do not respect them. But when little ones are raised from the very beginning to love and obey God, they naturally love and obey their parents.
Today, when business and social customs often leave children so much to themselves, it is essential that they possess an interior safeguard: a motive for virtue and devotion to the family. The world is selfish, and worldly motives last only as long as they are convenient. Virtue and family welfare require sacrifice—and the greatest incentive to sacrifice is the love of God.
The main reason many families suffer today is that religion outside the true Faith has lost its meaning and its hold on people. It is not merely the new dangers and distractions of society that bring ruin, but the fact that these dangers must now be faced without the protection of religion. While the chief purpose of religion is to guide us safely to our eternal inheritance, it also makes life on earth a peaceful pilgrimage, sparing us countless disasters along the way.
No traveler has more hardships than the one who leaves God out of his reckoning. The religious man may suffer, but he knows his sorrows can carry him heavenward, and thus he bears them not only patiently but even cheerfully.
The spirit of faith will do more to restore the home than all the schemes modern worldly wisdom can devise. But we cannot expect this spirit to animate the children unless it first reigns in the parents. A living awareness of God’s presence and of our accountability to Him makes parents solicitous and children dutiful.
When parents take their responsibilities seriously, they ordinarily raise devoted children—and where children are devoted, there we find the ideal home. Hardships and poor surroundings may hinder a home, but they cannot destroy it if true faith abides within.
What will restore the family to its rightful place? Above all, the practice of genuine religion—not a nominal religion that does more harm than good. Blank cartridges are useless before armed danger, and nominal piety is little better.
When God is rightly honored in the home, parents understand that they cannot honor Him without respecting one another and living chiefly for their children. Children understand that they cannot honor God without honoring their parents. With such a spirit, the family circle becomes truly “Home, Sweet Home.”
Every family will face misunderstandings and annoyances—that is life. But the home where God is supreme can turn these troubles into blessings. Some of the happiest homes I have known were those in which affliction abounded, for God’s peace and comfort abounded there as well. If you wish to save the home and make it the dearest place on earth, begin by building it on the foundation of Faith. If the home still falls short, it will be a rare exception.
We must remember that we do not have a lasting city here, but seek one that is to come. Our earthly home may be dear, but even the best home contains trials to remind us that our true home is in heaven.
Sometimes God allows serious trouble even in deeply religious homes, to refine and perfect the just. Differences of opinion will arise even among good people; life is a warfare, and we must be armed for the strife.
If Faith cannot remove every misunderstanding, how much worse would life be without it? Even with the helps of religion, the home will have its sorrows; without it, in these times, it is in danger of collapse.
Sadly, we see this on every side. For many people, home has become nothing more than a wayside inn. Chasing constant distraction, never satisfied, many young people exhaust themselves before their time. They leave the fountain of clear water for the polluted stream. Home, which should be their refuge, becomes merely a stopping place before they rush off again in search of pleasures that bring neither rest nor peace.
For those far along in life, these words may come too late. A true home must be carefully built from the foundation up. We cannot neglect it for years and then suddenly expect to create a home simply because we now desire one. It is seldom possible. We may repair the breaches, but unless the home was rightly begun, it rarely becomes what it should be.
But to young husbands and wives, fathers and mothers beginning their homes, I say this: your home will become what you make it. A home does not happen. Nothing in this world requires more careful construction. A strong structure cannot rise on a weak foundation. Begin at the beginning—make it a home from the start.
Religion does not eliminate the need for human effort; it presupposes it. In the chapters that follow, practical matters will be discussed, drawn entirely from experience. For those who take these recommendations to heart, I am confident that as the years go on, and as they feel ever more deeply their need for a true home, theirs will truly be “Home, Sweet Home.”
A nation will be very much what its homes are. Home life makes national life. Patriotism must begin at the fireside. Where the home is in honor, you will find a vigorous and patriotic people. It is the same also with religion. The Church is nowhere more flourishing than where the home is respected. For welfare both here and hereafter, much depends on the home. Modern life is making dreadful breaches in it. Church and state are threatened by this assault, for the home is the very heart of both.
~Fr. Martin J. Scott, S.J., 1921
After passing through the fears of childhood, experience teaches us that many fears are groundless. And we protect ourselves against unreasonable fears. Yet oftentimes the environment and our imagination lead us to see dangers where there are really none. Or they may magnify our fears a hundredfold…. Achieving Peace of Heart by Fr. Narciso Irala available here.
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This fascinating true story of the life of Leo Dupont is also the account of the establishment of devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus. It first began in the city of Tours, France, then spread worldwide, and was finally authorized by Pope Leo XIII in 1885. Before it was approved formally by the Church, Leo Dupont practiced this devotion privately in his home, where a true likeness of Veronica’s veil was always kept venerated by a burning lamp. He would pray before it for hours on end. Miracles soon followed the application of the oil from this lamp upon sick and the invalid. Catholics from all over the world were writing to Dupont, requesting small amounts of the holy oil. The miracles accumulated to such a point that Pope Pius IX stated that Leo Dupont was perhaps the greatest miracle worker in Church history!This story includes the incredible difficulties along the way of establishing the Devotion to the Holy Face. Let it inspire the reader to further this incredible, beloved devotion, especially in regards to how much it is needed in our present troubled times. Look to “The Golden Arrow: The Autobiography and Revelations of Sister Mary of St. Peter on Devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus” for the moving revelations of Our Lord in regards to this powerful devotion.
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My Daily Bread is a series of short, daily reflections on the spiritual life. Written with loving care by Father Anthony Paone, this devotional will strengthen your love for Christ and his teachings.
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This is very needed today, right now…. 😥 We need prayers for a very serious situation! 🙏🙏🙏And more than that we desperately need to know the right direction to take….. 😥
Heading to Mass, Mary Ann, and it will be in my intentions. 🙏🏻❤️