For moms and dads on St Monica's day

    Study for Saint Monica by John Nava

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saint Monica, mother of Saint Augustine, worried and prayed for her son for years while he sowed his wild oats before beginning to live the faith in which his mother had raised him.  Many mothers (and fathers) are familiar with Monica's experience - and many of these parents are still praying that their sons and daughters will turn their lives to God and to the faith and life of those who follow Jesus.

Here are some paragraphs from an article by Tracey Rector, titled Yes, It’s True – God Really Does Love Your Child More Than You Do. (Jump to the full article for the author's elaboration on her four bullet points.)

Ask any parent about the most important thing in his or her life, and the answer is likely to be “my children.” Any emotion or feeling associated with our own child is heightened: no pride is greater than that which we feel at their success, no pain more devastating than when we watch them suffer, and no happiness more intense than sharing in our own children’s happiness. It’s a love that is difficult to describe. It’s my reference point in attempting to understand the love of God.

God’s love is truly unfathomable to me. I simply cannot understand a love that is greater than the love I have for my own children. I “know” this greater love exists; indeed, it is the basis for my faith and the reason for my hope. But submitting to it is a difficult prospect for us as parents. Most days, I live in harmony with God’s love: those days when my family is healthy, successful, and blessed.

But some days, things get tough where it concerns my children – a difficult diagnosis, an unexpected disappointment, a decision of which I disapprove. On those days, God’s love for them (and for me) can seem distant and uncertain. In these moments, how do we as parents live as though we truly believe God loves our children more than we do? How do we let go of our instinctive desire to plan our child’s life? How do we trust instead in God’s plan, even when it seems completely contrary to our own plans and aspirations for them?

     • Our children are not an extension of us. 

     • Our children’s struggles are theirs not ours. 

     • Our children are created for God’s purposes, 

          not ours. 

     • God’s purposes always bring about good, 

          for our children and for us.

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