Generation Zap

August 16: Saturday of Week 19 of Ordinary Time, Year A-II:

Ezekiel 18:1-10, 13, 30-32; Psalm 51:10-11, 12-13, 16-17; Matthew 19:13-15

Thoughts to help us surrender to Jesus expressing himself through us in ministry.

“Let the children come to me.” Matthew 19:14

To “zap” is to “cause to move suddenly and rapidly in a specified direction.” The youth (of western culture) are being zapped out of Christianity. The previous generation was not able, and the present generation is not willing, to pass on the faith to their children.

God does not judge parents for their children’s sins. “I will judge each one according to his ways.” But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Do not prevent them.” How are we preventing youth from experiencing “the good, the true, and the beautiful” in Jesus and his Church?

We are “our children’s keeper.” More: we were consecrated by Baptism to minister to everyone: to give divine life by expressing God’s divine life—the invisible faith, hope and love within us—in physical words and actions. What remains bottled up in our hearts stagnates. Unshared grace corrupts the Church.

Our diffidence does more damage than debauchery. Bad example shocks; no example deadens. The fear that makes us “hide our light under a basket” condemns the world to darkness. We have “dug a hole in the ground” and hidden our children’s inheritance (Matthew 25:25).

We are so afraid of showing love for God that we barely sing in church. Enthusiasm is inappropriate. We don’t celebrate during religious celebrations.

“Make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.”

PRAY: “Lord, open my lips.”

PRACTICE: Say what you feel; feel what you say.